As World AIDS Day 2007 approaches, one of the most serious obstacles to combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic is the stigma around it and the various forms that stigma takes around the world. Students at Georgetown University are not exempt.
Most commonly associated with people infected with HIV/AIDS, there is an equal and opposite negative association that affects those who are not threatened. This second type of stigma can be extremely dangerous because it produces apathy and ignorance toward the disease, which inevitably contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS. It frightens me that I have witnessed this apathy among Georgetown’s students, who are considered some of the country’s brightest and most promising youth. When the mobile testing unit comes to campus offering free HIV testing, I have overheard many students saying they do not need to be tested even though they are sexually active. Students obviously don’t understand that 1 in 20 adults in D.C. are infected with HIV/AIDS.
I recently had a discussion about HIV/AIDS with a group of black students. These students shared with me their feeling that the cultural upbringing of black youth differs from that of their peers so that many black students are afraid of getting tested. Due to the potent stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS as a “black” disease, they are somewhat embarrassed to go get tested around other people, as though they are contributing to the stigma—as in, “Oh look, that black girl needs to get tested for HIV.” We need to break down these barriers and promote attitudes of responsibility among people getting tested, instead of fear and shame.
On a broader scale, different causes of infection create multiple stigmata. Many people consider the disease outside of the United States to be primarily limited to Africa, and are not aware that, for example, Russia has the highest rate of increase of infection. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “an estimated 1.7 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in [Eastern Europe & Central Asia] … driven initially by injection drug use and increasingly heterosexual transmission.”
A negative association exists around intravenous drug victims of HIV/AIDS—people feel as though “druggies” either do not warrant help or are not worth the hassle. The common perception is that these individuals have already given their lives away to drugs and therefore society should not bother trying to heal them. I do not understand how people can be so quick to judge and fail to recognize that people are suffering from addiction.
Another aspect of the HIV/AIDS stigma is Brazil’s experience with applying for U.S. funds through PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief). The caveat of not being able to use money to aid sex workers was a huge frustration for Brazil, and therefore the country refused the funding. Instead, Brazil took its own initiative, and according to the Center of Disease Control, “Brazil provides free [Antiretroviral therapy] to all in need of treatment, and approximately 83% of HIV-infected persons receive therapy.” Brazil is a success story, having turned its back on U.S. policy, taken the HIV/AIDS epidemic into its own hands and produced favorable results.
While the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in the modern world has certainly evolved over the years, it is frightening that it is still so oppressive. Through the battle to conquer stigma will not end in the near future, I am confident that comprehensive education will progressively make substantial positive changes. The GU AIDS Coalition is working toward diminishing this stigma at Georgetown University through various events this week, AIDS Unity week, culminating in the third annual UnityLIVE benefit concert for Whitman Walker Clinic. The show will take place Friday, Nov. 30 th at 8 p.m. in Gaston Hall and features an eclectic group of students coming together, performing song, dance, step and spoken word all in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Peace up, AIDS down!
[For more information on GU AIDS Coalition or World AIDS events contact loz@georgetown.edu.]
