Most people living with HIV and people living with AIDS in Brazil have experienced at least some discrimination throughout their lives. This is what indicates a study of 1,784 people in seven Brazilian capitals, between April and August 2019. The data are part of the Stigma Index in relation to people living with HIV / AIDS - Brazil , conducted for the first time in the country.
According to the survey, 64.1% of the people interviewed have already experienced some form of stigma or discrimination on the grounds of living with HIV or AIDS. Discriminatory or speculative comments have already affected 46.3% of them, while 41% of the group say they have received comments from family members. The survey also shows that many of these people have experienced other situations of discrimination, including verbal harassment (25.3%), loss of source of income or employment (19.6%) and even physical aggression (6.0%).
The Brazilian initiative for this unprecedented study in the country was made possible thanks to a partnership between several organizations and institutions: National Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (RNP +); National Movement of Positive Citizens (MNCP); National Network of Adolescents and Youth Living with HIV and AIDS (RNAJVHA); National Network of Transvestite and Transgender Women and Trans Men living and living with HIV / AIDS (RNTTHP); Gestos NGO - Seropositivity, Communication and Gender; United Nations Joint Program on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS) in Brazil; United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Brazil; and Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS).
“UNAIDS has highlighted from studies around the world that stigma and discrimination are among the main barriers to accessing HIV prevention and testing services. With regard to people living with HIV / AIDS, discrimination has been shown to be one of the major obstacles to starting and adhering to treatment, as well as having a negative impact on social relationships in the family, community, work, among others ”, highlighted Cleiton Euzébio de Lima, acting director of UNAIDS in Brazil. “The data from this study provide an important and worrying picture of the everyday situations of discrimination to people living with HIV / AIDS in Brazil.”