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HIV/AIDS stigma still exists, survey says
By Shan Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-28 07:24
Discrimination and stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS is still rife in China despite constant top-down efforts addressing the issue, according to a survey released on Friday. More than 40 percent of the total 2,096 respondents, all HIV positive, said they had suffered HIV-related discrimination. Also, 12 percent had been denied medical treatment due to their HIV status, according to the survey, called the China Stigma Index, conducted by the Chinese Ministry of Health, UNAIDS and Chinese civil societies. The survey is reportedly the first evidence-based report on discrimination in China. "Eliminating discrimination and stigma, still serious problems in China today, is crucial for an effective AIDS response," said vice health minister Huang Jiefu. He also conceded that it would take a long time to thoroughly remove discrimination and stigma among all Chinese due to the country's vast territory, diversified social mores and different levels of awareness. Laws must secure the rights of HIV victims and their families to privacy, marriage, employment, medical care, education and social welfare, Huang stressed. The government has made great steps in fighting discrimination, which matters to both the sufferers and the healthy, said Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS. China has an anti-AIDS discrimination law, which many countries do not have. Also, State leaders have visited AIDS patients every year since 2003 to show their strong anti-discrimination commitment. However, HIV-related discrimination still exists, "and the lack of public health education - such as people still believing they can get HIV through shaking hands and dining together - is mainly to blame," Huang said. HIV-positive Yu Xuan (not his real name) echoed these thoughts and shared the experience of a friend, who also has HIV. "My friend felt hurt when a woman refused to take the seat offered by him after he happened to mention to me his HIV status on a crowded bus," Yu said. Worse, sometimes the discrimination even kills, he said. Last spring, a 23-year-old girl, who was HIV positive, died of a gastric perforation as the hospital denied her the operation after learning of her infection, according to Yu, who was a friend of hers. "Under such circumstances, it's hard for the sufferers to come out fully in public," said Yu Xuan. Currently, an estimated 740,000 HIV positive people live in the country, while another 50 million are considered at high risk of the disease, official statistics showed.
(China Daily 11/28/2009 page2) |
