Abstract #131  -  4th survey on Discrimination against people living with HIV - Sida Info Service (France)
Authors:   Presenting Author:   Ms Elisabete de Carvalho - Sida Info Service
Additional Authors:  Ms Mathilde Coudray,
Aim: Twenty years after the beginning of the epidemic, and after as many years fighting the disease with initiatives and information on HIV/AIDS, discrimination and stigma are still very common. In 2009, Sida Info Service, the French HIV/AIDS helpline, conducted its fourth survey about discrimination against people living with HIV. Has there been a real change since the last edition of the survey in 2005?
Method / Issue: The study is based on data collected through questionnaires put to HIV positive callers (n=273). It focuses on the two main areas of discrimination identified in the previous editions of the survey: medical environment and employment.
Results / Comments: One out of two people rightly feel that they have been discriminated against because of their HIV condition. There are little differences on sex or age. However the rate of discrimination increases with the time since diagnosis — 48.9% for people diagnosed in the last 5 years versus 68.2% for people living with the condition for 20 years or more. Above all, respondents have reported recent cases: more than half (53%) occurred in the last four years. Almost half the people have suffered discrimination within the medical environment (48.4%): refusal of medical treatment, offending attitudes or remarks, violation of medical confidentiality. Among health professionals, dentists are the most often pointed out. However, all medical and paramedical categories are mentioned. About employment and professional life, more than a quarter of the respondents (27.1%) reported a discriminatory situation. Every stage of a professional life is concerned: from hiring to firing, through job stability and professional training. The scope of the situations mentioned are very wide: being isolated at social events, gossip, insults and moral harassment.
Discussion: As a 30-year-old woman said: “It is not the HIV that kills us but the others”. The results of this survey point out that AIDS is a social disease and stigmatization of people living with HIV contributes to marginalize. And it still happens in 2009. In France as everywhere in the world, discrimination against people living with HIV remains a barrier to prevention and care. The fear of discrimination or discrimination itself has serious repercussions on quality of life. It isolates and weakens people living with the condition. It prevents them from making personal or professional plans for the future, inhibits them from seeking medical care and standing for their rights. In spite of the numerous cases of discrimination, few complaints are reported. It does therefore constitute a barrier to dealing effectively with the disease. On the one hand, it hinders the task of dealing socially and medically with HIV positive people. And from a prevention point of view, it discourages the wider public to undergo HIV testing.
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