Stigma and discrimination fuel HIV infections and exacerbate the impact of AIDS
24 November 2005
HIV-related stigma and discrimination are the enemies of public health and seriously inhibit effective responses to HIV/AIDS according to the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
Speaking at a global meeting on HIV/AIDS and reproductive health at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Alliance’s Executive Director Alvaro Bermejo told ministry officials that some 20 years into the pandemic HIV-related stigma and discrimination continue to threaten the effectiveness of HIV prevention and care programmes.
“Stigma and discrimination create a climate that negatively impacts on effective prevention by discouraging individuals from coming forward for testing, and from seeking information on how to protect themselves and others,” he said.
“HIV-related discrimination is a violation of the fundamental right to be treated with equality and respect. Human rights violations that fuel the epidemic and exacerbate the impact of HIV/AIDS include sexual violence and coercion, abuse of men who have sex with men, sex workers and injecting drug users, and violations of the right of young people to information on HIV transmission.
“Unfortunately we continue to fail to address the problem of this hostile environment which exists throughout the world.
“People living with HIV are subject to stigmatisation and discrimination in society, including in the workplace and in accessing government services. For example women whose husbands have died of AIDS are regularly rejected by their families, and their property is frequently taken from them.
“Thousands of children who have lost parents to AIDS or whose parents are living with the disease lose their inheritance rights, take on hazardous labour including prostitution, and are forced to live on the streets where they are subject to police violence and other abuses.
Dr Bermejo told participants in the meeting how many of the Alliance’s partners are struggling to scale up effective prevention programmes in settings such as these. He also spoke about the cutting edge stigma and discrimination reduction work that the Alliance supports including our regional programme in Africa and Mexico.
In closing Dr Bermejo invited the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work with the Alliance and civil society more broadly, to help put the rights of vulnerable groups and communities and the rights and interests of people living with HIV at the centre of our response to the pandemic – in order to help reduce stigma and discrimination and ultimately help reduce vulnerability and mitigate the pandemic’s impact.
