Prior to research conducted by Shindler & Tangelder (2010), it has been known that stigma is experienced by children and their families affected by HIV/AIDS. This stigma is experienced by being ostracized in communities and discriminated against. This research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of “Leading the Way,” a program designed to support the psychosocial development of children affected by HIV. An analysis of measurable and subjective data, display that kids who do not know the HIV status of family members have greater anxiety and depression measures in relation to those who know their family’s status (Shindler & Tangelder, 2010). Children who knew about their family’s status still had anxiety and fear regarding what would occur if others found out about it. Even children with supportive friends expressed concern over being harassed, teased, judged, bullied or rejected if their friends found out about the diagnosis. Kids expressed HIV to be associated with something ‘dirty’, which expresses the stigma associated with it. The stigma was reported to come from the beliefs that HIV: a) is contracted by ‘bad’ individuals and is ‘dirty,’ b) is an ‘African disease and problem,’ c) is transmitted through touch (Shindler & Tangelder, 2010).
Many children avoided support out of fear of disclosing the illness, and some said they had lied about the illness, attributing its characteristics to something more acceptable, like cancer. The secrecy and isolation caused by this fear, affects the social support the child seeks. For children whose parents chose not to disclose the illness often had greater feelings of anxiety with the thought that something bad was occurring without their knowledge, and this points to the greater need in supporting parents through disclosures (Shindler & Tangelder, 2010).
From a legal perspective, we see the need to provide more support to parents and children affected by HIV by providing confidential counselling services wherein children can feel safe discussing their concerns and parents can get support too. From a social-cultural perspective, we see a far-reaching and internalizing stigma that is very much felt by children experiencing the impacts of this illness. From a social standpoint, we see that Toronto has a lot of work to do in breaking stigma associated with HIV.
Source:
Shindler, S., & Tangelder, M. (2010). Beneath the Mask: A Group Therapy Model Supporting Children Infected With and Affected by HIV/AIDS. Social Work with Groups, 33(4), 308-322. doi:10.1080/01609511003664439
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