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Stigmatization and Discrimination; Perception of HIV-Positive Individuals in Armenia

An HIV diagnosis is not a death sentence, HIV-positive people say in an interview with Epress.am, speaking about the challenges and the discrimination they face in their day to day life.

A proper antiretroviral therapy, according to the speakers, enables individuals living with HIV to lead active and full lives. HIV awareness and stigma around the infection, however, is still a major issue in Armenia’s society, and an HIV diagnosis, which is widely perceived as a death sentence, often leads to HIV-positive persons’ social exclusion.

After learning about their status, HIV-positive individuals often have difficulty discussing the matter with their family and friends. There are, of course, people who are not subjected to discrimination by their close ones, but more often than not the opposite is true. There are also those who choose not to disclose their HIV status to their family members and friends.

Video in Armenian:

This video was made possible thanks to a crowdfunding campaign by Press Start.