The Stigma Still Surrounding HIV

Despite all the literature aimed at educating the modern world about HIV and AIDs, there is still much prejudice. Many within the gay community in any country will testify to the discrimination and vilification they have received from ignorant members of, not just the public, but often by their own families.

A Red Cross survey carried out in Britain recently found that 1 in 7 young people would disown a friend if they discovered they had contracted HIV and half the group surveyed would prefer a family member with HIV to be kept secret.

This is because, despite attempts at educating the masses on this subject, rumour and scaremongering are rife and original ideas that this was a 'dirty' disease only caught by people who indulge in perverse acts, has remained. A lot of this is due to fear.

As early as 1959, a tissue sample taken from a dead youth in the US was found to hold HIV. Back then, this virus was in the very early stages and was slow to travel. However, after a series of events it took hold and instilled fear and panic into most of the world's population.

In the late 1960's, Factor VIII was the latest treatment for haemophiliacs. Hundreds of blood donors contributions were pooled together to collect the blood clotting agents needed for treatment. It was not understood at that time how easily HIV was spread through blood and the donations went unscreened. Therefore, it only took one infected donation to contaminate a huge batch.

Around the same time, blood transfusions as a treatment on the whole were becoming more and more widespread and several countries, including the US, actually paid for donations. This was very tempting to desperate people, such as those who took drugs, to make fast money. It would take only one addict to donate blood with the use of an unsterile syringe to then pass it on through his own syringe use.

Drug use was prevalent at the time due to the increase in availability of heroin after the Vietnam war.
There was a revolution among the gay community in the late 70's and early 80's and many of their members made the most of the easy international travel opening up. It was a little known problem at the time but gay sex was the highest risk way for contracting HIV.

So, all these factors were coming together at once; The increasing prevalence of unscreened blood transfusions, more wide spread drug use, international travel opening up to the masses and a 'coming out' of the gay community. HIV was spreading but because the disease is slow to show, many people knew nothing about it until it developed into AIDS and people began dying in frightening numbers.

This occurred around the early 1980's and widespread panic occurred. Gay people suffered discrimination and ostracizing as their group were widely known to be amongst the highest risk. The prejudice they suffered included being pushed out of workplaces, barred from others and education was withheld.

Until recent times, gay people have been held out of military jobs and anyone in the forces found or suspected to be gay were hounded out of their jobs. It didn't matter that they were good at their job - people were scared they would catch some deadly disease. Wrongly so as it is not transmitted through everyday life.

This behaviour occurred all over the world and many gay people were murder victims at the hands of ignorant people who were attempting to wipe out the disease for fear of catching it themselves. Many still see it as a shameful disease. However, as we have seen, you do not have to be gay to suffer with this.

Many heterosexual people have caught HIV through sex, not necessarily casual or gay, and through blood transfusions. Blood is now routinely screened and with the right precautions it is possible to keep this at bay. This is by no means a gay epidemic.

At the end of 2007, there are 33.2 million people living with HIV with approximately 2.1 million people a year dying from AIDS related illnesses. Despite the educational drives by the health services around the globe, the stigma surrounding HIV is still as bad in the UK as it is in South Africa.

If this doesn't change, it will force the sufferers to keep quiet about their predicament, with the result being delayed treatment putting further people at risk.
HIV is more than a 'gay' disease. It affects every community in the world and needs every community to help deal with it in a uniform way without the stigma that causes unnecessary fear.

About The Author-- Health expert Shaun Parker looks into the prejudice against gay people because of the HIV fear. To find out more please visit http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/

Article Source: Articles island - Free article submission and free reprint articles