Saturday, January 31, 2009
A third of people with HIV face discrimination
Over a third of people with HIV experienced HIV related discrimination in the last year according to research released today.‘What Do You Need?’ is a national survey of people with HIV undertaken by Sigma Research and commissioned by Terrence Higgins Trust and the Department of Health. It found that 36% of respondents had faced HIV related discrimination in the previous year. Discrimination came from family members, their own community, doctors and other health professionals.
Marc Thompson, Acting Head of Health Promotion at THT said,
"Despite provisions in the Disability Discrimination Act, large numbers of people with HIV are facing discrimination on a regular basis.
In the family, this could be name-calling, marginalisation or even issues like the refusal of family members to share kitchen equipment. People with HIV also reported breaches of confidentiality or refusal of services from health or care professionals".
The survey of 1,777 people with HIV in the UK found that discrimination was compounded by homophobia, racism or asylum and immigration related prejudice.
The survey, which looked at a number of health needs, also found that over a half of people with HIV were unhappy with their sex lives and two-thirds of respondents had experienced problems with sex in the previous year.
Peter Weatherburn, Director of Sigma Research said,
"The survey further demonstrates the complex needs of many people with HIV. Whilst HIV can be a chronic manageable condition for some people, many people struggle with practical and physical issues such as housing, mobility and child care. The widespread experience of discrimination and social isolation point to the harshness of living with HIV, compared with other chronic conditions".
What Do You Need 2007-2008 can be downloaded from www.sigmaresearch.org.uk
