Discrimination against people with HIV / AIDS

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Discrimination against people with HIV / AIDS or serophobia refers to prejudice , fear , social rejection and discrimination against people with HIV / AIDS (PLHIV, people living with HIV / AIDS ). Discrimination is a manifestation of stigma ; Stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors can fall under the category of discrimination, depending on a country's legislation. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus (German: human immunodeficiency virus). If left untreated, HIV can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ( AIDS ). HIV / AIDS is an STD and cannot be cured. However, with proper treatment, individuals can live as long as without the disease.

Discrimination on the basis of HIV / AIDS exists worldwide and leads to low participation in HIV counseling and testing , identity crises , social isolation, loneliness, low self-esteem and a lack of interest in containing the disease.

The stigma mainly affects homosexuality , bisexuality , promiscuity , sex work , and intravenous drug use .

In many industrialized countries there is a strong correlation between HIV / AIDS and male homosexuality or bisexuality, and the association correlates with the level of sexual prejudice and homophobic attitudes. Earlier names for AIDS were gay cancer (German: gay cancer) and gay related immune deficiency ( GRID , German: gay- related immune deficiency ). In the early 1980s, HIV / AIDS was seen as "a disorder that primarily affects male homosexuals".

Examples of serious discrimination are: exclusion from applying for a job, prohibition of buying housing, additional costs when renting housing, mandatory HIV testing without prior consent or ensuring confidentiality , quarantine of people infected with HIV and in some cases the loss of property rights when one spouse dies. United States disability laws prohibit HIV / AIDS discrimination in housing, employment, education, and access to health and social services.

Structural violence

Structural violence is an important factor in treating people with AIDS. Paul Farmer argues that social factors affecting the lives of certain cultures change their risk of infection and their ability to access treatment. Access to prophylaxis, access to antiretroviral therapy, and susceptibility to disease and malnutrition are all factors that change people's overall risk for disease due to HIV / AIDS. This leads to a large difference in the rate of illness due to HIV / AIDS in different social / cultural groups. Farmer also believes that social interventions can be critical in narrowing the treatment gap between these groups of people. Educating doctors about the interactions between social life and health care would help redress the inequalities in health care.

violence

Discrimination, whether violent or threatened, prevents many people from getting tested for HIV, but it does not help in curing the virus.

Violence is an important factor in treating people with AIDS. A study of HIV positive in South Africa shows that out of 500 participants, 16.1% reported being physically attacked, with 57.7% of those being attributed to intimate partners such as husbands and wives. The available data show high rates of subjects isolating themselves socially from friends and family, as well as avoiding hospital or clinic treatment due to increased internalized fears. Any violence against HIV-infected people or people who are perceived to be HIV-positive can seriously affect treatment progress in response to the spread of the disease.

Paul Farmer argues that social factors affecting the lives of certain cultures change their risk of infection and their ability to access treatment. Access to prophylaxis, access to antiretroviral therapy, susceptibility to disease and malnutrition are all factors that change people's overall risk of disease due to HIV / AIDS. This leads to a large difference in the rate of HIV / AIDS disease in different social and cultural groups. Farmer also argues that social interventions can be crucial in closing the treatment gap between these groups of people. Educating doctors about the interactions between social life and health care would help redress the inequalities in health care.

Impact on society

Stigma

The HIV / AIDS stigma was divided into the following three categories:

  • Instrumental AIDS stigma - a reflection of the fear and apprehension likely to be associated with any fatal and communicable disease.
  • Symbolic AIDS stigma - the use of HIV / AIDS to express attitudes towards the social groups or lifestyles believed to be associated with the disease.
  • Courtesy AIDS stigma - AIDS stigma attached to people associated with HIV / AIDS or HIV-positive people.

Research in South Africa on stigma and discrimination in communities has shown that people infected with HIV not only experience high levels of stigma that negatively impacts all areas of their lives, but also has a psychological impact. Internalized stigma and discrimination grew throughout the study but also across the HIV community. Many HIV-positive people in South Africa blamed themselves for their current situation.

Stigma, according to the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary , is “a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group has about something” of people have about something ). Stigma is often enforced through discrimination, callous acts, and fanaticism. In response, those infected with HIV have developed self-defeating mindsets and coping skills to deal with the social impact rather than accepting their current status and seeking help.

HIV-positive people often struggle with stigma, even if, with the right medication, it can be a manageable lifelong illness. Meanwhile, an HIV positive person can have an intimate relationship without passing the disease on. It is also possible that a mother who is HIV positive may not pass HIV on to her child. In developing countries, people who are HIV + face discrimination at work, in school, in their community and even in health care facilities. Discrimination can also increase the spread of HIV because fewer people want to be tested.

