AIDSImpact.com:: - Santa Fe, USA 2011

Abstract #387 - HIV, human rights and asylum seekers: Some emerging evidence from Scotland
Authors: Presenting Author: Dr George Palattiyil - University of Edinburgh
Additional Authors: Dr Dina Sidhva,
Aim: HIV thrives in conditions of powerlessness, poverty, exploitation and social- exclusion. The very issues that compel people to seek asylum are the ones that drive the epidemic and make asylum seekers particularly vulnerable to HIV. This when coupled with a lack of support and access to appropriate medical care has the potential of denying fundamental human rights and dehumanising people who are already fleeing circumstances threatening their very existence. HIV in the UK continues to rise, with Black African diagnoses being three times higher than that of the general population (National AIDS Trust, 2008). According to the Health Protection Agency (Scotland) (2011) there are currently 4033 persons living with HIV in Scotland. This includes a number of asylum seekers with uncertain immigration status, who since the introduction of the dispersal policy in 2000 have been dispersed to Scotland. Dispersal often results in serious consequences for a HIV positive person’s health and wellbeing. Although, they are an increasingly visible group within Scottish society, little is known about how their health needs are being met and the vulnerabilities they experience on account of being positive and living with the potential threat of deportation. Against this backdrop, this study explored the lived experiences, human rights issues and dilemmas faced by HIV-positive asylum seekers in Scotland.
Method / Issue: The study was designed to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences that HIV-positive asylum seekers faced since being dispersed to Scotland, with a particular focus on human rights issues. Given the complexities and uncertainties associated with accessing a vulnerable and hard-to-population, a qualitative research design was adopted that helped to construct a narrative of the lived experiences of HIV-positive asylum seekers. Having gained ethical approval, participants were recruited through voluntary agencies in Glasgow. Interviews were held with 20 HIV-positive Black Africans; including 16 women and 4 men and 2 focus group meetings.
Results / Comments: The narratives provide a chilling glimpse of their lived experiences as they journeyed from their own country to a country they call ‘home’. On the one hand, the emerging themes portray their vulnerabilities, struggle and risks to personal safety juxtaposed against the backdrop of denial of support and potential deportation by the UKBA to a country where HIV treatment is limited or beyond the reach of these individuals. On the other, the narratives attest to the unstinting care and support they receive from a few voluntary agencies and a specialist HIV clinic.
Discussion: The emerging findings indicate a number of issues relevant for a critical debate about how the wellbeing and human rights of HIV-positive asylum seekers in Scotland are being affected. Critical also to this debate are the issues of stigma on disclosure of HIV within one’s own community and outside, and the UKBA’s ‘culturally insensitive’ and at times ‘inhumane’ practices. Multiple jeopardy marks many of their lives. Human rights of positive asylum seekers continue to require deeper policy attention—a realisation of their rights is vital in reducing vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.
Go Back