My brother died from AIDS in 2009

Hi . First, let me say sorry to hear of the loss of your brother. I'm sure trying to help his children make sense of what happened is not easy and it is good that you are seeking out information to help. The short answer to your question is that, yes, it is possible for a woman to have unprotected sex with an HIV positive male for years and not get infected. The longer answer is more complicated. This article from our editorial team discusses transmission risk of various types of exposure: https://h-i-v.net/transmission-risks. You will see that the risk from receptive penile-vaginal intercourse is 0.08% for any given encounter, which seems quite low. That said each individual circumstance is different. We are not medical professionals and for the protection of community members cannot offer interpretations of risk or medical advice. This article from Stanford Medicine looking at risk and trying to give context notes that "Transmission can occur after one exposure" and that "It is important to emphasize that a person could become infected from having unprotected sex once or a person could have unprotected sex many times and not become infected, regardless of how low or high the risk per exposure is:" https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/sexual-and-reproductive-health/hiv-aids/causes/risk-of-exposure.html. The numbers are only estimates of average risk. Also at various stages of the disease how infectious an HIV positive person is varies. We, of course, always encourage individuals to practice safe sex and minimize risk. Hope this information is helpful. Wishing you and your family the best. Richard (Team Member)