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Common at its Core: HIV-Related Stigma Across Contexts
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2005
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StigmatizationAids-related StigmaSocial SciencesMedical AnthropologyPrevention CarePublic HealthVulnerable Patient PopulationSexual And Reproductive HealthSocial StigmaHealth PolicyMental Health StigmaSexual StigmaHealth EquityHivSexual HealthTreatment And PreventionGlobal HealthInternational HealthHiv-related StigmaStigma StudiesSexual Orientation
HIV and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination together have long been recognized as one of the main obstacles to the prevention care and treatment of HIV and AIDS. Yet little has been done on a large scale to combat them. There are many reasons for this inaction including the belief of many policymakers that stigma is hard to define and measure making it difficult to design and implement interventions. Stigma it is believed is too cultural too context-specific and too sensitive to be addressed meaningfully. This report a synthesis of findings from research in four countries presents evidence suggesting that HIV and AIDS-related stigma is far less varied and context-specific than may have been imagined. In fact there are many more similarities than differences across these contexts in the key causes of stigma the forms stigma takes and the consequences of stigma. This finding opens a number of important avenues for intervention. It is time to make a concerted effort against stigma and discrimination in order to progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The report begins by defining stigma and in Section 2 providing background about the projects. Next it discusses that in spite of different contexts the four countries where the studies took place share key features that shape the nature and forms of HIV-related stigma. Section 3 presents findings focusing on the similarities across the four different country contexts and is broken down into the following sub-sections: (1) understanding the root causes of HIV-related stigma; (2) an overview of the main expressions or forms that stigma takes; and (3) the consequences or impact of HIV-related stigma. Section 4 concludes with a discussion of the way forward and an overview of the two anti-stigma toolkits that grew out of the projects findings: one that is suitable to many African settings; and one adapted from the first which is tailored for Vietnam but suitable for adaptation elsewhere in the Asian region. (excerpt)