The truth is staring us in the face. According to the UN reports, India has the third highest number of people living with HIV in the world with 2.1 million Indians being diagnosed and are aware of their status. These statistics do not include the people who have not been diagnosed and are unaware that they are HIV carriers.
Although, India’s HIV epidemic is slowing down, with a 19 percent decline in new HIV infections (130,000 in 2013), and a 38 percent decline in AIDS-related deaths between 2005 and 2013, the numbers are not meagre to be ignored. We cannot deny the fact that HIV is more real than we would desire it to be. We would like to ignore it and even try to brush it under the carpet like we do with so many of the other little secrets we consider inappropriate but we simply cannot.
Given the commonality and the huge efforts taken by the World Health Organization, Government and NGOs to promote awareness about the disease, one would consider that the reactions to people living with HIV would have changed over the last three decades to be more empathetic. But incidence of prejudice and discrimination towards people living with HIV still persist.
It is disheartening when one reads about young children being discriminated against only because of their HIV positive status, which is not contagious but contracted.
What excuses do we give for such discrimination? There is enough and more awareness about the illness. Health care facility, educational institutes, local government bodies, NGOs spend millions of rupees in conducting awareness programs, with educational material, street plays, movies, literature revolving around the theme of prevention, protection and care. Yet a person with HIV status still lives with a taboo, with a sense of discrimination and being disowned.
The question we need to ask ourselves is would a friend diagnosed with HIV still be a friend. Or would we carefully and cleverly stay away from them. Would we hire a person who is open about their HIV status? Or would we again find nifty ways to make sure their application is rejected. What boundaries do we create between ourselves and this disease? The answer lies deep buried in your heart because like caste and religion such discrimination and divides are not politically correct.
What is interesting however is that sometimes we drop the pretense and reject outright integration of people, living with HIV? When that happens like it did, not very long ago, at the village of Rivona, in south Goa or more recently what happened in Bishnupur in south 24 Parganus, West Bengal, to a young seven year old school boy, we need to ask ourselves why we are scared of HIV.
Over the last three decades, with the amount of time, money and intellect that has gone into research of this disease, it has been established that HIV is not contagious only contracted, and under specific modes of transmissions. This in depth research gives detailed information about even the specifics of the threshold of the virus required for transmission, who is at risk and under what circumstances. Never has it been reported that young children have contracted this virus while playing in the playground. Yet such discrimination is what these young children with HIV status face when they are denied admissions. The fear is from the parents and not the other peers. Ironically, these parents are scared about people whom they can be careful with and not scared about those people with the virus who do not know themselves that they are HIV positive. The report the United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS, states that 19 million of the 35 million people living with the virus globally do not know their HIV”positive status.
It has also been established that people can live with HIV for many years if they are given proper care and a stress free environment. Discriminating people with HIV is inducing a further stressor in their life thereby lowering their longevity. When evidence about the illness was inadequate and ambiguous than such fear could be explained. What reasons do we give against such bias fear rather than a reflection of our societal values?
One of the modes of HIV transmission which has received excessive attention is the sexual route of transmission. Unfortunately, the disadvantage groups who are at a high risk of contracting HIV, are the sex workers, transgender and men having sex with men. The risk they face is not because they are having unwarranted sex but because they have very little access to safety practices and decision making powers in a sexual interaction.
It is largely this connotation that HIV has with unauthorized sex that causes society to view HIV with a bias and taboo. In this debate, we cannot lose sight that anybody who is ill informed is at equal risk. It is such ignorance that also causes us to react in fear but it is not going to protect us. The only way forward is to create a climate of integration, support and hope for people living with HIV, so that if by chance you are infected you too will not suffer the discrimination.
Dr Aldina Braganza e Gomes is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and associate professor, HOD, Dept of Psychology Carmel College
