Stigma
AIDS stigma exists around the world in a variety of ways,
including ostracism, rejection, discrimination and avoidance of HIV infected
people; compulsory HIV testing without prior consent or protection ofconfidentiality; violence against HIV infected individuals or
people who are perceived to be infected with HIV; and the quarantine of HIV infected individuals. Stigma-related violence or the fear of violence
prevents many people from seeking HIV testing, returning for their results, or
securing treatment, possibly turning what could be a manageable chronic illness
into a death sentence and perpetuating the spread of HIV.
AIDS stigma has been further divided into the following three
categories:
·
Instrumental
AIDS stigma—a reflection of the
fear and apprehension that are likely to be associated with any deadly and
transmissible illness.
·
Symbolic
AIDS stigma—the use of HIV/AIDS to
express attitudes toward the social groups or lifestyles perceived to be
associated with the disease.
·
Courtesy
AIDS stigma—stigmatization of
people connected to the issue of HIV/AIDS or HIV- positive people.[195]
Often, AIDS stigma is expressed in conjunction with one or more
other stigmas, particularly those associated with homosexuality, bisexuality, promiscuity,
prostitution, and intravenous drug use.
In many developed countries, there is an association between AIDS and
homosexuality or bisexuality, and this association is correlated with higher
levels of sexual prejudice such as anti-homosexual/bisexual attitudes. There is also a perceived association between AIDS and all
male-male sexual behavior, including sex between uninfected men. However, the dominant mode of spread worldwide
for HIV remains heterosexual transmission.
Economic impact
HIV/AIDS affects the economics of both individuals and countries. The gross domestic product of the most affected countries have decreased due to the lack of human capital. Without proper
nutrition, health care and medicine, large numbers of people die from
AIDS-related complications. They will not only be unable to work, but will also
require significant medical care. It is estimated that as of 2007 there where
12 million AIDS orphans. Many are cared for by elderly grandparents.
By affecting mainly young adults, AIDS reduces the taxable
population, in turn reducing the resources available for public expenditures such as education and health services not related to AIDS
resulting in increasing pressure for the state's finances and slower growth of
the economy. This results in a slower growth of the tax base, an effect that is
reinforced if there are growing expenditures on treating the sick, training (to
replace sick workers), sick pay and caring for AIDS orphans. This is especially
true if the sharp increase in adult mortality shifts the responsibility and
blame from the family to the government in caring for these orphans.
At the household level, AIDS results in both the loss of income
but also increased spending on healthcare. A study in Côte d'Ivoire showed that households with an HIV/AIDS patient,
spent twice as much on medical expenses as other households. This additional
expenditure also leaves less income to spend on education and other personal or
family investment.
Religion and AIDS
The topic of religion and AIDS has become highly controversial in
the past twenty years, primarily because some religious authorities have publicly
declared their opposition to the use of condoms. The religious approach to prevent the spread of AIDS according to
a report by American health expert Matthew Hanley titled The Catholic Church and the Global Aids Crisis argues that cultural changes are needed
including a re-emphasis on fidelity within marriage and sexual abstinence
outside of it.
Some religious organisations have claimed that prayer can cure
HIV/AIDS. In 2011, the BBC reported that some churches in London were claiming
that prayer would cure AIDS, and the Hackney-based Centre for the
Study of Sexual Health and HIV reported that several people stopped taking
their medication, sometimes on the direct advice of their pastor, leading to a
number of deaths. TheSynagogue Church Of All Nations advertise an "anointing water" to
promote God's healing, although the group deny advising people to stop taking
medication.
Media portrayal
One of the first high profile cases of AIDS was the American Rock Hudson, a gay actor who had been married and divorced
earlier in life, who died on 2 October 1985 having announced that he was suffering
from the virus on 25 July that year. He had been diagnosed during 1984. A notable British casualty of AIDS that year was Nicholas Eden, a gay politician and son of the late prime
ministerAnthony Eden[ On November 24, 1991, the virus claimed the life of British rock
star Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the band Queen, who died from an AIDS related illness having
only revealed the diagnosis on the previous day. However he had been diagnosed
as HIV positive during 1987. One of the first high
profile heterosexual cases of the virus was Arthur Ashe, the American tennis player. He was diagnosed
as HIV positive on 31 August 1988, having contracted the virus from blood
transfusions during heart surgery earlier in the 1980s. Further tests within 24
hours of the initial diagnosis revealed that Ashe had AIDS, but he did not tell
the public about his diagnosis until April 1992. He died, aged 49, as a result on 6 February 1993.
Therese Frare's photograph of gay activist David Kirby, as he lay dying from AIDS while surrounded by family, was taken
in April 1990.LIFE magazine said the photo became the one image "most powerfully
identified with the HIV/AIDS epidemic." The photo was displayed in LIFE magazine, was the winner of the World Press Photo, and acquired worldwide notoriety after being
used in a United Colors of Benetton advertising campaign in 1992.
Denial, conspiracies, and misconceptions
A small group of individuals continue to dispute the connection
between HIV and AIDS, the existence of HIV itself, or the validity of HIV
testing and treatment methods. These claims, known as AIDS denialism, have been examined and rejected by the
scientific community. However, they have had a
significant political impact, particularly in South Africa, where the government's official embrace of
AIDS denialism (1999-2005) was responsible for its ineffective response to that
country's AIDS epidemic, and has been blamed for hundreds of thousands of
avoidable deaths and HIV infections. Operation INFEKTION was a worldwide Sovietactive measures operation to spread information that the United
States had created HIV/AIDS. Surveys show that a significant number of people
believed – and continue to believe – in such claims.
There are many misconceptions about HIV and AIDS. Three of the most common are that AIDS can
spread through casual contact, that sexual intercourse with a virgin will cure
AIDS, and that HIV can infect only homosexual men and drug users. Other
misconceptions are that any act of anal intercourse between two uninfected gay
men can lead to HIV infection, and that open discussion of homosexuality and
HIV in schools will lead to increased rates of homosexuality and AIDS.
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