Male labor migration, patriarchy, and the awareness-behavior gap: HIV risks and prevention among migrants' wives in Armenia

Unlike in most of the world, HIV incidence in the former Soviet Union continues to rise. While international labor migration has been identified as a potentially important contributor to this trend, most attention has been focused on risks of male migrants themselves. This study uses recent household survey data to examine HIV-related perceptions and actions of migrants' left-behind wives in Armenia. Multivariate logistic regression analyses show that migrants' wives are significantly more likely to suspect their husbands of extramarital sex than are non-migrants' wives. The analyses detect greater worries about HIV infection and a higher likelihood of spousal communication on HIV matters among migrants' wives, compared to non-migrants' wives, but these differences are largely explained by the suspicion of husband's extramarital sex. Finally, no difference between the two categories of women in the probability of consistent condom use with husbands is found. These findings are interpreted within the context of patriarchal culture and unequal gender relations in Armenian society as they are further reinforced by male migration. Implications of these findings for policies to increase women's awareness of HIV risks associated with migration and their ability to reduce those risks are discussed.