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Morality, Discrimination, and Silence: Understanding HIV Stigma in the Sociocultural Context of China

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Stigma, Discrimination and Living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract

Stigma associated with HIV/AIDS in China has largely shaped by the sociocultural meanings of this disease. Based on an empirical study of the daily experiences of Chinese people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), this chapter explores the ways in which HIV stigma is constructed, experienced, understood, and responded from the perspectives of those individuals. The actual interactions between PLWHA and others reveal that the sociocultural meanings of this disease are not fixed, but ongoingly co-constructed by the various participants (such as PLWHA and their families, friends, and health workers) in such interactions. Despite people’s mastery of knowledge, prejudices toward HIV/AIDS and PLWHA can be generated, spread, and, perhaps, made worse through interpersonal interactions. To effectively fight HIV stigma in the Chinese context, I argue that the non-biomedical and interactive dimensions of stigma and discrimination associated with this disease must also be taken into account.

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Acknowledgments

I wish to express my appreciation to the HIV-infected people who participated in this study and to the following individuals for their support at different stages of this research project: Drs. Sheila Neysmith, Adrienne Chambon, and Ted Myers at the University of Toronto; Dr. Jacqueline Gahagan at Dalhousie University; and Dr. Wang Jiang, Professor Jing Jun, and Ms. Wang Kerong in Beijing. This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre (www.idrc.ca), Ottawa, Canada.

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  1. School of Social Work and Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, L8S 4M4, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Yanqiu Rachel Zhou

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  1. Yanqiu Rachel Zhou
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Correspondence to Yanqiu Rachel Zhou .

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  1. School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, 3086, Victoria, Australia

    Pranee Liamputtong

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Zhou, Y.R. (2013). Morality, Discrimination, and Silence: Understanding HIV Stigma in the Sociocultural Context of China. In: Liamputtong, P. (eds) Stigma, Discrimination and Living with HIV/AIDS. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6324-1_7

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