Overcoming stigma and discrimination
"Interactive Dialogue - Women of Faith Creating a Safer World: Addressing Stigma and Discrimination"
On Tuesday, July 20, 2010, women of faith active in the HIV and AIDS response gathered at the Multi-Faith Networking Zone within the Global Village at the International AIDS Conference, to discuss the issues of stigma and discrimination and how, as women of faith, they can work towards putting an end to this terrible reality. The interactive, intergenerational, conversation, consisting of a diverse panel of YWCA women from different regions, cultures and faith, as well as women living with HIV, was organised by the World YWCA and facilitated by Marie-Claude Julsaint, World YWCA Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean.
At the centre of the discussion were the questions “why is it that after so many years stigma is still attached to HIV?” , and “what are women of faith going to do to work towards eliminating this stigma?” To put things into perspective the video “Out of the Box” was shown. This documentary is about stigma and discrimination and what happens when secondary school students meet a woman living with HIV, Lorna Hamilton-Henry, for the first time. Ms. Hamilton-Henry was also part of the panel.
It was clear that participants believed that the main reason for continued stigma and discrimination is a lack of information and education. Despite all the information readily available, there still remains a need to further educate people and to reach those who have not yet received such information. Other factors thought to also contribute to the problem included religious leaders thinking that contracting HIV is a sin, culture and traditions and government actions (eg. having separate clinics for people living with HIV).
Because of the continued stigma attached to HIV the women on the panel highlighted how life can become very challenging for women living with the virus. Women who are positive often face abandonment by their husband and family, forced sterilisation and, in many cases, they are seen as the ones responsible for spreading the virus.
Self discrimination was also at the centre of the debate and, as one woman pointed out, “we have all faced stigma at one time or another in our lives, but as individuals we must feel comfortable and confident about ourselves as, most of the time, people see us the way we see and portray ourselves.”
As women of faith, they believed that the solution to ending stigma and discrimination lay within the church. There is a need for the church to ask why they are pushing people away rather than helping them and searching for solutions. We need to be able to start a conversation around sexuality, a topic difficult to discuss within the church but one which cannot be dismissed.
The session concluded with everyone sharing what they felt a safe world would look like, As the women so beautifully put it, it is a world where all women, positive or negative, old or young, are able to share and discuss. A world where care, treatment and support are readily available to all those who need it. Most importantly, however, it is a world free from stigma and discrimination.
Related Link:
- Visit the World YWCA Blog Women Leading Change
