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26/11/2007
Stigma Still Attached To HIV, Survey Finds
One in seven young people in Britain would not be willing to remain friends with someone who was diagnosed with HIV, a survey by the British Red Cross has found.
One in five young Britons also said that they would not care for a member of their family suffering from the disease.
However, only 32% of those interviewed said that they were worried about contracting HIV, despite a UN report published last week, which showed a marked increase in the incidence of HIV in the UK.
Meanwhile, a fifth of young people interviewed in South Africa said that they would remain friends with someone who contracted the disease, while in Kyrgyzstan, where HIV is a growing problem, almost half of young people questioned said that they would not remain friends with someone diagnosed with HIV.
The Red Cross said that the study of 14-25-year-olds showed "worrying levels of stigma and complacency around HIV/AIDS".
According to a report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, around 24 people in the UK are diagnosed with HIV every day, with 8,925 new infections in 2006.
Around 300 people aged between 14 and 25 were questioned in each of Britain, Ethiopia, South Africa and Kyrgyzstan.
The survey was published by the Red Cross to launch a new campaign, which coincides with World AIDS Day on December 1, to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS among young people in the UK and overseas.
Alyson Lewis, HIV adviser at the British Red Cross, which commissioned the survey, said: "The stigma and secrecy attached to HIV is having a direct impact on young people's ability worldwide to access information and talk openly about their fears and concerns about the spread of this devastating pandemic.
"Almost half of British young people interviewed would want to keep it a secret if a member of their family was living with HIV."
(KMcA)
One in five young Britons also said that they would not care for a member of their family suffering from the disease.
However, only 32% of those interviewed said that they were worried about contracting HIV, despite a UN report published last week, which showed a marked increase in the incidence of HIV in the UK.
Meanwhile, a fifth of young people interviewed in South Africa said that they would remain friends with someone who contracted the disease, while in Kyrgyzstan, where HIV is a growing problem, almost half of young people questioned said that they would not remain friends with someone diagnosed with HIV.
The Red Cross said that the study of 14-25-year-olds showed "worrying levels of stigma and complacency around HIV/AIDS".
According to a report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, around 24 people in the UK are diagnosed with HIV every day, with 8,925 new infections in 2006.
Around 300 people aged between 14 and 25 were questioned in each of Britain, Ethiopia, South Africa and Kyrgyzstan.
The survey was published by the Red Cross to launch a new campaign, which coincides with World AIDS Day on December 1, to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS among young people in the UK and overseas.
Alyson Lewis, HIV adviser at the British Red Cross, which commissioned the survey, said: "The stigma and secrecy attached to HIV is having a direct impact on young people's ability worldwide to access information and talk openly about their fears and concerns about the spread of this devastating pandemic.
"Almost half of British young people interviewed would want to keep it a secret if a member of their family was living with HIV."
(KMcA)
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