Module 8: Human rights and dignity

HIV related stigma and discrimination

• Many people still know very little about HIV and do not understand that such stigma
and discrimination can be very harmful to individuals living with HIV.
• Many people don’t understand how HIV is transmitted.
• Sometimes people start to think of particular groups of people as automatically
having HIV, for example people from Southern Africa, or men who have sex with
men. Sometimes these people are accused of ‘spreading HIV’ even if they are not
HIV-positive.
• A lot of stigma and discrimination is based on either prejudice or a lack of knowledge.
It can affect individuals at work, or at home. It can even lead to the breakdown of
marriages, families and communities.
• HIV-related stigma refers to the negative beliefs, feelings and attitudes towards
people living with HIV and/or associated with HIV.
• HIV-related discrimination refers to the unfair and unjust treatment (act or
omission) of an individual based on his or her real or perceived HIV status.
• Discrimination may occur in families, workplaces, health-care services, prisons,
schools, places of worship and within social networks, or in the context of housing,
insurance, social support, travel, migration and the granting of asylum and refugee
settlement.
• Discrimination can be institutionalised through existing laws, policies and practices
that negatively target people living with HIV and marginalized groups.
• Discrimination is a human rights violation and is prohibited by international human
rights law and most national constitutions.

Stigma for men and women

• Reactions to people living with HIV are sometimes based on judgmental ideas about
how men and women should be and behave.
• Others may make assumptions about people’s sexual conduct.
• The sexes may be treated differently when it comes to help, support and services.
• Stigma can have a harsher impact on women than on men.
• It’s very important not to impose personal values on others.
• There’s still a lot of gender inequality in terms of sexuality.
• Men and women living with HIV may also be isolated from social events, verbally or
physically abused, denied health services, job or a promotion because of their HIV
status.
• Women are often the ones who look after family members with HIV, even if they also
have the virus, in addition to supporting the family financially.
The effects of stigma

• Stigma affects people who don’t know their HIV status by discouraging them from
getting tested and seeking information because they are afraid of discrimination.
• Stigma also affects people who are living with HIV by making them unwilling to use
the health services that are available to them because they are afraid that people will
find out and that they will be discriminated against.
• Stigma in the workplace prevents employees from getting tested, attending learning
sessions and looking for information on HIV.

HIV and human rights

• What makes HIV different from many other diseases is that it is closely connected to
many human rights issues. Protecting the human rights to education, information,
privacy, and freedom from violence helps prevent HIV.
• Human rights violations can make people more vulnerable to HIV and can impact the
ability of people living with HIV to live dignified lives.
• Criminalising same-sex acts between consenting adults makes men who have sex
with men more vulnerable to HIV.
• Approximately 80 member states of the United Nations have criminalized same-sex
acts between consenting adults.
• The right of people living with HIV to liberty of movement is violated by HIV-related
travel restrictions. There are many countries around the world that won’t let you in,
will limit your stay or even deport you if you are HIV-positive.
• People living with HIV are also sometimes denied the right to marry and have a
family.
• Although it is possible to significantly reduce new infections among children during
pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding, and to keep their mothers alive, women living with
HIV sometimes face forced abortions and sterilisations.
• People living with HIV can face barriers to getting health insurance, housing,
education, medical care, and even funeral services.
• Outside of the UN system, there can be discrimination in terms of recruitment for
particular jobs or locations for work.
• Children living with HIV are still sometimes refused access to schools.