HIV/AIDS‐related beliefs among Israeli Arab‐Palestinian women

Abstract

Studies show that women are more vulnerable to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission than men because of biological and sociocultural risk factors. Israeli Arab‐Palestinians are the largest ethnic minority group in Israel. Unofficial data suggest that merely one percent of the tests conducted in Israel to diagnose HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are conducted by this population and that Israeli Arab‐Palestinians are typically diagnosed late. Arab communities in Israel were found to be predominately patriarchal, characterised by conservative gender roles and structures, and the policing of overt sexual behaviours, particularly those of women. In order to advance our understanding of the HIV/AIDS phenomenon in different sociocultural contexts, as well as to design effective cultural‐sensitive interventions, we must first understand how HIV/AIDS is constructed in different cultural sites. Against this backdrop, this exploratory study examines HIV/AIDS‐related beliefs among non‐infected, Israeli Arab‐Palestinian women. We conducted semi‐structured interviews with 12 women. Thematic content analysis was used in order to analyse the data. Five themes emerged from the analysis, in the first, personal responsibility and blame were assigned to people with HIV/AIDS for their illness. In the second theme, HIV/AIDS was constructed as a sexually transmitted disease, associated with ‘deviant’ sexuality and sexual conduct in the Arab culture. In the third theme, HIV/AIDS was believed to be transmitted by multiple, mostly mistaken, modes of contact. In the fourth theme, people with HIV/AIDS were believed to be subjected to severe negative social responses. In the fifth theme, individuals with HIV/AIDS were depicted as a symbol of physical and psychological malaise. In conclusion, the findings imply that Israeli Arab‐Palestinian women hold negative beliefs concerning people with HIV/AIDS and are misinformed regarding HIV transmission. This suggests a need to design culturally appropriate interventions to address stigma‐related beliefs and misconceptions concerning transmission, among Israeli Arab‐Palestinian women.

The social construction of HIV: A narrative study of Israeli Arab People

“…There are several important findings. Similar to other studies (Soffer, 2019b, 2020a), we observed that the stories were laden with misconceptions and reflected poor knowledge of HIV/AIDS. Two themes were identified in our study.…”

“…These findings align with Labra's (2015) argument concerning the current archetype of PLHIV, “which carries the public message that it is possible to live as a person with HIV” (p. 245). Nevertheless, the more dominant subtheme we identified constructed HIV/AIDS as a lethal disease both literally and metaphorically—that is, as causing a “social death.” These findings not only reflect the extent of intolerance toward PLHIV in Arab society (also see Soffer, 2020a) but also describe the culturally specific manifestations of HIV stigma (being shunned and ostracized in a society where community and family are highly valued). Thus, HIV/AIDS status was often perceived as something to hide and ironically, the findings show that whether guarded or not, the secret of his HIV status weighs heavily on the PLHIV, emotionally and otherwise, and on his family.…”

“…Two themes were identified in our study. In the first, similar to Soffer's (2020a) study, HIV/AIDS was constructed as a sexually transmitted disease associated with “deviant” sexual practices in Israeli Arab society. This finding also recalls past images of AIDS as a “gay plague” that is associated with “immoral” sex practices (see Fee & Krieger, 1993).…”

“…Social construction refers to the “cultural meanings embedded in illness” that “impact on the way the illness is experienced, how the illness is depicted, the social response to the illness, and what policies are created concerning the illness” (Conrad & Barker, 2010, p. S69). To date and to the best of our knowledge, the meaning of HIV/AIDS has been explored in only one study of a sample of 12 Israeli Arab women who were HIV‐negative (Soffer, 2020a). In that study, HIV/AIDS was stigmatized, that is, HIV/AIDS was understood as a sexually transmitted disease that is linked to “deviant” sexuality and sexual practices in Arab culture.…”

“…Marriage is characterized as “heterosexual, monogamist, endogamous,” and “within the same religious group” (Abu‐Baker, 2016, p. 463). Premarital and extramarital sex are forbidden among Israeli Arab people (Samia et al, 2013; Soffer, 2020a).…”