Show Navigation

Fighting the stigma of HIV in India

Rajakumar - "I am thirty-two years old, a graduate of commerce and a professional photographer. I am now working in the field of HIV; I am dedicating my life to prevention. I was actually diagnosed as having HIV in 1993, but I have been living with the virus for the past ten years. I have only told one very close friend, I haven't disclosed it to my family. Why not? I am living with very good health and I understand a lot about this virus. My family depends on me, and if I disclose my status there will be a lot of problems. I am the eldest. First my sister has to be married. I want my brother settled in a job. After these I can slowly disclose things to my family. We have already had AIDS in India for ten or twelve years but there is a big stigma of HIV in this society. The message from government campaigns is AIDS=DEATH. AIDS is perceived to be about sexual contact, loose morals and bad people. The campaigns have never acknowledged that it can affect decent people, that also it is possible to be infected through blood transmissions or medical problems. We need to develop a climate where those people who are infected can live openly as valuable members of society."

Add to Lightbox Download
Filename
227_32.jpg
Copyright
©Mike Abrahams
Image Size
5330x2379 / 4.9MB
https://www.photoshelter.com/support/license
Contained in galleries
Fighting the Stigma in India
Rajakumar - "I am thirty-two years old, a graduate of commerce and a professional photographer. I am now working in the field of HIV; I am dedicating my life to prevention. I was actually diagnosed as having HIV in 1993, but I have been living with the virus for the past ten years. I have only told one very close friend, I haven't disclosed it to my family. Why not? I am living with very good health and I understand a lot about this virus. My family depends on me, and if I disclose my status there will be a lot of problems. I am the eldest. First my sister has to be married. I want my brother settled in a job. After these I can slowly disclose things to my family. We have already had AIDS in India for ten or twelve years but there is a big stigma of HIV in this society. The message from government campaigns is AIDS=DEATH. AIDS is perceived to be about sexual contact, loose morals and bad people. The campaigns have never acknowledged that it can affect decent people, that also it is possible to be infected through blood transmissions or medical problems. We need to develop a climate where those people who are infected can live openly as valuable members of society."
Info