Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination
Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination
“More awareness is needed so that no one with HIV/AIDS is stigmatized or discriminated against.”
–President Obama, June 8, 2011
In the beginning of the epidemic, no one knew how HIV was spread or how contagious it might be. Fear and ignorance were powerful drivers for stigma and discrimination. People living with HIV/AIDS lost their jobs, their homes, and even their friends and families. Despite our progress in understanding and treating HIV, stigma and discrimination continue to be serious issues for people living with HIV/AIDS across the globe.
Creating an AIDS-Free Generation
In 2010 President Obama unveiled the first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which is grounded in a vision that explicitly addresses stigma and discrimination: “The United States will become a place where new HIV infections are rare and when they do occur, every person regardless of age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identify or socio-economic circumstance, will have unfettered access to high quality, life-extending care, free from stigma and discrimination. The Strategy outlines the steps we need to take to reduce stigma and discrimination for people living with HIV/AIDS:
· Engage communities to affirm support for people living with HIV: Faith communities, businesses, schools, community-based organizations, social gathering sites, and all types of media outlets should take responsibility for affirming nonjudgmental support for people living with HIV and high-risk communities.
· Promote public leadership of people living with HIV: Governments and other institutions (including HIV prevention community planning groups and Ryan White planning councils and consortia) should work with people with AIDS coalitions, HIV services organizations, and other institutions to actively promote public leadership by people living with HIV.
· Promote public health approaches to HIV prevention and care: State legislatures should consider reviewing HIV-specific criminal statutes to ensure that they are consistent with current knowledge of HIV transmission and support public health approaches to preventing and treating HIV.
· Strengthen enforcement of civil rights laws: The Department of Justice and Federal agencies must enhance cooperation to facilitate enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws.
Short URL: http://thepresidency.us/?p=18499
Posted by RobertButler
on Jul 21 2012. Filed under Barack Obama.
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