Stigma - a stumbling block to essential services
Stigma and discrimination against people associated with or living with HIV is often cited as one of the primary hurdles in addressing prevention and care issues, and as a stumbling block in ensuring access to essential services. .... by Kevin Osborne.
Despite all we have learned over the past twenty years about HIV-related stigma, it continues to thrive - fuelling the continued expansion of the epidemic. Stigma often builds upon and reinforces other existing prejudices, such as those related to gender, sexual orientation, behaviour and race. The devaluing power of stigma results in acts of overt discrimination and hampers access to vital services. As an organization founded on principles of human rights and ethics, IPPF is well positioned to ensure that we find creative and innovative mechanisms to combat its impact.
It is all too often assumed that stigma is directly related only to the HIV positive status of an individual, but key vulnerable populations such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, and young women and girls, often face a ‘double stigma'. The People Living with HIV Stigma Index aims to increase the global understanding of stigma by ensuring that the experience of stigma (as ‘felt' by people living with HIV) is succinctly addressed in both improved policy and programme responses.
As champions of the NGO Code of Good Practice - which sets out evidence-based, good practice principles that underscore successful NGO responses to HIV - IPPF has been involved in the development of a number of self-assessment tools. Two relevant modules, focusing on stigma and discrimination and the meaningful involvement of people living with HIV, will help you consider your own programmes based on good practice, and will also help to identify areas that can be strengthened.
Another way of combating stigma within an institutional setting is though an HIV workplace policy. A workplace policy, by bringing HIV out into the open, reduces stigma and discrimination as it lays down a standard of behaviour for all employees (whether infected or not). It gives guidance to supervisors and mangers and helps employees living with HIV to understand the support and care available to them. IPPF has a sound and robust workplace policy and programme which has acted as a catalyst for many of our regional offices and Member Associations to develop their own policies. While the percentage of IPPF's Member Associations that have a workplace policy in place has increased from 30.1% in 2005 to 40.7% in 2006, collectively we need to ensure that more is done.
Fundamentally the fight against HIV must be won at the individual level - where the realities of having to live, love, and work in the context of the epidemic need to be internalised. It begins with each one of us.
Kevin Osborne is the Senior HIV Advisor at IPPF