Answer:
The relationship between HIV and human rights
Under international human rights laws and treaties, and international obligations such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, every person has a right to health and to access HIV, and other healthcare services. People also have a right to equal treatment before the law and a right to dignity.
However, many people continue to face human rights-related barriers to essential and often lifesaving health services. These barriers arise from discriminatory laws and practices connected to people’s health status, gender identity, sexual orientation and conduct. The people facing these barriers are often the most marginalised and stigmatised in society, and the most vulnerable to HIV. This makes protecting, promoting, respecting and fulfilling people’s human rights essential to ensure they can access the health services they need, enabling an effective response to HIV and AIDS.Human rights violations in the context of HIV
Human rights violations in the context of HIV can take many forms. They can worsen the impact of HIV, increase vulnerability to HIV, and more broadly undermine responses to the epidemic.
Stigma and discrimination
People living with HIV and their families can experience stigma and discrimination linked to being HIV positive or being associated with HIV. This is also the case for people most affected by HIV (sometimes known as ‘key populations’) such as women in high prevalence settings, transgender people and people who use drugs.
In addition to being a violation of human rights in itself, discrimination directed at people living with HIV or those believed to be HIV positive, leads to the violation of other human rights such as access to healthcare, the right to dignity and the right to employment. In a circular way, this stigma and discrimination also leads to increased vulnerability to HIV.
For example, researchers found around one in five men who make love with men (22%) and just under half of transgender women (43%) in Jamaica experience police harassment or violence. Crucially, the study found men who make love with men and transgender women who are HIV-positive were more likely to experience this than their HIV-negative peers.
Discrimination by healthcare workers
In many parts of the world, healthcare is not confidential, and those seeking services are discriminated against on the basis of HIV status, non-gender conforming behaviours, sexual orientation or gender identity. These views are fuelled by a variety of factors, including ignorance about HIV transmission routes.
Discrimination by healthcare workers prevents many people from being open and honest when they seek medical help; it also deters people from seeking, using and adhering to HIV prevention and treatment services.
The impact of HIV-related stigma and discrimination is far reaching. One in five people living with HIV have been denied healthcare, including family planning services or dental work, according to data gathered by countries that monitor healthcare-related discrimination. This includes around one in three HIV-positive women who have experienced at least one form of discrimination relating to their sexual and reproductive health.
The fear of stigma and discrimination also acts as a powerful barrier to healthcare. For example, people living with HIV who perceive high levels of HIV-related stigma are 2.4 times more likely to begin HIV treatment late, when their health has already been compromised, compared to people who are less aware of stigma.
It can also affect how long people stay in care. In many countries, HIV-positive people from key populations are less likely to remain in HIV care than those from the general population. For example, a study from Indonesia following HIV-positive men who make love with men, female workers, transgender women and people who inject drugs found around a third (30%) did not start treatment after being diagnosed. Of those that began treatment, around 1 in 4 (24%) did not remain in care.
Discrimination in the workplace
In some places, people living with HIV can be refused the right to work, while in the workplace they can suffer from discriminatory practices such as termination or refusal of employment due to their HIV status. As a result, in some regions a large proportion of people living with HIV are unemployed. Young people living with HIV have a much higher unemployment rate than adults.
The fact that many people living with HIV are prevented from earning a living means they may be unable to afford to pay for antiretroviral drugs and other HIV services, or more generally, suffer from financial instability.
Explanation: ED 2020
