HIV Stigma – Naming and Owning the Problem - ICRW

A13. Women’s and Men’s Life Cycles –
Stigma and Violence
Facilitator’s Note: This session analyzes life cycles as the basis for comparing the impact of
stigma and violence on women and men.
Quotes from TBAs in SVTH Project
“A women endures stigma and violence from the day she is born until the day she
dies.”
“As a girl is growing, stigma and violence towards her is also growing.”
“Being born a girl is a big mistake – they are needed when they are young, and they are
rejected when they are old.”
“Husbands have sex with other women, but this is not taken seriously; his sins are
washed off like he has taken a bath. But with women it’s a serious matter!”
“Men are stigmatized and sometimes beaten if they make a mistake, but women are
stigmatized and beaten, even if they make no mistake.”
“Men do wrong, but society says that women are responsible for their wrong.”
Objectives: By the end of the session participants will be able to:
a) Identify stigma and violence at different stages in a man’s and a woman’s life cycle; and
b) Recognize how women face far more stigma and violence than men – and how this increases
their vulnerability to contracting HIV.
Time: 1–2 hours
Materials and preparation: Life Cycle cards (Picture Set D)
■■Steps:
1. CARDSTORM: Divide into groups. Give half the groups women’s life cycle cards and the other
half men’s life cycle cards. Then ask each group to write forms of stigma or violence that occur at
each stage of the life cycle on blank cards.
Chapter A: HIV Stigma – Naming and Owning the Problem n 59