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Apr 2nd, 2004 - 12:02:11 |
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Take a look at the project documents section for a report on the panel discussion on youth, gender, and HIV & AIDS that the NGO Committee on Youth organized for the Commission on the Status of Women in March.
Feb 24th, 2004 - 11:01:30 |
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Week 3 of the online discussion focused on Stigma and Discrimination, what that looks like participants’ communities and how to fight it.
--Stigma Takes Many Forms--
Mawuli (Ghana) wrote, “Stigmatization attempts to make people view people living with HIV/AIDS as people who are condemned to death, cursed and have nothing to offer but to wait to die.” Stigma takes many forms, including rejection and avoidance of PLWA, physical violence towards those affected by HIV/AIDS, and hesitancy in disclosing AIDS as the cause of death. This is best summarized by Henry (Uganda) when he said that stigma is the attitude and discrimination is the act.
To some people, stigma is a fear of the eventuality, a fear of the lack of any cure (Douglas, Kenya). James Hoyt (USA) addressed where stigma comes from, “Most people believe that only 'bad' people become infected and that they deserve the illness and all of the problems associated with the illness--sort of like this is punishment for their sins, type of an attitude.”
--The Silence of Social Norms--
Budi (Australia) discussed the link between the stigma associated with AIDS and the stigma associated with men who have sex with men: “Somehow ‘straight’ men who have sex with men do not consider themselves in a risk group, simply because they are not gay.” Budi also says that patriarchal societies contribute to this stigma by labeling women who have sex as sluts, bitches, or whores.
Henry (Uganda) brought up that it isn’t just HIV+ people or PLWA but those associated with them, such as AIDS orphans, widows, and widowers that are stigmatized. Participants also mentioned the self-stigma that HIV+/PLWA feel as a result of societal norms, and this contributes to positive people being unable to lead a normal, healthy life or talk about their status. For example, no one in this discussion has disclosed his or her positive status.
---My friend with AIDS is still my friend--
Douglas Arege (Kenya) illustrated the difficulty of fighting stigma, even among people who are educated: “I recently underwent an HIV/ AIDS course in university and it was a challenge and gave a lot of us hope to tackle AIDS, we interacted with AIDS sufferers and although we had undergone good training still not many would come up and talk to them freely.”
James Hoyt argued that “once people realize that 'good' people can become infected thru no fault of their own, that the face of stigma is destroyed.” Freyhiwot Nadew (Ethopia) talked about the importance of consciousness raising in combating stigma. Masuka (Zambia) described the “My Friend With AIDS Is Still My Friend” campaign there and talked about how other AIDS activists proposed “I Have AIDS, Am I Still Your Friend?” as a more effective slogan for fighting stigma.
--Religion-enforcing stigma or rising above it?--
Religious beliefs were usually seen as reinforcing stigma. Several participants talked about how AIDS is associated with witchcraft and punishment for evil deeds, or was at one time, and how that influences the way people with AIDS are treated. Alexandra (Zimbabwe/USA) noted, “In a way religion makes a person inactive because they hope for God's/Ancestors blessings instead of taking action themselves.”
Tchaiko (USA) talked about how religion could have a positive effect if religious leaders approached sexuality from the perspective of love and respect: “what if, religion behaved the way it should, it was loving and accepting of everyone despite sexuality, despite difference in religion. What if pastors, imams, would not make gay people think they were immoral, and would not make young people feel like they were going to hell when they had sex before marriage.”
--More on Prevention--
Although the topic of the week was stigma, many responses still addressed prevention. Debate continues about condom use. The reliability of condoms was questioned; however, numerous studies show that they are very effective when used properly. There was concern that often people do not use condoms when caught up in “the heat of the moment.” Additionally, the group heard from Steve (Nigeria) that the “majority of the AIDS cases are not as a result of sexual contacts.” However, we immediately heard back from Jodi (USA) that the majority of new infections are through sexual contact. According to UNAIDS, over 70% of HIV infections worldwide are estimated to occur through sex between men and women.
--For further discussion--
Additionally, we have seen a lack of discussion about men who have sex with men. This was mentioned as contributing to a high rate of infection in many countries in our introduction to last week’s questions. We regret that we have not specifically mentioned this topic in discussion questions and hope that more responses will address this issue-both as it relates to prevention, stigma and care. In our week of wrap-up and reflection, we will come back to this issue and cover other topics that need further discussion.
--Words of Hope--
As we conclude this summary, we quote Henry (Uganda) to give us some hope:
“Stigma in this country has reduced significantly, [I’m] not saying it no longer exists. We also need to address stigma in relation to care. If care and support services are available, people with HIV will be less discriminated [because] they will get treatment and will be [healthy] and plan for their families.”
Henry also had some good advice for all of us. To stop the spread of stigma, we should say people living with AIDS (PLWA), instead of victims or sufferers. We should also promote testing, treatment, counseling and care, including access to voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), the disclosure of sero-status, and the provision of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs).
This is only a short summary, and therefore not comprehensive of all the comments made in the discussion.
For the full archives, please visit:
http://groups.takingitglobal.org/GenderAIDS/messages
For more information on our project visit:
http://projects.takingitglobal.org/genderAIDS
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