some time, we didn’t tell anybody except me and her…I was worried that I have made a mistake because I have been going with others I – kept that a secret to myself.” He said that he and his wife experienced heightened fear of HIV-related stigma because of negative community attitudes about their right to a full sexual and reproductive life as a deaf couple. Several persons with disabilities told Human Rights Watch that they preferred not to seek ART at their local or closest health facility providing ART because of their fear of stigma. Matthew C. who has a physical disability, explained: is no privacy in the clinic you can “There – meet others from our community there and don’t want them to know your status…some of us would prefer to go for ART to a clinic far away.” While this fear of HIV related stigma is not unique to persons with disabilities, many of them told us that they face a heightened concern for privacy because of the double stigma they face in the community - related to both their disability and HIV status. HIV-related stigma also creates barriers for individuals with disabilities in adhering to treatment. Persons with disabilities are reliant on relatives or others to take them to medical appointments or communicate information to them, and therefore have to tell them about their status, depriving them of confidentiality and risking a stigmatizing response.
some time, we didn’t tell anybody except me and her…I was worried that I have made a mistake because I have been going with others – I kept that a secret to myself.” He said that he and his wife experienced heightened fear of HIV-related stigma because of negative community attitudes about their right to a full sexual and reproductive life as a deaf couple. Several persons with disabilities told Human Rights Watch that they preferred not to seek ART at their local or closest health facility providing ART because of their fear of stigma. Matthew C. who has a physical disability, explained: “There is no privacy in the clinic – you can meet others from our community there and don’t want them to know your status…some of us would prefer to go for ART to a clinic far away.” While this fear of HIV related stigma is not unique to persons with disabilities, many of them told us that they face a heightened concern for privacy because of the double stigma they face in the community - related to both their disability and HIV status. HIV-related stigma also creates barriers for individuals with disabilities in adhering to treatment. Persons with disabilities are reliant on relatives or others to take them to medical appointments or communicate information to them, and therefore have to tell them about their status, depriving them of confidentiality and risking a stigmatizing response.
zambia0714_accessible.docx