Abstract #3493  -  Engaging forced migrants in HIV research in Scotland - challenges and opportunities

Authors:

Presenting Author:

Dr George Palattiyil - The University of Edinburgh

Additional Authors

Dr Dina Sidhva

Aim:

Scotland has received a considerable number of migrants over the past two decades this includes several asylum seekers and refugees with HIV. Migration often results in serious health consequences for migrants due to the multiplicity of risks and vulnerabilities they are exposed to. Additionally they experience language and cultural barriers and other economic and social difficulties due to their unique legal status. This complexity is fuelled further in the context of HIV and forced migration. The ever-tightening UK immigration rules and the unique status of being an asylum seeker with HIV exacerbate their vulnerabilities, making them a hard- to-reach population.

Method / Issue:

While their lives in Scotland continue to perpetuate the desperate journeys that they make,there is a paucity of documented evidence that reflects their lived experiences. Drawing on a recent research that examined the human rights of HIV-positive asylum seekers in Scotland, this paper will explore the challenges of researching forced migrants with HIV. In particular, the paper will examine the dynamics of disclosure within their own community the fear of detention and deportation and its impact on HIV positive asylum seekers’ health seeking behaviour and how these can act as a barrier in care and prevention efforts. Pervasive stigma and fear of the immigration machinery often drive HIV positive asylum seekers underground and unwilling to engage with people they see as representing official bodies, including academic researchers. The paper will also examine a community engagement platform – HIV, Human Rights and Development Network (at the University of Edinburgh), set up in partnership with HIV positive asylum seekers/refugees, HIV charities in Scotland and Members of Scottish Parliament to share cutting edge research on the inextricable link between HIV, human rights, migration and development with the intention of informing policy and practice. This Network, while allowing further discussion of their unique status with Scotland’s policy circles, has also enabled a new participatory photo-voice research that aims to examine the narratives of positive women telling their own stories through pictures.

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