HIV/AIDS

STIGMA
Whats the difference
between HIV and AIDS?
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)
and AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome) may be thought of as two
stages of an autoimmune disease.
HIV is the initial infection
AIDS is when the immune system is so
depleted that the body has no ability to
fight back not normally fatal infections
(AIDS.org)
Helper T (TH) cells are critical to coordinating
the activity of the immune response.
The normal CD4 T helper cells is 500-
1500/mm3
of blood and normal life span is 100 days.
HIV asymptomatic = more than
500CD4+/mm3
and last for 8-10 years
HIV symptomatic = 200-499CD4+/mm3
AIDS = CD4T helper cells= 50-200/mm3

WHICH BODY FLUIDS
CONTAIN HIV?
CONTAIN HIV DO NOT CONTAIN HIV

Blood
Semen
Pre-seminal fluid
Breast milk
Vaginal fluids
Rectal (anal) mucous
Amniotic fluid


Saliva
Tears
Sweat
Feces
Urine
Photo from: AIDS.gov
Stigma and Discrimination
Stigma refers to unfavourable attitudes and beliefs directed
toward someone or something. It happens when others
devalue a person or a group of people because they are
associated with a certain disease, behaviour or practice.
Discrimination is the treatment of an individual or group with
partiality or prejudice
Stigmatization reflects an attitude
Discrimination is an act or behaviour

Root Causes
1. The role of knowledge about HIV and AIDS and fear
surrounding it.
Ogden and Nyblade believe that the fear of
transmission from casual transmission, and the various
"what if scenarios" are the result of 1) the lack of
specific, in-depth information about HIV transmission,
2) fear-based public messaging, and 3) the evolving
nature of knowledge about HIV and AIDS.
2. The role of values, norms, and moral judgment
This stigma is exacerbated by the seriousness of the
illness, its mysterious nature, and its association with
behaviours that are either illegal or socially sensitive
(e.g., sex, prostitution, and drug use). Also relevant is
the perception that HIV infection is the product of
personal choice: that one chooses to engage in "bad"
behaviours that put one at risk and so it is "one's own
fault" if HIV infection ensues."





Forms of stigma
Verbal stigma
Gossip, taunting, scolding
Labelling: in Africa: "moving skeleton,"
"walking corpse," and "keys to the mortuary."
In Vietnam: "social evils," and "scum of
society.

Institutionalized stigma
Barred from jobs, scholarships, visas
Denial of health services
Police harrassment

Factors that can lead to AIDS
Discrimination and Stigma
HIV is a deadly disease that many people fear.
Some adults still wrongly believe that they can catch
HIV through casual contact, such as sharing and drinking
glass or touching a toilet seat. This greatly increases their
fear about being near people who are infected.
Many people connect HIV and AIDS with behaviors that
are already stigmatized, such as sex between men or
injecting drugs.
Some people believe that having HIV or AIDS is the
person's own fault. For example, they might think it's the
result of moral weakness and deserves to be punished.

Expressed in many ways:
1. Ostracism, rejection, and avoidance
of people with AIDS (PWAs)
2. Discrimination against PWAs
3. Compulsory HIV testing without prior
consent or protection of
confidentiality
4. Violence against persons who are
perceived to have AIDS or to be
infected with HIV
5. Quarantine of persons with HIV
The Different Rights
The right to non-discrimination, equal
protection, and equality before the law.
The right to the highest attainable standard of
health resources. This ensures that patients
with HIV/AIDS can be able to access health
treatment and they may not be refused
emergency medical treatment.
The right to work. This right ensures that they
can acquire work and not be discriminated
regardless of their health status.

The Different Rights
The right to liberty and security of the person.
- This right empowers the patients to make their
own decisions about medical treatment and it
protects them from being treated in a cruel and
inhumane manner.
The right of freedom of movement.
- It allows persons who are infected to freely
move around the country, hence they cannot be
forced to live in a separate place away from the
society.
The right of freedom of movement.
- It allows persons who are infected to freely
move around the country, hence they cannot be
forced to live in a separate place away from the
society

Confidentiality
- Ethical reporting of HIV/AIDS requires that
confidentiality of those with the virus and their family and
friends, is respected. Identities or addresses should not
be revealed or hinted at without their permission.
Information given in confidence should never be passed
or made accessible to others, inside or out the media.

Equity/distributive justice
Respect for the person
Informed consent
LEGAL ISSUES
Bragdon v. Abbot Supreme Court Case:
Court ruled that HIV is included in the
1990 Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA).
Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
designed to protect the privacy of patients
records.
Legal Issues PH
The Revised Philippine HIV and AIDS
Policy and Program Act of 2012.

Religious Issues
Churches and Mosques have been
the source of stigma and religious
leaders have been slow to respond to
the epidemic.
Societal beliefs that associate HIV
with sin have caused many religious
leaders to label the virus as a
punishment from God.

Morality According to
Pragmatism
Government
Restrictions on Traveling &Stay
Employment
Community
Family

Useful, workable, beneficial
Morality According to Categorical
Imperative

First Formulation:
Act only according to that maxim whereby you
can at the same time will that it should
become a universal law without
contradiction.
Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals

Second Formulation:
Act in such a way that you treat humanity,
whether in your own person or in the person
of any other, never merely as a means to an
end, but always at the same time as an end.
Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals

BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/how-you-get-hiv-aids/
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4968085_how-aids-transmitted.html
http://www.manilatimes.net/philippine-officials-struggle-to-erase-hivaids-
stigma/28886/
http://www.congress.gov.ph/press/details.php?pressid=6770
http://www.aidstar-
one.com/sites/default/files/resources/external/health_policy_initiative/877_1_
KENERELA_FINAL_acc.pdf