HIV/ AIDS

In addition to the distress they cause, stigma and discrimination are major obstacles to effective HIV/AIDS prevention.

For example, HIV prejudice prevents people who live with HIV from publicly acknowledging their HIV status. People with, or suspected of having HIV, may be turned away from health care services, denied housing and employment, shunned by their friends and colleagues, turned down for insurance coverage or refused entry into foreign countries. In some cases, they may be evicted from home by their families, left by their partners, and suffer physical violence or even murder.

The stigma attached to HIV/AIDS often extends to the children of those who are HIV positive, placing a huge emotional burden on children who may also have to cope with death of their parent(s) from AIDS. Some groups of people, for example gay men and people of Black African origin, experience multiple prejudice and discrimination based on both their HIV status and their ethnicity and/or sexuality.

For organisations working on HIV/AIDS please search our What's in my Area database.