Causes for Aids Discrimination

Causes for AIDS Discrimination

Many people across the world are infected with the deadly disease known as AIDS. This disease can be transmitted from one person to another through many ways such as sexually intercourse, blood transfusions, and sharing needles that are not sterilized. Today, scientists are still trying to discover a cure for HIV/AIDS. Many who are infected with HIV/AIDS have not only to cope with the disease itself, but they could possibly experience AIDS discrimination as well. In some cases, those who have HIV/AIDS are discriminated against because of some people’s ignorance about AIDS, the association of HIV/AIDS with homosexuality, and other’s fear of being discriminated against because of association with one who is infected.

The lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS is a possible cause of why some people unfairly judge those infected. Many people know that this disease can be fatal but are not informed about how HIV/AIDS is transmitted, which may cause them to fear AIDS and those who are infected. For example, people may not know that it is not possible for AIDS to be airborne and may think that they could possibly contract this disease just by being associated with a person who is infected with HIV/AIDS. Therefore, this assumption may cause people to fear being near someone who has contracted AIDS. “The AIDS Crisis: A Documentary History” states that “fear and ignorance lead to discrimination against people who are infected with HIV…” (Feldmen and Miller 216). As a result of this ignorance and fear, many of those infected have been evicted from their homes, fired from their jobs, threatened, and excluded from school because others were afraid of being infected (216). Because of this discrimination, it may be difficult for some of those infected to obtain a steady job or find a place to live.

The association of HIV/AIDS with homosexuality is also a cause of AIDS discrimination. Since many of those who are infected are homosexuals, some people feel as though gay sexual activities play a major role in the development and spread of HIV/AIDS. The Canadian AIDS Society states that “ In the early days of the AIDS epidemic in North America, gay men were most affected by HIV/AIDS” (Gay and Lesbian Legal Issues and HIV/AIDS). Because homosexuality is known to be connected with HIV/AIDS, some homophobes may discriminate against those who are infected with this disease. The Canadian AIDS Society also indicates that the link in people’s minds between homosexuality and AIDS is so firmly established that discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS is inseparable from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (Gay and Lesbian Legal Issues and HIV/AIDS). For instance, if an employer of a business who happens to be homophobic discovers that one of his applicants is HIV positive, the employer may chose not to interview him because he is assumed to be homosexual if the applicant is infected with this disease. As a result, one who has AIDS could be unemployed because of homophobic discrimination in the workplace.

Another possible cause of AIDS discrimination is the fear of being discriminated against due to the association with one who is infected with HIV/AIDS. In some cases, not only do people unfairly judge those infected with the disease, but they also discriminate against those who are associated with others who are infected. If those who are infected