Hiv/Aids Stigma free essay sample

Stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS are the greatest barriers to preventing further infections, providing adequate care, support and treatment and alleviating impact. HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination are universal, occurring in every country and region of the world. They are triggered by many forces, including lack of understanding of the disease, myths about how HIV is transmitted, prejudice, lack of treatment, irresponsible media reporting on the epidemic, the fact that AIDS is incurable, social fears about sexuality, fears relating to illness and death, and fears about illicit drugs and injecting drug use. In many parts of South Asia, stigma and discrimination is routinely faced by people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. Many others are discriminated because of their sexual orientation and choice of professional occupation. This paper examines the role stigma and discrimination play in the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the context of South Asia. We will write a custom essay sample on Hiv/Aids Stigma or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The most affected are people living with HIV/AIDS, especially women and young girls. Also greatly affected are women and girls in households with HIV, irrespective of their personal HIV status, despite them being the principal caregivers and sustaining the family. HIV/AIDS further reinforces stereotypes and fuels the already existing gender-based discrimination against girls and women in the South Asian region. Young people are often denied information on HIV/AIDS and have limited access to prevention and care services, even though half of new infections in the region occur among them. Orphans whose parents have died of AIDS often drop out of school due to stigma and discrimination faced by them at school. Many of them end up in streets and often are sexually exploited. In addition they face violence, and are vulnerable to trafficking, substance abuse and child labour. The Declaration of Commitment, adopted by the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS in June 2001, in which all South Asian countries participated, highlights global consensus on the importance of tackling the stigma and discrimination triggered by HIV/AIDS. All over the world, the shame and stigma associated with the epidemic have silenced open discussion, both of its causes and of appropriate responses. This has caused those infected with HIV and affected by the disease to feel guilty and ashamed, unable to express their views, and fearful that they will not be taken seriously. And they have led politicians and policy-makers in numerous countries to deny that there is a problem, and that urgent action needs to be taken. The stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS have many other effects. In particular, they have powerful psychological consequences for how people with HIV/AIDS come to see themselves, leading, in some cases, to depression, lack of self-worth and despair. Some also contemplate and commit suicide. They also undermine prevention by making people afraid to find out whether or not they are infected, for fear of the reactions of others. They cause those at risk of infection and some of those affected to continue practising unsafe sex in the belief that behaving differently would raise suspicion about their HIV-positive status. They also cause people with HIV/AIDS erroneously to be seen as some kind of ‘problem’, rather than part of the solution to containing and managing the epidemic. The impact of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination does not end here. It also affects the capacity of societies to respond constructively to the devastation caused by the epidemic. HIV/AIDS-related stigma does not arise out of the blue, nor is it something dreamed up in the minds of wicked individuals. Instead, like responses to diseases such as leprosy, cholera and polio in the past, it plays to deep-rooted social fears and anxieties. Understanding more about these issues, and the social norms they reinforce, is essential to adequately responding to HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. Otherwise, we run the risk of developing programmes and interventions that are not comprehensive, thus achieving little impact.