THE VEIL OF SECRECY - HIV/AIDS and Women of Color.

“You don’t put your business all out in the streets.”

“You don’t air your family’s dirty laundry.”
 
 Who hasn't been told these things at some point during your childhood?   Our families requested that we respect their privacy, but in the African-American community our need for privacy seems to have morphed into something more insidious—a “veil of secrecy.”

 In the nine years as Founder/Director at Aniz, Inc. (a non-profit agency dedicated to HIV/AIDS prevention, education and therapy) it is not uncommon to see a grandmother, mother and daughter all HIV positive in one or another of the multiple treatment programs offered by Aniz Inc. In some cases, each woman believed they were the only HIV+ member of the family!   And why haven’t these Women of Color disclosed their status?  Well, a lot of that decision depends on larger society’s attitudes towards HIV+ women.  Will she be considered The Victim or The Villain?

Depending upon how a woman contracted the virus, society may view her in two very different lights.  Did she contract the virus as a married woman, the victim of a philandering husband, or maybe a “Down Low” brother, so to speak? According to larger society, she Is then The Victim---An object of pity. 

Many black women are still carrying the legacy of the Strong Black Woman/Superwoman.  The last thing these women want to be seen as is an object of pity.  On the other hand, did she contract the virus through IV drug use or drug abuse induced prostitution?  Well, then society labels her The Villian to be scorned, ridiculed and cast out.  In any case, a woman diagnosed with HIV is likely to not disclose her status for fear of pity, scorn or both.  Her HIV status becomes something to be ashamed of, something to hide, and something to feel guilty about.  The goal then becomes to not air dirty laundry (HIV status), indeed.

BY ZINA AGE