Missing the Target #5: Improving AIDS Drug Access ... - CD8 T cells

a person with HIV will die very quickly, if not immediately. People with certainillnesses (such as TB and herpes zoster) are usually believed to have HIV, thereforeare also stigmatized. Furthermore, some respondents did not believe that OIs aretreatable or curable, and others equated TB with AIDS. Cultural perceptions, suchas a belief that disease is caused by witchcraft, has also increased fears. Somerespondents expressed fear of physical contact with those infected.Respondents also expressed a strong fear of painful, certain death. Given thisprofound fear, people said they tended to limit their contact with PLWHA.Sex and moralityBecause HIV is mainly sexually transmitted in Kenya—and because it is associatedwith promiscuity—HIV/AIDS is not thought of like other diseases. Studies reveala common belief that people with HIV acquired it through sexual activity that isnot socially sanctioned or goes against religious teachings. Hence, having HIVis considered to be a result of “deviant behavior,” and PLWHA are regarded asadulterers, prostitutes, and generally immoral or shameful. Therefore, PLWHA areblamed and stigmatized as irresponsible persons. Sex and HIV infection are alsooften associated with sin, with some people saying that HIV is a punishment fromGod for sexual sins committed by humanity at large, and individuals in particular.Those who get HIV are supposed to have sinned, while following strict religiousstrictures is believed to ward off illness.The context of stigmaKENYAThis study also found socioeconomic status, gender, and age also influence thestigma experienced by PLWHA and affect a person’s ability to cope with the stigma.The rich are believed to become infected because of promiscuous lives and theirability to buy sex from prostitutes, while the poor— especially women— are viewedto have become infected due to abject poverty that forces them to accept riskysexual activities to earn a living. It is also believed that youth are at a higher risk forHIV infection due to their irresponsible and active sexual lives, and they are typicallyblamed for becoming infected through promiscuous, immoral, and “improper”behavior.GenderWomen have a higher risk of infection than men, both for physiological reasonsand due to environmental factors such as sexual violence. However, men mayalso be considered to be at higher risk than women due to men’s polygamous orpromiscuous sexual lives; in Kenya, the culture allows men to be polygamous. Bothmen and women are stigmatized if infected by HIV, but stigma directed towardwomen is typically stronger.The impact of HIV/AIDS on women is overall more acute, and HIV-positive womenare treated very differently from men. In Kenya, women are economically, culturally,31