Invisibility, silence and absence a study of the account taken by two Kenyan universities of the effects of HIV and AIDS on senior women staff Nyokabi Kamau

Signaturstamm: R 12

This article investigates two Kenyan universities' responses to HIV and AIDS in terms of practical, policy and moral support to their senior women staff members affected by the pandemic. It is based on findings of a study involving interviews with twenty senior women and five management representatives at the two universities. The data showed that although HIV and AIDS had affected all the women in the sample, their experiences were overlooked in the two universities' responses. This article serves two major purposes. First, in the case of HIV and AIDS, it forms a beginning of breaking the silence around the pandemic. Second, it urges universities to lead other workplaces in the country in recognizing that people (especially women), have personal and private selves that require space in the public discourse.