Fighting the stigma and mis-education about HIV/AIDS
Is the stigma of AIDS as devastating, if not more than the disease itself?
Kenneth Cole
I was part of a discussion with a group of youths about getting tested for HIV. One of the guys, let’s call him Fred, wanted to go and get tested, but he was afraid to go it alone. He asked his ‘Boyz’ if they would come and get tested with him, and this is where the drama started! The ‘Boyz’ said things like, “I’ll come with you and even hold your hand, for moral support. But I will NEVER get tested!” I felt sorry for him, because he desperately wanted to know his status, but was too petrified to do it alone. I asked them why getting tested was such a big no-no, and they basically said that they were scared and ashamed of dying of AIDS and would rather go on living in blissful ignorance, and then, die anyway. Sadly, these ‘Boyz’ represent a vast majority of Zimbabwe’s youth.
So, why are so many people scared of AIDS? Looking back early HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention campaigns in Zimbabwe, it is not difficult to see why. AIDS was depicted as this beastly killer that savagely tortured it’s victims until they withered away and eventually died, pitiful shadows of their former selves. I remember the ‘AIDS IS A DEADLY KILLER DISEASE!’ posters that were plastered all around my primary school. There was not so much information about the disease then. All we knew was that people who got it were bad people, who got it doing bad things, and that it kills. That was all we needed to know.
Looking at the history of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe, we see that most people never admitted to having the disease. People came up with all sorts of phrases, (The silent killer; A long illness; Ari muBhazi (Shona)), to avoid having to say AIDS. This culture of shame and secrecy surrounding the disease still has a strong hold on us today. Even now, when we have so much more information on HIV/AIDS that can dispel a lot of the cultivated myths and counteract our earlier mis-education on the disease, people are still ashamed, secretive and scared to talk about it. One can’t talk openly about AIDS without encountering some prejudice and apprehension. This has to change, because the reality is that people are dying needlessly.
What’s most alarming is that we can’t be absolutely sure of the number of people who are infected, (as demonstrated by the ‘Boyz’), since so few people actually get tested for HIV (about 5%), mainly because having a positive HIV status is viewed as iniquitous and disgraceful or as a death sentence. This stigma leads to discrimination of those infected and prevents more people from admitting to their status, getting tested and seeking treatment and psycho-social support. It is important for us to find was to destroy this stigma and render it powerless in Zimbabwe, with the aim to increase awareness and reduced infection in youth, because let’s face it, our youth are having sex earlier and earlier, and condoms are not exactly cool. If they continue to behave like this, they WILL get infected. But, will we never know this for sure, if they are they are so scared and unwilling to get tested?
In fighting the stigma and we can follow the examples of the late Natasha Richardson, (whose father died of the disease), and was involved in countless fund-raising efforts for HIV/AIDS research, and ex-NBA basket-baller, ‘Magic’ Johnson, who in 1992 began a life-long, HIV/AIDS awareness, education, and prevention campaign, when he announced to the world that he was HIV positive.
From a logical point of view, one would want to know their status as soon as possible, in order that they may get on proper medication, and live as long a life as they can. But when faced with the reality of a positive HIV status, all that logic/reason flies out of the window, and ignorance and fear take over. Let’s fight stigma so more can feel encouraged to know their status, stay protected and truly live positively.