'Don't judge me 'til you walk through my shoes': A qualitative investigation of the experiences of women living with HIV.

Objective: Women living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are less of a focus in the HIV literature, which tends to focus on the HIV experiences of men who have sex with men (MSMs). Hence, we conducted a qualitative study that examined: (a) the type of stigma and discrimination that women living with HIV experience related to their HIV status, (b) the source of this stigma and discrimination, (c) their responses related to this stigma and discrimination, and (d) the ways in which women living with HIV cope with these experiences of stigma and discrimination.

Design: Participants consisted of 14 self-identified women living with HIV that were recruited at a community organization in the Southern United States that provides services to individuals living with HIV.