“I Know Where She Goes” - the Construction of Trust in Risk Assessment of HIV/AIDS among Male Labor Migrants in India

Ajay Bailey, University of Groningen
Inge Hutter, University of Groningen

India with more than a billon population has an HIV infection rate is at 0.7%. In 2002 alone, 4.58 million people were infected with HIV/AIDS (NACO, 2003). The present qualitative study investigates how male labor migrants assess their HIV-related risk in sexual interactions. The Health Belief Model and the Social Amplification of Risk Framework form the theoretical focus. This paper aims to comprehend the role of trust in the risk assessment of HIV infection. Trust is a heuristic, which men applied in assessing the risk of HIV infection from a partner. The higher the trust placed the lower the risk perceived and vice versa. Trust is constructed based on heuristics of vigilance and cultural schemas on fidelity and gender role behavior. The migrant’s construction of trust led to attenuation of the risk of HIV infection from spouse and other extra marital relations within the community.