African Film Against Stigma

posted: 11/05/2011

No Blame, No Shame is an epic new HIV health promotion film from the African Health Policy Network (AHPN). The film tackles the taboos and stigma surrounding HIV infection in UK’s African community. No Blame, No Shame features top comedian Gina Yashere, alongside HIV positive UK Africans, in a film made by Angus Malcolm.
 

No Stigma in living with HIV

No Blame, No Shame is an online video that is also available as a DVD, promoting the African Health Policy Network’s Public Faces  campaign, that there is no stigma in living with HIV and that stigmatising attitudes only help spread HIV.
 

Watch No Blame, No Shame here
 

Eunice Sinyemu, Head of Policy and Deputy Chief Executive at AHPN says “We have to challenge the stigma around HIV in the UK's African communities. It stops individuals from getting tested, which means they don’t get the treatment they need, and are more likely to infect others. With Gina’s help, we are confident we can get this message across in a colourful, punchy and accessible way.”
“Gina is much-loved in the African community, and having a big name on board is really going to help us reach our audience.”

Wide distribution

AHPN is promoting the film to reach as many people in the African community as possible, including viral marketing and distribution on DVD, use in training for a wide range of specialists and professionals, faith leaders and communities, local and national policy makers, workers in the health and social care sectors, local and national media.

Read about the comedian Gina Yashere

The film was made by Angus Malcolm, writer and producer. With a background in healthcare, including several years in the AIDS Unit at the Department of Health, Angus specialises in producing low-cost media for the statutory and not-for-profit sectors, especially education and healthcare.

No Blame, No Shame
 

Non-Discrimination Law Guide

posted: 04/04/2011

The first ever Handbook on European Non-Discrimination Law is now available. It offers practical guidance to help people with discrimination claims at the UK’s Courts and Tribunals. Since the UK made the Human Rights Act part of UK law almost all discrimination cases are dealt with in the UK. The handbook is based on the decisions made by the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg and the European Court of Justice in Brussels.

The handbook is intended for advice workers, human rights organisations, equality bodies like the UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission, as well as lawyers, judges, and prosecutors.

It contains the context and background to European non-discrimination law (including the UN human rights treaties), discrimination categories and defences, the scope of the law (including who is protected), and the grounds protected, such as sex, sexuality, disability, age, race and nationality.

It’s been published jointly by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Court of Human Rights, and is the first comprehensive guide to all European non-discrimination law.
 

"The Guide will improve access to justice for victims of discrimination across Europe. It sets out the complicated system of rules in a simple and comprehensive manner. It is fitting that this successful joint venture should be launched as we prepare for the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights."
Jean-Paul Costa president of ECtHR

Handbook on European Non-Discrimination Law

European Anti-Discrimination Law Review

Human Rights Court - HIV discrimination

posted: 18/03/2011

The European Court of Human Rights has just made a helpful and important ruling about HIV discrimination. The court said discrimination against people with HIV is so widespread that it means people with HIV are a “vulnerable group with a history of prejudice and stigmatisation”.

This ruling makes it easier for other people to make HIV discrimination claims on human rights grounds. This means people with HIV will automatically be treated in future human rights cases as 'vulnerable'. This means one less thing to prove when making a human rights claim in UK courts and tribunals.

With cuts to public services for people with HIV, including access to free legal aid, more people with HIV in the UK are likely to need to use the Human Rights Act. This ruling will help.

The European Court case was against Russia. Russia refused a residence permit to a man from Uzbekistan (who is married to a Russian woman with whom he has a child) simply because he is HIV-positive. The Court said this plainly breached their human right to family life. If he hadn’t had HIV he would have been given the residence permit to live with his wife and child in Russia.
 

The court said, "The mere presence of a HIV-positive individual in a country is not in itself a threat to public health."
 

Human Right to Family Life and non-discrimination

Russia was found to have broken Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to family life, and Article 14, which bans discrimination.
 

