Stigma of Living with HIV/AIDS

Wednesday, 19th June, 18:00–21:30, Pritličje, Mestni trg 2

U=U campaign presentation

Production: Kulturni center Q

The members of ŠKUC Magnus will present the U=U campaign. We welcome everyone who wants to learn more about the complex stigma HIV-positive people face from HIV-positive individuals themselves. People living with HIV in Slovenia often still publically hide their status out of fear of discrimination.

The stigma against HIV-positive LGBTIQ+ individuals also affects other marginalised groups, such as sex workers, migrants, and intravenous drug users.

HIV-positive individuals also often encounter discrimination from healthcare providers when trying to access help within the public healthcare system due to the lack of knowledge about HIV and the proper treatment for HIV-positive people. The campaign aims to address this informational vacuum (within the LGBTIQ+ community) and empower individuals with information about safer sex, especially for younger members of the LGBTIQ+ population. The main goal of the campaign is to raise awareness about the newest medical information about the topic amongst the target population.

Living with HIV in Slovenia

Production: Legebitra

Stigma and discrimination are some of the main barriers for an effective response to the epidemic of HIV. Oftentimes people with HIV also face discrimination based on other personal circumstances, such as sexual orientation, gender, race, or poverty, and this only makes the experience worse. People who live with HIV can encounter stigmatization and discrimination in different situations, but the most problematic is that which they experience in health care settings. Due to the state of the health system, discrimination by healthcare professionals can cause serious consequences for people living with HIV.

Mitja Ćosić and Sebastjan Sitar from the association Legebitra will tell us more about the situation in Slovenia and activities in this field.