Rising above HIV diagnosis and turning pain into purpose
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Shobha Shukla – CNS
Contd from previous issue
Things have improved now but stigma is still rampant. I see it in the hospitals. Hospital staff behave very differently once they come to know of our HIV status. Till they do not know our status we are treated like any other patient. But once we disclose our status for any follow up medical procedures to be safer, their attitude changes instantly and they fear even to touch us or even come near to us," said Sneha.
Sneha’s fears are corroborated by the HIV Stigma Index 2.0 Report from 25 countries (including India). It shows that 13% of people living with HIV experienced stigma and discrimination when seeking HIV-related care in the past 12 months, and 25% reported such experiences when seeking non-HIV-related healthcare, including 12% who reported being denied non-HIV-related healthcare completely.
(To be contd)
Contd from previous issue
Things have improved now but stigma is still rampant. I see it in the hospitals. Hospital staff behave very differently once they come to know of our HIV status. Till they do not know our status we are treated like any other patient. But once we disclose our status for any follow up medical procedures to be safer, their attitude changes instantly and they fear even to touch us or even come near to us," said Sneha.
Sneha’s fears are corroborated by the HIV Stigma Index 2.0 Report from 25 countries (including India). It shows that 13% of people living with HIV experienced stigma and discrimination when seeking HIV-related care in the past 12 months, and 25% reported such experiences when seeking non-HIV-related healthcare, including 12% who reported being denied non-HIV-related healthcare completely.
(To be contd)