Last October, the European Human Rights Court ruled against Russia because of Moscow's bans of gay pride events. Then the court found that Russia was breaking the European Convention guarantees of freedom of assembly and association, the right to an effective remedy and prohibition of discrimination.

Source

 
More details on this New York law professor’s blog

European Court of Human Rights

HIV Training and Resources

posted: 02/03/2011

The Sheffield Centre for HIV & Sexual Health has a solid reputation for its training courses and resources. Their 2011 training and resources brochure is now available.
 

We’re highlighting here a few useful courses and resources – HIV prevention for men who have sex with men, HIV Reality Check (about HIV stigma), Partner Notification Skills for Beginners, and a leaflet written by Sheffield women living with HIV.

• HIV Prevention with Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM)
  1 day course £125 13th July 2011; 11th July 2012

This one-day training course explores the reasons for HIV prevention work with men who have sex with men (MSM), one of the communities most affected by HIV in the UK.
It outlines ways to plan interventions that are targeted and appropriate.
 

In order to plan effective interventions you need to understand the context in which MSM live their lives. This course examines key issues, including the impact of internalised homophobia on self esteem and risk-taking behaviour, and how existing services may be inappropriate and inaccessible due to hetero-sexism and a lack of awareness.
 

The course also highlights the needs of specific MSM communities / population groups that may be more vulnerable to HIV infection e.g. young men, black and minority ethnic community men, men engaging in risk-taking behaviours with multiple sexual partners, and men with lower educational qualifications.
 

The course closes by exploring the opportunities and challenges involved in different methods of working with MSM, including:
• Outreach in a range of settings (e.g. Public Sex Environments, Online, Pubs, Clubs, and Saunas)
• Work in community settings (e.g. drop-ins)
• Community development
• Group work (e.g. training and workshops)
• Production of targeted campaigns / resources
The course is for anyone planning, commissioning or delivery of HIV prevention / sexual health promotion with MSM in both the statutory and voluntary sectors.

• HIV Reality Check
  

1 day course; £125, 10th October 2011

Developments in treatments mean that more and more people with HIV are living longer and
healthier lives. But the prejudice and stigma experienced by people living with HIV can still be a barrier to them accessing the support services and treatment they need.
 

Currently, about a third of people with HIV are unaware that they have the infection, with stigma playing a major part in preventing people from testing for HIV.
 

This one-day training course encourages service providers to:
• Check their current levels of knowledge and understanding on HIV and transmission
• Explore the varying impacts of HIV related stigma on different communities
• Discuss the issue of prosecution for HIV transmission, and anxieties around disclosure of HIV status
• Action plan based on recommendations produced in consultation with people living with HIV
 

The course is suitable for professionals looking to develop their basic knowledge and awareness of HIV related stigma. The training is suitable for professionals from services including Primary Care, Social Care, Health and Education.

• HIV Reality Check Manual

£40, available in April 2011
A training manual with accompanying CD, for health and social care professionals on raising awareness and addressing the issues of HIV related stigma and discrimination in service provision.
The manual includes:
• Research and consultation findings on people living with HIV’s experiences of stigma and discrimination
• A range of training sessions with step by step exercises for delivering training to other professionals
• Guidance for the planning and delivery of training for people living with HIV, on developing the skills to manage stigma and discrimination and for positive living.
 

• Partner Notification Skills for Beginners

2 day course; £250; 7th - 8th March 2011; 5th - 6th March 2012
 

This two day course has been designed to assist practitioners who are new to the role of tracing and notifying sexual partners of those found to have sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, to:
• Understand the rationale and evidence base for partner notification
• Understand national guidelines, policies and protocols related to partner notification
• Understand the legal and ethical framework for partner notification
• Explore different partner notification strategies
• Develop the skills to negotiate partner notification with patients, and trace partners directly if required
• Assess outcomes and audit partner notification
 

• Positive Women Thoughts and Feelings
  

£15 for 25 copies

A booklet of writing and illustrations by a group of HIV positive women from Sheffield about their experiences of living with HIV - a useful resource in raising issues around HIV and AIDS.

