Reducing stigma and discrimination related to injecting drug use, Mexico

In 2005, Irapuato Vive took part in a participatory community assessment in Irapuato, Guanajuato, that highlighted several behaviours that place injecting drug users at a greater risk of HIV. The assessment showed that injecting drug users think there is a low risk of transmitting HIV through injecting drug use. It also showed that within the community:

  • the majority of injecting drug users are sexually active and do not use condoms with either their long-term or occasional partners
  • some men exchange sex with other men to obtain drugs and often do not use condoms
  • high levels of self-stigma lead injecting drug users to believe that they do not have any rights
  • the social context of discrimination and marginalisation makes it difficult for injecting drug users to access HIV prevention and treatment services.

The assessment also uncovered that the local and national health authorities, including the national programme for HIV, were unaware that there was a population of injecting drug users in this area of the country.

The findings of the participatory community assessment led Irapuato Vive to increase its focus on injecting drug users and design a project to reduce stigma and discrimination related to HIV and injecting drug use.

Focused advocacy as part of the project has led to the state HIV programme, the local ministries of family and health, the municipal committee against addictions and the local court all committing to provide their services to injecting drug users without discrimination and to allocate resources to provide information specifically for injecting drug users about harm reduction, HIV and stigma.

The work has also caught the attention of local television stations and newspapers, who, for the first time have started to talk about the link between injecting drug use and HIV.

Irapuato Vive has also changed the way it thinks about its work through this project. It has expanded its services and positioned HIV and injecting drug use as a visible theme. As a result, programming to combat stigma and discrimination has become a core focus of Irapuato Vive’s institutional strategy.

Background

Irapuato Vive is an implementing partner of Colectivo Sol and offers a wide range of programmes and activities related to HIV prevention, care and support. The project to reduce stigma and discrimination related to HIV and injecting drug use also includes information about HIV; instructions about safe usage of syringes, access to new needles, syringes and supplies; condom distribution; and coordination of support services for rehabilitation from addictions.