Gender, Hiv/Aids And Stigma: Understanding Prejudice Against Women Living With Hiv/Aids
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Introduction
The focus of the World AIDS campaign for the years 2002-2003 has been particularly on stigma, discrimination and human rights.
The main objective of the campaign was to prevent, reduce and ultimately eliminate HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination, wherever, it occurred and all in all its forms. HIV/AIDS related stigma and discrimination are universal, occurring in every country and region. It is 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 (Peter Aggleton & Richard Parker, 2002:5).
Throughout the world, shame and stigma associated with HIV/AIDS 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 power relations that underscore gender relations and that tightly intersect with discrimination of women mean that women are unable to say “No” to unwanted or unprotected sex. There are well-documented cases of people with HIV/AIDS being stigmatised, discriminated against and denied access to services on the grounds of their serostatus. At work, in education, in health care and in the community, people may lack the education to understand that HIV/AIDS cannot be transmitted through everyday contact, and they may not know that infection can be avoided by the adoption of relatively simple precautions (Peter Aggleton & Richard Parker, 2002:5).
HIV...
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