Artiste in Direct Support (A. I. D. S.) Director Desiree Edghill said while stigma and discrimination remains a major issue in Guyana, she believes that the issue of HIV/ AIDS is no longer a gay but an anal issue. Edghill explained that while HIV/ AIDS has been associated largely with gay people in Guyana, it is no longer the case, noting that the problem today is that too many men and women are engaging in anal sex.
The director told Guyana Times International that more young girls are having anal sex and this places them at a higher risk of also contracting HIV/ AIDS. While stating that Guyana has made a few steps to end stigma and discrimination, especially among high risk groups, she believes that there is much more that needs to be done in order for Guyana to win the war against the disease.
However, in pointing to the positive outcomes of the fight against stigma, Edghill said years ago, people never wanted to been seen getting an HIV test.
Today, people usually line up on National Day of Testing, without being scared of being seen taking the test. Edghill said this is a plus for Guyana and is a testimony to some of the achievements made.
Positive change
In addition, Edghill said that more couples are now getting tested before they start a sexual relationship or before getting married.
This is a step in the right direction for Guyana, she said, while noting that these are ways that show people are becoming more HIV/ AIDS conscious and want to know their status.
However, she noted that the issue lies mainly in the key population of higher risk persons, mainly men who have sex with men.
According to her, when HIV/ AIDS first came to the fore in Guyana, it came from a gay man. Since then, the discrimination and stigma towards gay people have been rapidly growing.
Edghill said for example, if one is to say that a child has HIV/ AIDS, the response would be far different from someone saying that a gay man or woman has contracted the virus.
“The community itself needs to step forward and take some responsibility for stigma… they have to step out to say that we are humans and we want to be treated as such,” she added.
Edghill said that there are many marches held for persons at risk of contracting the virus but the gay community does not participate.
Attitude adjustment
However, Edghill said that law enforcement agencies are becoming more responsive to the gay community, pointing out that they no longer harass them as they used to do in the past.
She contended that the move by some religious bodies to speak out against the gay community also has to be altered to end the stigma and discrimination.
In the foreword of Dr Prem Misir’s recent book titled HIV & AIDS Knowledge and Stigma in Guyana , it said that although widely recognised as a problem, HIV/ AIDS stigma has not been studied enough to inform policymakers and assist them to develop evidence-based, effective policies to fight the epidemic.
