MODULE TWO: COUNSELLING - FHI 360 Center for Global Health ...

♦Women are more likely to have gotten HIV through rape or sexual
abuse. As a result, counsellors need to be sensitive when discussing how a
woman was infected, and they need to be prepared to give referrals to rape
counselling services.
♦Women are more likely to be single parents. Raising children alone can
cause a lot of stress and strain, both physically and mentally. This can be
especially stressful when HIV-positive mothers become too sick to work, and
they must worry about how to support themselves and their children.
♦It is harder for women to negotiate safer sex. HIV-positive women need
to practice safer sex in order to avoid infecting others and to keep from getting
reinfected themselves. Because women are less empowered than men,
however, it can be harder for them to ask their partners to use condoms. This is
especially true if they do not feel safe revealing their HIV status to their partners.
Counsellors can help the woman to explore different strategies for negotiating
safer sex.
♦It may be harder for women to access treatment than men. Women
may have a harder time accessing treatment due to their lower economic status.
They are less likely to have access to health insurance, because they are less
likely to work in the formal sector. In addition, it can be harder for them to pay
for medicine and services because they traditionally earn less money.
Counsellors need to be sensitive to this issue when referring women for
treatment.
♦Women are more likely to have a double burden of caring for sick
family members in addition to themselves. Because women are
traditionally seen as the caregivers, they often care for several other family
members. This can be an overwhelming burden when the woman is sick herself.
Counsellors need to help them explore options for getting assistance with caring
for others.
Guidelines for Counselling Women
1. Encourage women to express their feelings. If they feel blame, guilt or
shame, tell them that this is normal, but that they did not ask for HIV and
they have no reason to feel guilty. Refer them to AIDS organizations that
offer support groups and other services for women.
2. If a woman is pregnant, explain how HIV is transmitted from mother-tochild
and what the chances of transmission are. Women should never be
pressured to have abortions. Women who do want to keep their babies
should be encouraged to go for prenatal care.
Session 8-Pg.9