Seeking Shelter Amongst Peers

Abstract

Supportive social relations can be singled out as the most relevant factor that may ease the passage from biographical invalidation to reinforcement. In chapter 8, I shall discuss the range of reactions that may be obtained from the “normal” social environment (from categories of persons such as one’s partner, family members, friends and colleagues, that is, to whom the individual is related for reasons other than HIV). In the present chapter, I shall focus on a special social environment which guarantees support: institutionalized groups of HIV-positive peers. In many cases, the intention to disclose one’s serostatus to members of the normal social environment causes a strong fear of rejection. Some of my respondents report that an act of disclosure indeed did result in rejection or stigmatization; many more interviewees experienced reactions which did not prove as helpful as they had wished. In contrast, when disclosing oneself toward an organized group of HIV-positive peers, the individual can be sure not to be discriminated against on moral grounds for having caught HIV. She or he can furthermore expect comprehension for many of the problems this condition entails, as well as expertise in their handling.