The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
HIV does not discriminate: Do you? Imagine for a moment that you've just been diagnosed HIV positive. Wait ? keep on reading, because you'll soon discover that it really could be you? Picture yourself sitting there, feeling frightened and vulnerable, in your doctor's office. After she confirms that the HIV test result is positive, she hands you a brochure explaining the virus, its effects and the treatments. As you struggle to cope with the onslaught of information, the doctor drops a final bombshell; she warns you to be prepared to face a lot of discrimination. Think that can't happen in Canada? Think again. It's daily reality faced by the 56,000 Canadians currently living with HIV. On the way out of the doctor's office, still holding that brochure, you catch the eye of another patient in the waiting room. His eyes flick briefly to the title of the pamphlet in your hand, back to your face? and he gathers his small children close to him, turning away from you. We like to think of our country as free from prejudice, treating all Canadians equally. The truth is that discrimination still exists in Canada. It's illegal, but it goes on all the time. Today's society has, at least on the surface, taken strides toward reducing discrimination. People don't hurl vicious insults and force a person living with HIV to leave town. But subtle discrimination remains, and it holds the same destructive results as in the past. It used to be that an HIV-positive individual might have been fired outright. Now that person might be laid off or pressured to the point of quitting. At work the next day, you ask your supervisor for medical leave. You need to go through a series of tests and assessments, and get your prescription anti-retroviral medication adjusted. You confide your diagnosis to her, hoping that she'll understand why you need the time away. She nods, smiles, shakes your hand and wishes you well. As you leave her office, you see her frantically rummaging through her desk for the bottle of hand sanitizer? Facing this discrimination on a daily basis can cause the person with HIV to lose or leave his or her job. Relationships may fail, with partners leaving because of discrimination. It can even be challenging to find adequate housing, because some landlords refuse to rent to HIV-positive people. What exactly is HIV? The acronym stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It's a specific type of virus called a retrovirus that attacks the human body's immune system. HIV infects and destroys the blood cells that keep the immune system working. During this stage of the illness, the body's weakened immune system leaves the person vulnerable to many other illnesses ? called opportunistic infections, such as cancers, pneumonia or tuberculosis. When the immune system can no longer fight off infections, the person is diagnosed with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, commonly referred to as AIDS. A lot of HIV-related discrimination is caused by irrational fear of the virus, and misconceptions about who can become infected. The truth is that anyone can become infected. How on earth did you end up with HIV? Thinking back over the last couple of years, you can pick up on some risky behaviour? the time you had that one-night stand with the clean-cut young cutie you met in the park? getting your ear pierced by a friend? and the one-and-only time you drank until you passed out. What really happened while you were under the influence of alcohol? Women get HIV. Straight people get HIV. Youth get HIV. The virus does not care who you are, or how you live your life. People contract HIV because of their actions, because of WHAT THEY DO. There is no vaccine, and there is no natural immunity. No one asks to become infected with virus. Once we can accept that a person is not infected with HIV by choice, we can begin to break down the cycle of judging and blaming, which leads to stigma and discrimination. Trembling and nervous, you pick up the phone to call your best friend. Of all people, surely he will understand and be supportive? HIV does not discriminate. Will he? November 24 to December 1 is AIDS Awareness Week. Do your part to end stigma and discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS. For more information contact: Marj at 687-1332; Debbie at 687-1334; or 1-800-782-3427 This article was revised from Canadian HIV/AIDS Social Marketing Campaign 2004 (SMC 2004).