Sheffield's training and resources - details and booking form

HIV Stigma Rules?

posted: 22/02/2011

You can plainly see HIV stigma and fear in action when eight in ten young people know  that HIV cannot be passed on by sharing mugs, yet three quarters of 12 to 18-year-olds say they still wouldn't share a mug with someone with HIV.

That’s HIV stigma and fear.

Even when people know the facts we often let our fears and prejudices rule.

Two new HIV knowledge and attitudes studies

Two recent studies, the first of teenagers in London from the HIV family charity Body and Soul, and the other of adults in the UK from NAT (National AIDS Trust), both show HIV ignorance and prejudice in action – and this seems to be worsening in recent years.

London teens reveal rejection

A recent study of London students aged 12-18 reveals a significant gap between what young people know about HIV and how they would behave towards someone living with HIV. While the majority know how HIV is passed on, many said that, despite this, they would not share a cup, shake hands with, or kiss someone who is living with HIV.

Social stigmas also rule: many young people said they would worry about the emotional strain and hostile reactions from young people around them, if they had a relationship with someone with HIV.

Despite all this, young people are keen to know more. 41 percent felt they had received too little information on HIV, and more than half (54 per cent) said they wanted to learn more about HIV.

Attitudes to HIV among 12-18 year olds in London: Report to Body and Soul 

The research highlights the contradiction between what young people knew about HIV and how they said they would behave:

• While 81 per cent of young people knew that HIV could not be transmitted by sharing a cup, only 27 per cent of them went on to say that they would drink from the same cup as someone who they knew was HIV positive.
• Likewise, while 69 per cent of young people knew they could not get HIV by kissing, only 24 per cent of them went on to say they would kiss someone who they knew was HIV positive.
• Even some of the youngest people in the sample - 12 and 13 year olds - said they would not share a cup with, shake hands with or kiss someone who they knew was HIV positive, even if they knew it was not possible to get HIV that way. Crucially, this shows that HIV-related stigma starts at an early age.

Schools are the most important place for students to learn about HIV:

• Young people tended to feel that teachers were the most trustworthy source of information on HIV, suggesting that schools are a good route of communicating with young people on the topic.
• Communication by teachers also appears to have the potential to achieve impact: those who said they had been taught about HIV in school not only had higher levels of knowledge about how HIV is transmitted but also - to some extent - appeared to be less prejudiced towards people with HIV.
• Importantly, almost 1 in 3 of the young people consulted said they had either not been taught about HIV in their school, or did not know if they had.

Attitudes to HIV among 12-18 year olds in London

Rising Adult HIV Ignorance
HIV ignorance among adults seems to be rising, but two out of three adults say more needs doing to tackle HIV hate and prejudice in the UK.

• one in five adults do not know HIV is passed on through sex without a condom between a man and a woman
• Only three in ten adults (30%) can correctly pick from a list all of the ways HIV is and is not transmitted
• Rising numbers wrongly think spitting and biting pass on HIV
• 1 in 5 say someone in their family getting HIV would damage their relationship with them
• More than two thirds of British adults (68%) agree more needs to be done to tackle prejudice against people living with HIV in Britain.

NAT (National AIDS Trust) has just published the findings from its fourth HIV public opinion poll HIV: Public Knowledge and Attitudes 2010, carried out by the opinion polling organisation Ipsos MORI, amongst adults in Britain.
The report reveals a worrying rise in HIV ignorance over the past ten years.
 

Dispelling the transmission myths and misconceptions
The British public is confused about how HIV can be passed on. One in five people weren’t clear that sex without a condom between a man and a woman, or between two men are ways of getting, or passing on HIV. Public HIV knowledge seems to be falling, because around 1 in 10 more people knew this ten years ago.
 

Only three in ten people (30%) correctly picked all the ways HIV can and cannot be passed on.
 

