Protecting the rights of people living with HIV in the workplace
Abstract
The Gujarat State Network of Positive People (GSNP+) set out to learn more about the employment needs of people living with HIV and identified 341 individuals in need of work from among the network’s members. GSNP+ and ICRW also surveyed 357 workers across five sectors and found high levels of stigma toward PLHIV, which would impede them from seeking or retaining employment. For instance, 42% of workers reported that people talk ‘badly’ about PLHIV at the workplace and the same percentage felt that a person living with HIV should not be allowed to continue working. Additionally, most workplaces lacked PLHIV anti-discrimination policies.
In order to create a supportive and non-discriminatory work environment for PLHIV, GSNP+ recognized the need to address the drivers and facilitators of stigma among more than one population/environment, specifically both workers (general population) and institutions (senior management and policies). This project was part of a larger effort to adapt and pilot test a global stigma-reduction framework to the Indian context.
Citation
Anon. Protecting the rights of people living with HIV in the workplace. International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), (2013) 2 pp.
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