Image description: Text ‘World AIDS Day’ on background of colourful northern lights,

For 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, DWS and other Yukon organizations working to prevent violence are creating spaces for learning more about how GBV works and what prevention can look like.

You are not alone. You deserve support.
As we have tough convos about violence and abuse, please take care of yourself. You are the expert in your life and know best how to take care - whether it’s reaching out to loved one, being on the land, taking time for yourself, or connecting with resources.

Want to help to prevent violence? Sign up for the two FREE workshops DWS is offering on December 6th and 7th. More information and sign-up here.

December 1st is World AIDS Day. Why should we as anti-violence activists care about the stigma that folks living with HIV or AIDS face?

Violence Overlaps

Sadly, a world where gender-based violence is common place, is also a world where oppressed folks are more likely to contract HIV/AIDS and also more likely to experience violence because of their HIV/AIDS diagnosis.

The World Health Organization created a hecka informative short report on the Intimate Partner Violence and HIV/AIDS.

Their report highlights some of the intersections of partner violence and living with HIV/AIDS:

Direct transmission through sexual violence: Forced or coercive sexual intercourse with an HIV infected partner is one of the routes of transmission for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI) to women.
Indirect transmission through inability to negotiate condom use: Research suggests that violence limits women’s ability to negotiate condom use.
Indirect transmission by partnering with riskier/older men: A review of over 40 studies suggests that a significant proportion of adolescent girls have sexual relations with men five to ten years older than themselves. While girls are able to initially choose the older sexual partner, once in the relationship, it is the older men who control the sexual relationship including condom and contraceptive use - in some situations through the use of violence.
Violence as a consequence of being HIV positive: Violence or fear of violence has been implicated as a barrier to women seeking HIV testing.

Read the entire report here.

The film Positive Women confronts the barriers facing women who live with HIV and AIDS by telling their stories in their own voices. You can watch the entire film online:

Positive Women: Exposing Injustice from AIDSLAW on Vimeo.

What is Stigma

Image description: Infographic with pink or white arrows pointing right to left with text, ‘Prejudice. Stigma. Stereotypes. Discrimination. Oppression.’

For many women living with HIV, experiences of stigma, discrimination and marginalization are common. HIV-related stigma is a negative belief about a person specifically related to either known or perceived HIV status.6 This often leads to discriminatory behaviour. HIV stigma and discrimination often co-exist in multiple layers, intersecting with gender, sexual activity, race, income, physical and mental health, income and more.7,8 Research has shown that this is particularly true for women. For example, the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) Cohort Study showed that “women, and especially women of colour, score higher on measures of HIV-related stigma”.

From Women and HIV/AIDS Initiative

Image description: Infographic with four boxes and illustrations - ‘Institutional stigma. Internalized stigma. Social stigma. Stigma by association.’

Image description: Infographic with illustrations and text - ‘18% of participants reported they would be uncomfortable working in and office with someone living with HIV. 36% would be uncomfortable if their child attended school where one of the students was known to be living with HIV. 51% would be uncomfortable with a close friend or family member dating someone living with HIV.’

Image description: Two speech bubbles with text ‘I’m dying of sadness, having to hide this.’ - a woman living with HIV ‘Women often won’t pick up harm reduction supplies here because they fear being associated with people who use drugs. They fear someone will judge them as a parent, even though accessing the service could prevent HIV. They also fear people will report them to CAS [Children’s Aid Society] for being a bad parent. Women have to be so careful and secretive, and it often means they are more at risk.’ - a harm reduction worker

Image description: Title on pink background - ‘The Path of Stigma. Stigma can lead women down a path where shame prevents them from taking preventative measures or accessing treatment for HIV. To illustrate this see the following example.’ Three arrows leading into each other from left to right. Text - ‘Judgment about a woman’s sexual activities or drug users are often perceived negatively, creating shame.’ ‘In turn, women are likely to hide these practices, or face judgment and event criminalization based on these practices.’ ‘As a result, some women may have reduced access to preventative measure and experience increased risk taking behaviours. ‘

Image description: Two collumns ‘Types of Stigma’ and ‘Example Situation’ with coloured lines making connections. ‘An organizational policy to share people’s HIV status amongst team members’ is connect to ‘Institutional Stigma’ ‘Dating is hard. I haven’t had a date in so many years. Disclosing is such a difficult thing and every time I fear being rejected.’ - a woman living with HIV. is connected to ‘Social Stigma’ and ‘Internalized Stigma’. ‘An organizational policy to use gloves if we are aware of someone’s HIV status.’ is connected to ‘Institutional Stigma’. ‘Everybody in the community, they know I’m HIV-positive and they talk bad about me. You know, They even call me names. They don’t know me, they don’t know anything about me, but still, because they found I’m HIV-positive, they think I’m a bitch lady.” - a woman living with HIV. is connected to ‘Social Stigma’. ‘Women don’t want to go to our agency because they don’t want to be associated with HIV.’ - staff from and HIV service organization. is connected to ‘Stigma by Association’.

Test your Knowledge

Can score better on this quiz than Blood Ties Four Direction staff?

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Get the Facts

The estimated per-act risk of transmission from an HIV-positive women to a male sexual partner through vaginal sex is 1 transmission in every 2500 sexual encounters.
When an HIV-positive women’s viral load (i.e., the level of active virus in the body) is low, the risk of HIV transmission to her male sexual partners drops to 1.3 expected transmissions in 10 000 sexual encounters.
When a condom is used, the per-act risk of transmission from an HIV-positive woman to a male sexual partner through vaginal sex is at most 1 in 12 500 sexual encounters.

From HIV Legal Network

Take Action

Everyday actions you get take to smash AIDS stigma and spread truth:

Learn more. You don’t know what you don’t know! Follow activists and orgs working to prevent HIV/AIDS.
Know your status and be ready to support a friend to get tested. In Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in Territory, you can get free confidential testing for all STIs at the Dawson City Health Centre (second floor of the hospital), call 867.993.4300 for more info.
Get ready. Be ready to hear that a friend, colleague, co-worker, or client is HIV positive. Women and HIV/AIDS Initiative has a great toolkit about creating welcoming spaces for women living with HIV/AIDS.
Know local resources. Blood Ties Four Directions Centre are the knowledge keepers about everything HIV/AIDS related in Yukon.
See women as change makers.