Social relationships

As a result, in countries like Nigeria, a person is less likely to reveal their HIV status as the effects of marginalization of their community are felt. “In most situations, an HIV positive person will not disclose their HIV status in order to prevent social rejection so as not to be isolated from attending sociocultural events.” This leads to a high risk of passing the disease on to others or delaying proper treatment. An HIV positive person - when cut off from their community - can feel isolated, lonely, fearful, unmotivated, and struggle with identity problems. The stigma promotes the spread and denies medical research of HIV / AIDS because of the lack of social and medical support. These individuals can no longer feel part of society.

Family and other intimate relationships play a role in the death rate from PLHIV. Because of the fear of isolation, ignorance, denial and discrimination, people will allow HIV to develop into AIDS and life expectancy to decrease further because immune system function has been significantly impaired. Research at Mvelaphanda Primary School in Tembisa , Gauteng Province , South Africa showed that many of the children were orphans because parents and / or siblings had died; some were born with HIV. A survey showed that there will be no success in fighting the epidemic if there is no change in behavior towards HIV / AIDS. At Mvelaphanda Primary School, the death rate of their children, especially young women, is increasing. These women are more at risk than their male counterparts as many of them work with older men who have different partners and who do not participate in safer sex practices. Death caused by AIDS is often communicated as " witchcraft " in the community. Children and other family members tend to deny the truth and are raised to believe that HIV and / or AIDS does not exist and fear more bewitched than infected by the virus.

In addition to family ties and intimate relationships, a spiritual relationship is also burdened for HIV-positive people. A research study in the western region of Saudi Arabia showed that the stigma is pervasive as Islam prohibits behaviors associated with risk factors associated with the transmission of HIV. These include pre-marriage sex, homosexuality, and intravenous drug use. People fear punishment from God, identification as HIV / AIDS positive and the future and death. HIV-positive experienced isolation and a lack of psychosocial and emotional support. In response to their experiences, many participants accepted their diagnoses as fate and became more religious, using spirituality as their primary coping strategy.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ What are HIV and AIDS? (en) . In: AVERT , June 23, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2018. 
  2. ↑ Richard Parker, Peter Aggleton: HIV and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination: a conceptual framework and implications for action . In: Social Science & Medicine . 57, No. 1, July 1, 2003, ISSN  0277-9536 , pp. 13-24. doi : 10.1016 / S0277-9536 (02) 00304-0 .
  3. ↑ Gay and Bisexual Men - HIV by Group - HIV / AIDS ( en-us ) In: cdc.gov . February 27, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  4. ↑ a b G.M. Herek (2002).
  5. ↑ GM Herek, JP Capitanio, KF Widaman (2002).
  6. ^ Lawrence K. Altman: New Homosexual Disorder Worries Health Officials (en) . Retrieved April 10, 2018. 
  7. ↑ HIV Stigma and Discrimination (s) . In: AVERT , July 20, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2018. 
  8. ↑ Civil Rights ( en ) In: HIV.gov . Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  9. ^ Paul Farmer: Structural Violence and Clinical Medicine . 
  10. ↑ Sandra D. Lane: Structural violence and racial disparity in HIV transmission . In: Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved . 15, No. 3, August 2004, pp. 319-335. doi : 10.1353 / hpu.2004.0043 .
  11. ↑ Monika ML dos Santos, Pieter Kruger, Shaun E Mellors, Gustaaf Wolvaardt, Elna van der Ryst: An exploratory survey measuring stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV / AIDS in South Africa: the People Living with HIV Stigma Index . In: BMC Public Health . 14, No. 1, January 27, 2014, ISSN  1471-2458 . doi : 10.1186 / 1471-2458-14-80 .
  12. ↑ Paul Farmer. 2006.
  13. ↑ a b G.M. Herek (1999).
  14. ↑ MJ Visser, JD Makin, A. Vandormael, KJ Sikkema, BWC Forsyth: HIV / AIDS Stigma In A South African Community . In: AIDS Care . 21, No. 2, February 2009. doi : 10.1080 / 09540120801932157 .
  15. ↑ Definition of STIGMA ( en ) In: www.merriam-webster.com . Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  16. ^ Cheryl Roth, Pauline F. Hrenchir, Christine J. Pacheco: HIV in Pregnancy .
  17. ↑ Sally Cameron, Jane Wilson, Julian Hows, Rodrigo Pascal, Jaime Todd-Gher, Liz Tremlett, Ann Stevens, John Godwin.