GENDER INEQUALITIES AND VULNERABILITY TO STI/HIV/AIDS IN URBAN SETTLEMENT ADOLESCENTS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Abstract

Objective: To understand the perception about the vulnerability to STI/HIV/AIDS among female adolescents living in an urban settlement in a city of Central Brazil. Materials and Methods: Descriptive and exploratory study, with qualitative approach, carried out in an urban settlement on the outskirts of a capital city in central Brazil. From a population of 407 adolescents from the only educational institution in the settlement, 107 were considered for the study. Of these, 20 went for hebiatric consultation and, until data saturation was reached, the final sample consisted of 16 adolescents. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was used to treat the data from the perspective of the Theory of Social Representations. Results: The following thematic categories emerged: feeling of invulnerability to STI/HIV/AIDS; gender relationship and vulnerability to STI/HIV/AIDS and sexuality, social network and vulnerability to STI/HIV/AIDS. Conclusion: Adolescent girls from the settlement are marked by gender subordination, which is often denied by them and naturalized by the ideals of legitimizing gender inequality.