Stigmatization of AIDS?

Question

What do you believe causes HIV/AIDS to be stigmatized upon. I mean, in most cultures, it could be due to the fact that HIV/AIDS is acquired through socially unacceptable activity, but fare amount of the people living with HIV/AIDS could be victims of their husband's/wive's unfaithfulness....unsterilized tools, blood transmission etc.....what do you think?

Answer 1

Well, I believe that part of the problem here is that in school we learn that this is a STD and not some of these other examples of how people get AIDS.  Millions of people have it, no one wants it and it is very Taboo to talk about it in many circles.  It is a shame that babies born with AIDS are subject to persictuion and people with unfaithful spouces find themselves in the same situation.  I think what needs to be learned is tollerance, understanding and actually WHAT this is... in order to appreciate what these people are living with.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, once HIV/AIDS got a bad reputation in the 1980's, it was hard to get rid of that line of thinking.  It is really hard to change a society's perceptions.  Back then, people were really scared because they didn't know exactly what was causing it, or how to prevent it, or how to stop it, and it was KILLING people--QUICKLY.  Now we have better knowledge, we know how to prevent it and we have drugs that are helping people live longer.  But originally, it was linked to homosexuals and drug users, because they were the people who were first known to be infected (they are still at highest risk perhaps because of unsafe practices), so there were stigmas attached.  It is hard to remove those stigmas.  Some people are also still scared of being around people with HIV/AIDS, because they are afraid they might "catch" it, even though you can't catch it unless you are exposed to the person's blood or have sexual intercourse with the person.  There was a really good documentary on PBS about HIV/AIDS, awhile back.  I think it was called "The Age of AIDS."  It might still be available to watch online.  It is long, but good.  It shows all angles of how the discovery process regarding AIDS worked--scientifically, socially, politically.  You should watch it if you get a chance. It is really good.

Answer 3

yes, i think so