Terms used for people living with HIV in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
For this study we conducted in-depth interviews with 29 youth living with HIV (YLWH) and key informant interviews with 8 HIV care/support providers. We describe terms used to portray people living with HIV (PLWH) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Labels commonly used, mostly derogatory, described PLWH as walking corpses, dangers to others, or people deserving to die before others get infected. Blame and other accusations were directed at PLWH through anchoring or objectification. Being labeled sometimes made these youth suffer in silence, afraid to disclose their status, or avoid performing actions in public, preferring to let others do them. YLWH need psychosocial support to mitigate the harmful effects of these labels and strengthen their coping skills, whereas community, institutional, and national efforts are needed for stigma reduction.
1Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Bavon
B
Mupenda
Sandra
S
Duvall
Suzanne
S
Maman
Audrey
A
Pettifor
Christina
C
Holub
Eboni
E
Taylor
Stuart
S
Rennie
Mujalambo
M
Kashosi
Mamie
M
Lema
Frieda
F
Behets
D000293:Adolescent; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D057545:Social Stigma; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
Africa; Africa, sub-Saharan; HIV / AIDS; adolescents / youth; stigma; young adults