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From the physical self to the social body: expressions and effects of HIV‐related stigma in South Africa
Author(s) -
Mills Elizabeth Anne
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of community and applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.042
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1099-1298
pISSN - 1052-9284
DOI - 10.1002/casp.899
Subject(s) - stigma (botany) , ethnography , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , social stigma , sign (mathematics) , psychology , antiretroviral treatment , social psychology , sociology , medicine , psychiatry , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , gender studies , antiretroviral therapy , family medicine , anthropology , viral load , mathematical analysis , mathematics
Abstract This paper discusses some of the forms and consequences of HIV‐related stigma in a community living in KTC, an informal settlement in South Africa, drawing on ethnographic research findings. The first section presents a dynamic form of stigma sign language that is used to label the HIV‐positive ‘other’ in this community. The second section highlights some of the pernicious consequences of HIV‐related stigma, including fear of disclosure and downward social mobility, and the way in which these prompt some HIV‐positive people to avoid local clinics and treatment altogether, and drive others to mask or hide the fact that they are receiving medical treatment, such as antiretroviral drugs. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.