Sudanese Women Living with HIV/AIDS Stigma and Discrimination

Abstract

This study aims to explore and describe the meaning and effect of the women’s experience of HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination. The study adopted an exploratory descriptive qualitative research method. The sample is purposefully selected and consists of 10 women living with HIV who were members of people living with HIV/AIDS association in Khartoum State in 2019. Results show that all the participants were facing stigma and discrimination because they were living with HIV and AIDS. Distant relatives were the main source of stigma and discrimination followed by friends’ rest of community members. Most participants indicated that they felt they were discriminated because HIV infection is associated with ‘sexual misbehavior’. However, some of them complained that they contracted the virus from their married partners and hence they did not deserve to be stigmatized or discriminated against. Results show that there is a need for creation of awareness among community members on the transmission of HIV.