The most painful journey of PLHIV is that of stigma. Many of us have experienced it in different communities, but our pains and stories are similar. As a young girl living with HIV, I lived in fear and was not happy in my community because it made me feel different.
Stigma is a pandemic of its own. We have lost many people because of it. It has made people shy away from services that were available and free, and it has forced people into isolation. I am speaking of the HIV-related stigma that I have experienced and that many PLHIV have also experienced in our different communities. I am happy to be alive today and to witness that things have shifted a bit but have we done enough, especially as we speak of ending AIDS? I am happy to be alive and living in a community where I am called by my name, because between 2004 and 2006 my name in the community was "AIDS." That is how many people and peers used to call me. Stigma was that bitter in all corners of the world. Continue reading...
