Naked lives: women with HIV/AIDS in the situation of gender violence

Abstract

In patriarchal societies of peripheral countries, women suffer the effects of social and gender exclusion, which exposes them to the acquisition of HIV, and which remain after becoming ill. The aim of this paper is to explore the experiences of gender violence in the trajectory of women living with HIV. We conducted a qualitative study in which 61 women victims of gender violence registered in a Specialized Care Service for HIV/AIDS in a municipality in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul were interviewed, through a critical analysis of the discourse of the narratives produced by these women. All interviewees reported having suffered violations of rights throughout their lives, due to historical processes of exclusion, limitations in access to school, work, health services, and security. In health services, the care provided is based on a biopolitical medical model capable of postponing death, but not care for them fully. We denominate these women’s trajectories as “naked lives,” a concept of the philosopher Giorgio Agamben, considering that they are considered devalued and superfluous in society, marked by violence and HIV.