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(UNAIDS 2005).(UNAIDS 2000):The factors which contribute to HIV/AIDS-related stigma are HIV/AIDS is a life-threatening disease People are scared of contracting HIV The disease's is associated with behaviours (such as sex between men and injectingdrug-use) that are already stigmatised in many societies People living with HIV/AIDS are often thought of as being responsible for becominginfected Religious or moral beliefs lead some people to believe that having HIV/AIDS is theresult of moral fault (such as promiscuity or 'deviant sex') that deserves to bepunished.Resolution 49/1999 of the UN Commission on Human Rights reaffirms that“Discrimination on the basis of HIV or AIDS status, actual or presumed, is prohibited byexisting international human rights standards, and that the term ‘other status’ in nondiscriminationhuman rights texts should be interpreted to cover health status, includingHIV/AIDS” (UNAIDS 2000). Stigmatizing and discriminating actions manifest at thefamily and community settings, and institutional settings. Examples at the family andcommunity level include ostracization, such as the practice of forcing women to return totheir family after being diagnosed HIV-positive, when they become ill or after theirpartner has died of AIDS; shunning and avoiding everyday contact; verbal harassment;physical violence; verbal discrediting and blaming; gossip; and denial of traditionalfuneral rites. Examples at the institutional settings include: Health-care services: reduced standard of care, denial of access to care and treatment,HIV testing without consent, breaches of confidentiality including identifyingsomeone as HIV-positive to relatives and outside agencies, negative attitudes anddegrading practices by healthcare workers Workplace: denial of employment based on HIV-positive status, compulsory HIVtesting, exclusion of HIV-positive individuals from pension schemes or medicalbenefits Schools: denial of entry to HIV-affected children, or dismissal of teachers Prisons: mandatory segregation of HIV-positive individuals, exclusion fromcollective activities (UNAIDS 2005).In this study, there was evidence of most of the above forms of stigmatization anddiscrimination, more so at the institutional level, and especially in healthcare and socialwelfare settings, i.e., institutions where PLHIV interact with on a regular basis because ofone or other aspect related to HIV. Overall, there were fewer expressions ofstigmatization at the family and community level but this was possibly because of limiteddisclosure. Many of the respondents do not disclose their HIV status, hence, other people– family members, friends and neighbours - are unaware. As noted by one participant,the fear of stigma and discrimination is worse than having the virus itself:“They [people living with HIV/AIDS] are more scared of thediscrimination, stigma instead of the virus itself”(Male, 36yrs, Upper secondary education, DU)78