HIV/AIDS is the workshop topic most commonly requested by the organizations with whom I work. Among those organizations not requesting workshops it should be.
For example, I was recently working with staff (which included social workers, administrative staff, and directors) of a shelter for trafficked women. One of the questions was whether HIV positive people should be put in a 72 hour quarantine before being allowed into the mainstream life of the shelter. Of course not, is the answer, and I’m glad the question came up although I was a bit surprised that it came from someone with a graduate degree.
Last week, Prae participated in a forum regarding sexual health and reproductive rights for migrant workers and she reported that there was a lively discussion regarding the facts about HIV/AIDS. Basically, lots of confusion.
I’ve witnessed the jaws of expatriate directors drop as they heard questions from their staff during focus groups with their national staff. It was assumed that there was a basic foundation of knowledge about HIV and other infectious diseases.
I have learned long ago not to make any assumptions based on level of education regarding people’s beliefs and understanding regarding diseases, particularly one so charged as HIV infection.
Sometimes these misunderstandings and prejudices prevent people from stepping up and being involved in assisting those at risk. Sometimes people are getting involved anyway, but carry a burden of fear as they live and work with those who are or could be infected. As I work with staff in assistance programs I am amazed at their courage in spite of their fear – but I know that some of this stress can be mitigated through proper education.
Why, after more than 30 years of knowing about HIV/AIDS, is there still so much misinformation, suspicion, and prejudice around this disease?
The late Daniel Fountain, M.D. said, “A piece of rubber [a condom] can’t protect your heart. HIV/AIDS is not so much a medical problem as a disease of broken relationships”.
Pretty much everyone can answer the question of how one contracts HIV and name the main three ways: blood, sex, and mother-to-child transmission.
However, how one does NOT contract HIV is a different story – especially when talking with those who work with and even live with those who are (or quite possibly) HIV positive. This question then reduces the space between us and them to a “we”. Which is why I get asked again and again to talk about HIV/AIDS. There’s something about this disease that goes deeper than the infection itself.
I was discussing this with my friend Brett who conducts workshops on HIV/AIDS for Thai leaders – especially leaders in the Church. The issue isn’t necessarily more education. I don’t think more of the same is going to work, since we’ve been doing that for a while. We’ve got to address people’s hearts – their beliefs from which their behaviors flow.
The stigma and discrimination isn’t going to go away with more lectures, billboards, or social media memes. I wish it were that easy. If it were, we would be in a much different place regarding HIV more than 30 years after its discovery.
Statistics can be stirring – “27 million people enslaved today!” We can be moved to learn more about something, but after a while, numbers can become stale. Statistics alone won’t change people’s hearts or minds. They don’t do much to diminish suspicions or prejudice.
The stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS holds people in fear. This fear hides the truth. The truth is that HIV is entirely preventable. It is also true that people living with HIV can lead long and fulfilling lives. Sure, it requires medication and good care, but it is possible, and it is possible for many more people than are actually realizing it.
So, as Brett suggested, we need to educate people from within. We need to start by meeting people where they are: listening to them and then get them to listen to themselves. Then challenge their health-related beliefs to transform their behavior. Relationship and dialogue are key in this kind of education.
This is one of the goals of Relentless and reflects the way we work with beneficiaries as well as staff who are in direct daily contact with them. The goal is of course to change behavior: transforming “survivors” into “thrivers” means that we reach deeper and spend time. This results in healthier people communities inside and outside.
For more information on the workshops Relentless offers for your organization, please contact us!
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