Rising above HIV diagnosis and turning pain into purpose
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Shobha Shukla – CNS
Contd from previous issue
High prevalence of self-stigma
“Most of our community also have self-stigma. They do not want to come forward and share their problems because of self-stigma. Even I have that fear that people will not understand and would treat you like a black spot if they come to know of your status. None of my friends know that I am living with HIV. I have already faced discrimination from my relatives and I fear that if I share my HIV status with my friends, I would get the same reaction from them," said Sneha.
Mirroring trends across the Asia-Pacific region, the HIV Stigma Index 2.0 data from India reveals that internalised stigma (feelings of shame, guilt, or self-blame) is significantly high.
(To be contd)
Contd from previous issue
High prevalence of self-stigma
“Most of our community also have self-stigma. They do not want to come forward and share their problems because of self-stigma. Even I have that fear that people will not understand and would treat you like a black spot if they come to know of your status. None of my friends know that I am living with HIV. I have already faced discrimination from my relatives and I fear that if I share my HIV status with my friends, I would get the same reaction from them," said Sneha.
Mirroring trends across the Asia-Pacific region, the HIV Stigma Index 2.0 data from India reveals that internalised stigma (feelings of shame, guilt, or self-blame) is significantly high.
(To be contd)