People living with HIV continue to face employment discrimination
People with HIV face discrimination when they seek employment, when they want to keep their job or when they want to climb the ladder. The situation is exacerbated when they are women, according to a new report presented by the International Labor Organization and the Global Network of People Living with HIV.
The study is based on surveys conducted by national teams in Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Greece, Ukraine, Cameroon, Malawi, Senegal, Uganda, Korea, Fiji and Timor Leste. In these respective countries , more than 100,000 people who are HIV-positive were interviewed.
The study was presented during the International Conference "AIDS 2018", which takes place in Amsterdam every two years. It is the largest global meeting on any health or development issue related to HIV.
"What the report shows is that there is still a long way to go in our efforts to combat stigma and discrimination related to the workplace for people living with HIV," said Sasha Volgina, director of the HIV / AIDS Program. cited World Network .
Access to few jobs
The report shows that a large proportion of people living with HIV are unemployed, with rates ranging from 7 percent of respondents in Uganda to 61 percent in Honduras.
In addition, ten of the thirteen countries registered unemployment rates among respondents of 30 percent or more.
Young people living with HIV have a much higher unemployment rate , from 11 percent in South Korea to 61 percent in Greece, with some countries registering a rate equal to or greater than 50 percent: Timor Leste ( 50 percent), the Fiji Islands (56 percent), Honduras (60 percent) and Greece (61 percent).
Women living with HIV are less likely to be employed than men in the same situation, due to unpaid care responsibilities.
In all countries, the unemployment of transgender people living with HIV remains high. The lack of independent income among women is also high, which means that women living with HIV do not have economic autonomy to the same extent as their male counterparts.
"People living with HIV have the right to work and no one should deny it," said Shauna Olney, head of the Gender, Equality and Diversity Service of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
If they get a job, they suffer discrimination
The reaction of employers to workers who are HIV positive has not been favorable in countries in Latin America.
"Many have lost their job and feel that it is due to the discrimination of their bosses and coworkers. This situation places them in a position of social and economic vulnerability. They have even been denied a promotion because of their diagnosis, among other reasons, "said a participant from Belize.
As in Latin America, Africa also has the same problem.
"I went to find my appointment letter, but only to hear what I had to undergo a medical examination. I knew my HIV status, which I notified the human resources officer, she told me that I had to do the medical exam, which confirmed my positive serological status.
This put an end to the hiring process since they could no longer hire me despite having passed the interviews, "said a participant from Cameroon.
The situation extends to Europe.
"When the information about my status came to my director, he called me in his office. First he told me that he was working badly and little.
Then he asked me to present my resignation, without any real explanation, as if my resignation was voluntary, "said another Ukrainian participant.
The study recommendations
The study contains several recommendations and calls on governments and international agencies to increase efforts to enforce human rights based on the ILO Recommendation on HIV and AIDS and the world of work , by facilitating the access to full and productive employment and decent work for people living with HIV.
"It is sad to note that despite years of work, stigma and discrimination persist. The latest report of the ILO - Impact of HIV and AIDS on the world of work: Global estimates - showed that the treatment of AIDS allows workers to remain healthy and productive.
But treatment alone is not enough. We need to intensify our efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination in the workplace towards people living with HIV, "Olney said.
