Minority Women and Sexual Choice in the Age of AIDS

As rates of HIV infection among women continue to rise, health education efforts promoting safer sexual practices have increasingly targeted the female population. However, the wisdom of these efforts is often questioned on the grounds that women, particularly disadvantaged, minority women, lack the necessary power in their relationships with men to influence the course of sexual decision-making. Using a qualitative, focus group methodology, the present study explored the bases of sexual decision-making among groups of high risk black and hispanic women. Sixteen focus groups were conducted with a total of 134 women recruited from drug treatment centers and community agencies in three Northern New Jersey cities. Three groups each were conducted with black and hispanic IV drug users and HIV positive women and 2 groups each with sex partners of IV drug users. Findings suggest that minority women often retain substantial power vis a vis their male partners with respect to sexual decision-making. Factors relating to perceptions of risk are frequently more salient barriers to the practice of safer sex in this population.