Monogamy and Secondary Sexual Partnerships Among Afro-Amerindian Immigrant Women in New York City: A Qualitative Study

In New York City, HIV is increasingly concentrated in the foreign-born population, necessitating a greater exploration of
the mechanisms through which changes in behavior and risk for HIV occur within migrant populations. Interviews were conducted
with 22 Honduran-born Garifuna women to explore partnerships, sexual behaviors, and HIV risk in the context of migration,
and transcripts were coded by thematic analysis procedures. Five themes emerged: (1) migration ends relationships, (2) new
relationships in the U.S. form because of material and psychological needs, (3) secondary sexual partnerships are a man’s
issue, (4) female secondary sexual partnership participation as a marker of equality, and (5) monogamy due to a lack of time.
These findings suggest that greater attention be paid to women’s participation in secondary sexual partnerships for purposes
other than economic need, and demonstrate a need for HIV interventions that are based in an understanding of how the social
context of migration affects sexual behaviors.