EPISODE 24 - Stigma and Prejudice

There is a lot of stigma around HIV in South Africa. In some rural communities the virus is even seen as being the result of witchcraft making the HIV sufferer "bewitched".  Besides this it is also seen as a disease that only affects people who are promiscuous, sex workers or homosexuals.  This week on Siyayinqoba Beat It! our support group and guests discuss the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS and if anything in the foreseeable future can be done to alter the mindsets of people who perpetuate these unfortunate views.  Zuki, from the Siyayinqoba Beat It! Outreach team, joins us in studio for this week's show.

The first insert is immensely sad and comes to us from the Eastern Cape where a young woman took her own life and those of her children. Nokuzola Mfiki was ostracized by her community because of her assumed HIV positive status. Unable to deal with or accept the community's opinion of her she took her own life as well as the lives of her children. Why did she do it? Can it be simply because people were ostracizing her because of her assumed HIV positive status? We see the impact this has on her family and ultimately the very community that shunned her. Nokuzola's story and that of her children is a heartbreaking example of just how much pain and suffering ignorance can cause. Back in the studio we realise that often in our more liberal, urban settings we are sheltered form the reality that manifests itself in some smaller communities.

Next we visit a high school in Mtambalala to follow members of the Treatment Action Campaign as they undertake to address the stigma around HIV in their rural community.  We see how there are people out there trying to teach a new generation about the realities of HIV and what we can do to live positively with the disease and ultimately conquer it. The kids talk about the suicide of Nokuzola in their community and they then come to the conclusion that keeping something inside and not talking about it makes it harder to come to terms with. Some of the TAC activists also go door to door to educate the community about HIV. These interventions that increase the understanding of HIV, how it is transmitted and that there is no shame in being infected the more likely it is that we can prevent a tragedy like the suicide of Nokuzola happening again. Back in the studio the support group wonders enough is being done to demystify HIV in our communities. The support group and the guest feel that we all need to step up our efforts.  A touching story of an HIV positive policewoman who was considering suicide is also brought up in the studio but after having watched an episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! she chose life and positive living with the virus.

The last insert takes us to meet Jonny Steinberg a renowned South African factual novelist. Steinberg wrote a book called "The Three Letter Plague" and lived in Lusikisiki for 18 months.  He shares his experiences of how the virus affects these communities.  Despite all the education and understanding he says so much still goes on in secret because people are still ashamed to have the disease and still fear being stigmatised. Steinberg suggest that perhaps the problem is more deep-rooted in our cultural heritage and mere education may not be enough to address this fear and stigma. Back in the studio the support group disagree and argue that through understanding and tolerance we can take the fear of HIV away from those who have it and the people who make up their support group; everyone in our communities.

IT'S A FACT