If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

If I kept it to myself
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• Listening to HIV positive people who have dealt with stigma. We can
learn from people’s first hand experiences regarding stigma. How stigma
has changed their lives, what they would like people to know about living
with HIV and AIDS, and how they would like to be viewed and treated
• Supporting HIV positive people. If we continue to stigmatise and
discriminate against HIV positive people, and if we alienate them, we are
not preventing further HIV infections. We need to create a society in which
people are not afraid to get tested and feel that they can be supported and
loved irrespective of their HIV status. Most HIV infections occur among
people who are unaware of their status and too afraid to get tested
• Watching your language. Most of us use terms and expressions related
to HIV and AIDS that reinforce stigma. For example “victims, AIDS sufferers,
AIDS patients’. We can avoid perpetuating stigma by avoiding these terms
• Reacting to stigmatising material in the media. Write, call or e-mail!
Express your opinions and concerns and provide more acceptable
information that journalists can use. The media can be an extremely
powerful tool in preventing further HIV infections and breaking down stigma
and misconception about HIV and AIDS. It is imperative that we the general
public and PLWAs inform and educate the media so that they do not
continue to make the same mistakes
• Speaking up about stigma. When you overhear someone abusing a
term, for example ‘If you are promiscuous, you are likely to be infected with
HIV’ give him or her the correct information and dispel the myth
• Discussing HIV and AIDS. Talking openly about HIV is not something
that comes naturally. Some people struggle to say the word AIDS and
instead they refer to it as ‘the disease’ The more silent about HIV and AIDS
we remain, the more people will continue to believe that it is shameful and
needs to be hidden. Talking openly about stigma can also offer support to
people living with HIV and AIDS
• Being aware of Self-Stigma. We always hear people talking about the
discrimination and stigma that HIV positive people experience from an
outside source. Have we ever stopped to look within at the beliefs we carry
around and hold as the truth? One of the most debilitating issues around
finding out that you are HIV positive is that you suddenly think ‘Who will
want to be with me now?’ ‘Am I going to live the rest of my life alone?’ We
fear the rejection and the isolation and the ‘them and us’ scenario. Some
people choose to be victims and some choose to create the lives they have
always wanted. Don’t let anyone, not even HIV, dictate your life and how
you live it. Remember people will treat you the way you see yourself. If you
act like a victim, you will be treated like one.