The Retard study (Delayed Access to Care), on which our work is based, focuses on HIV-positive individuals who enter the healthcare system with a CD4 count below 350/mm³. In addition to data from the French National Institute for Public Health Surveillance on AIDS cases, the data set is drawn from two sources: biographical interviews (16 women, 10 men) and a questionnaire on pathways and conditions of access to the healthcare system (115 women, 83% of whom are from sub-Saharan Africa, and 152 men). Delayed access to care stems from delayed access to screening. Qualitative and quantitative data on women highlight situations of social precariousness and their vulnerability to AIDS. (R.A.)