Abstract

One of the key factors associated with ageing successfully includes sexual health and activity. However, people living with chronic health conditions such as HIV/AIDS may have some challenges that exclude them from ageing “successfully.” This convenient, cross-sectional, qualitative study of older women living with HIV/AIDS (OW-HIV) in Lomé, Togo explores reasons for celibacy. An inductive analysis of the data generated two central themes: sexuality-related reasons and non-sexuality–related reasons. Six subthemes, which included the loss of sexual interest and avoidance of “trouble from men,” surfaced during the review. Although several of the reasons that explained celibacy among our study participants have been reported elsewhere and were frequently reported in the literature as impacting ageing women, being sexually abstinent because one wanted to avoid “trouble from men” is not a common reason found in the discourse of HIV/AIDS and sexuality among people living with HIV/AIDS. The article concludes with several policy recommendations regarding psychoeducation on ageing and sexuality and intimacy with HIV/AIDS.