Auntie Stella

14. I may be HIV positive

Theme: Living with HIV and AIDS
Speaking out
Relationships with family and community

Dear Auntie Stella

I’m 18 and my boyfriend is 20.We’ve been having sex for four months now. In the beginning we used condoms but my boyfriend didn’t like them.After two months he said we should trust each other and stop using condoms, so I decided to go on the pill because I didn’t want to get pregnant.

Now I’ve found out that one of his previous girlfriends is sick with AIDS. I’m terrified that my boyfriend has this sickness and that he’s given it to me! I don’t know what to do. I’ve heard on the radio about getting tested, but people say they ask you difficult questions, the results are sometimes wrong and other people will know your results.

I can’t talk to my boyfriend or anyone else about this. And, also, I’m not sure I even want to know my status. What will I do then?

Auntie, please help me – I just worry all the time. 

Florence

Talking points


  • How often do people act like Florence and her boyfriend, where they start using condoms but then stop? * Why do they do this? What are the dangers?

  • What should Florence do now?

    – Tell her boyfriend the truth about her worries and insist on returning to condoms?

    – Get an HIV test secretly and then decide?

    –Tell her boyfriend she wants both of them to be tested?

    –Continue having unprotected sex?

  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of each choice?

  • What do you know about HIV testing? What happens at the test centre? What are the staff like? How long does it take to get the results?

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