One in 10 people believe the impossible – that spitting or kissing passes on HIV. This result is twice as bad as ten years before.
 

One in six people (17%) don’t feel they know enough about how to prevent HIV transmission during sex.
 

African and Carribbean people need more

 Many African and Caribbean communities know less about HIV because they shy away from discussing it. The NAT survey shows that people from ethnic minorities are more likely than white people to say they 'don't know' the routes of HIV transmission.
In addition Asian and particularly African and Caribbean people 'are also likely not to mention sex without a condom between two men as a method of transmission.'
In the survey, 46 percent of African and Caribbean people polled did not mention sex between two men compared with 20 percent of whites.

Life with HIV
Encouragingly, most adults (70%) know people getting HIV won’t all die within three years, but 1 in 10 do think this. Two out of five wrongly believe that HIV test results aren't reliable until three months after HIV infection, and nearly half wrongly think pregnant mothers with HIV will always have babies with HIV. 
 

People need a better grasp of the facts because knowledge curbs HIV fears that can discourage people from taking HIV tests and telling others about having HIV. More than two out of five adults want to know more about life with HIV here today, and more than half of all young people under 25 want to know about HIV life.
 

Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust), told us:
 

‘As the number of people with HIV in the UK approaches 100,000, it is crucial for everyone to understand the facts around how HIV is passed on so they can protect themselves and others. Many people are unaware of the basics such as using a condom to protect themselves, whilst myths such as transmission from kissing and spitting are still perpetuated.
 

‘One of the most concerning aspects of this survey is the fact that knowledge of HIV transmission amongst the general public has declined significantly over the last ten years. With the number of HIV infections in the UK still going up, one in six people feeling they do not know enough about how to prevent HIV transmission during sex is simply too high. When it comes to protecting yourself from HIV infection, knowledge is power.

'The Government must take the lead in acting to improve understanding and so protect public health.’
 

Support or stigma and prejudice?
Most of the public have a supportive attitude, with two thirds (67%) saying they have sympathy for people with HIV and three quarters (74%) agreeing people with HIV deserve the same level of support and respect as people with cancer.
 

However, a significant minority of people continue to hold stigmatising and discriminatory views.

One in ten adults say they have little sympathy towards people with HIV, and this rises to three in ten if people got HIV through unprotected sex. Since almost everyone with HIV (95%) got HIV through unprotected sex, this rate of public blame and rejection looks worrying.
 

Friends, workers and relations
Feelings are affected by people having HIV. One in five people felt HIV would damage their relationship with a HIV positive family member or neighbour. At work, although two thirds agree they would be comfortable working with someone living with HIV, more than one in ten admitted they would be uncomfortable working with that person.
 

‘Tell the workers too’
Over a third of people think employers should tell other workers that one of them has HIV. The idea that workers have a ‘right to know’ is pointless as protection, because there is no risk of HIV transmission at work. This 'right to know' demand shows how HIV stigma undermines HIV workers’ rights to privacy and confidentiality.
 

Most know about HIV stigma
Two thirds of the public believe that there is still a great deal of stigma in the UK today around HIV and a similar proportion agree it is right there are laws to protect people with HIV from discrimination and that more needs to be done to tackle prejudice against people living with HIV in the UK.
 

Women are keener than men to tackle HIV prejudice, with 73% of women wanting to see action on this problem, compared with 62% of the men.
 

Time for government action

Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust), concludes:
‘Whilst HIV treatment has advanced rapidly in the last ten years, knowledge and attitudes have sadly not kept pace – resulting in stigma and discrimination.
 

'In addition to improving knowledge of HIV, intensive work also needs to go into tackling the often deep-seated judgments and beliefs held about HIV and the people affected.
 

'The Government made a concerted and effective effort to tackle this stigma in mental health, and now it is time for HIV to be addressed in the same way.’
 

HIV - Public Knowledge and Attitudes 2011 - full report and data tables