Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
HIV STIGMA
Believing that only certain groups of people can
get HIV
Making moral judgments about people who take
steps to prevent HIV transmission
Feeling that people deserve to get HIV because of
their choices
HIV DISCRIMINATION
A healthcare professional refusing to provide
care or services to a person living with HIV
Refusing casual contact with someone living with
HIV
Socially isolating a member of a community
because they are HIV (+)
Referring to people as HIVers or Positives
What causes HIV stigma?
Misconception about how HIV is transmitted and
what it means to live with HIV today
Lack of information and awareness with outdated
beliefs
Many people think of HIV as a disease that only
certain groups get
What are the effects of HIV stigma and
discrimination?
Stigma and discrimination affect the emotional well-
being & mental health of people living with HIV →
negative self-image → fear and judged negaLvely if
their HIV status is revealed
Internalized stigma or self-stigma → feeling of shame,
fear of disclosure, isolation, and despair → keep
people from getting tested and treated for HIV
Gender & HIV-AIDS
Powerlessness and lack of decision-making by female
farmworkers was common as female farmworkers
were dependent on their male partners to make
decisions in the workplace as well as decisions
regarding sexual matters in a relationship.
Farmworkers are continuously exposed to exploitation
and disempowerment in a variety of ways with very
little support from their supervisors, which makes
them vulnerable to contracting HIV (Klass et al, 2018).