About the project
The experiences of people living at the frontiers of the global HIV epidemic are all too often unheard and unseen. The individuals in this book – people living with HIV, men who have sex with men, and sex workers – invite us to share, in their own images and words, their experiences, hopes, and fears of living in a world irreversibly touched by HIV.
Nearly 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV and more than 8,000 people die of AIDS every day, but these statistics mask another reality – it is the most marginalised in society that are most affected by HIV. In many developing countries the percentage of sex workers and men who have sex with men who are are infected is higher than that of the general population.
In many societies sex work and sex between men are the subject of strong disapproval and legal and social taboos. Their association with HIV and AIDS compounds existing stigma and reinforces discrimination and human rights violations. These in turn fuel new infections and exacerbate the impact of HIV – both on populations that are key to the dynamics of the epidemic, and on the general population.
At the same time, the resources devoted to HIV prevention, treatment and care for these populations do not reflect the number of people living with HIV from these groups, or the impact of the virus on them.
With the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance is implementing the Frontiers Prevention Project – an initiative to prevent new HIV infections in Cambodia, Ecuador, India, Madagascar and Morocco by working with those groups who most affect and are most affected by, the epidemic.
The project is working with sex workers, men who have sex with men and people living with HIV to help them organise and respond to the challenges posed by HIV, and to provide vital HIV prevention services. In all five countries, the project has increased knowledge of HIV and how to prevent it; improved access to treatment for sexually transmitted infections; and created new community-based organisations and networks of people living with and affected by the virus that can provide support and services.
By working with community leaders and government officials, the project has also increased the political will to provide responses that are effective with these key communities. The project’s achievements have been impressive but also highlight how much more has to be done to break down stigma and discrimination, both in these countries and elsewhere.
Stigma and discrimination also mean that the lives and experiences of these populations are often shrouded in silence and invisibility. This makes it harder for communities affected by HIV to claim their rights, and for others to understand their experiences and needs. Unheard Voices, Hidden Lives is one step towards changing that.
This book is the result of a participatory photo project, which involved representatives from community-based organisations of men who have sex with men, sex workers and people living with HIV from the International HIV/AIDS Alliance’s Frontiers Prevention Project in India, Ecuador and Cambodia.
Participants met at workshops where they were given cameras and photographic training. With their new equipment and knowledge, they were asked to use photography to tell the story of their lives and those of their communities. The result is Unheard Voices, Hidden Lives. This participatory photo project was implemented in partnership with PhotoVoice.
