Hiv And Aids Victims example essay topic

Any society, or group within society establishes norms of behavior to which its members are expected to conform. When people violate these norms, others express disapproval; deviants are shun, and if the violation is serious enough they may be treated with much less dignity or respect than justice dictates. This type of behavior has been going on for many years and this idea is particularly relevant to those who have HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). The moral construction and distinctive stigma attached to AIDS is due largely to the fact that a very high proportion of people who have AIDS are considered social deviants. This is partly due to studies which show high levels of sexualpromiscuity and drug abuse among AIDS patients. The unfortunate part of the disease is that the victim must tackle two different types of disability.

The first being chronic illness, deteriorating health, and different style of life. The second has to do with both acceptance and reintegration into the community, and society as a whole. This added dimension to the HIV-AIDS virus hash ad numerous impacts upon the victim. The greatest being, the introduction of new types of pain; those that hurt the soul, not just the body. AIDS is now considered a chronic illness. The method by which you become infected is quite scientific.

To paint a general picture, while traces of HIV have been found in saliva, sweat, and tears, it is generally accepted that the exchange of these bodily fluids is not an efficient mode of transmission. The risk of becoming HIV, and later AIDS infected is much greater when there is a direct exchange of blood, semen, or vaginal fluids. Unprotected sexual intercourse is stated to place one at a high risk of infection (Huber, 1996). HIV has been isolated from both semen and vaginal secretions.

Anal intercourse, especially among men is an acutely effective mode of HIV transmission. Men who have se with men continue to comprise the greatest number of reported AIDS cases in America (Huber 1996). Rare cases of infection occur with blood transfusion, organ transplant, or accidental exchange of blood with an infected person. AIDS as a disease could be compared closely with the motions of cancer, yet it differs from most other diseases in the way that it prescribes itself to the human body. However, there seems to be an unavoidable plague following this disease world-wide. There is a firm belief among many, that AIDS victims are responsible for their disease because of their lifestyle, sexual preference, or own misfortune such as financial insecurity.

Because of this attitude, the yare treated differently in almost all regions within the community, from the work place, to the dentist's chair. If not for a number of key medical, legal, and social supports, AIDS communities would surely be left out in the cold. Those with HIV-AIDS are classified as disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act. They are thus entitled to protection from discrimination in employment, health care, housing and all aspects of life in America (J.O.R., 1997). Rehabilitation professionals recognize that HIV disease can affect everyone, regardless of their lifestyle or sexual orientation. It is becoming increasingly evident that rehabilitation caseloads will grow as persons with AIDS a reliving longer and wanting to work.

However, the legal system can only get their foot in the door, the real battle ensues when AIDS victims are discriminated against within their communities. There is another dimension to AIDS as a disability that several case studies and accounts of AIDS victims will attest to. This entails victims who have not been treated fairly by their boss or co-workers in the workforce, peers, or general medical institutions because of their disability. The fear of contagion is a noose around the neck of AIDS victims. So much so, that personal contact or even communication with those without the disease, produces a rather sinful reaction. People are generally afraid of what they see in HIV and AIDS victims; that is pain, suffering, and rapid physical or mental health deterioration.

In the case of Sidney Abbot, this type of discrimination caused quite a stir when she tried to get her teeth examined by a dentist. She was told that her teeth would not be cleaned until she could finance a procedure to take place in the hospital in a maximum infection-containment facility (Garrett, 1998). The American DentalAssociation refused to budge on this issue, supporting their claim that people with AIDS should not jeopardize the lives of dentists or oral surgeons. In this case, Abbot claimed to be protected from medical discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The case went to the Supreme court, and Abbot was greeted there with firm backings from the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, and the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The final message given to the dentist in question, and the American DentalAssociation was to have some tact and use professional judgement and care with such cases inthe future Dealing with AIDS as a disability involves much more than symptoms, medication, and chronic illness, it also incorporates fear, alienation, and boundaries.

Cancer patients are not ostracized for their disease like AIDS patients are. There is a definite distinction there, as it revolves around the uncertain nature and motive of the disease. If AIDS culture is a deviant one, then those who stand outside of it look down upon the disease and all those who carry it. Thereare many unfortunate stigmatic attitudes towards the disease that have yet to be corrected by mother culture. It is still assumed by some that most AIDS victims may be homosexual, negligent in their sexual practices, or chronic drug abusers. Though this may be the case in certain situations, there are other factors at play such as poverty, culture, and lack of education which stand in the way of a normal lifestyle.

There is a definite gender issue which accompanies this disease. Homosexuals in American society have had a hard enough time gaining social movement within their communities. Those with AIDS, have an even harder time, because they are blamed both for their choice of lifestyle and spreading of the disease. There is a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS within gay cultures around the world. Due to this fact, the HIV virus is sometimes referred to as the gay virus.

This stigma has again made it very difficult for gay male communities, forcing them to often denounce their virus, and sometimes their homosexuality tothe public. However, statistics show that there is a higher level of acceptance, and recognition of their disability among those in their close social network. Females with AIDS have also had a hard time integrating themselves within the community (Green, 1996). A study put together involving 42 male and female participants withthe HIV virus, analyzed the view points of persons with HIV, and views of the general public.

I twas found that both parties held an illiberal attitude towards women with the disability overmen. This is partly due to the fact that AIDS is seen more as a male issue in the eyes of the media, not a female one. One of the most troubling aspects of the virus, is that people do not know who to blame for the epidemic. It is one of the most widely spread virus in the world, and can afflict anyone who is not careful. Many who are ignorant of the nature, history, or evolution of the virus into modern society, have chosen to blame homosexuals for the spread and even genesis of the virus. Why Because they are an easy target, and already struggling to get a foothold within their communities.

Even though AIDS is not looked upon as a female issue in the eyes of the public, thereare staggering amounts of female AIDS victims within the community. They are in many cases suffering from extreme poverty and the poorest of living conditions. To these women, social supports provided by the government such as walk in clinics and rehabilitation services are their only hope. Unfortunately, most of these women live on the street, and are forced to deal withthe possibility of contracting the virus every day. Whether it be through prostitution, sexualpromiscuity, drug use (sharing of hypodermic needles), or unsanitary conditions living with or around AIDS victims. Another issue surrounding women and AIDS, is child birth.

Mothers whoa re infected, transmit the virus to approximately 30 percent of their babies. Of AIDS cases involving children under the age of 13, approximately 89 percent are attributed to HIV-infected mothers (Huber, 1996). In many cases, these mothers had not even known that they we reinfected with the HIV virus, because they had not yet started to feel signs or symptoms of it yet. These people living on the streets, are considered to be at the bottom of the ladder, as far as social status, living conditions, and health. There are some means to reintegrate them back into society, but it is a very lengthy and trying journey. There are several factors in the way suc has discrimination in the work force, partial health insurance coverage, unfair medical treatment, and general segregation in the community.

Those who attempt this journey, almost always find these factors slapped in their faces on more than one occasion. Other countries and cultures experience similar reactions between the view points of AIDS victims and society's. The issues do not change drastically among the players because the virus itself does not change; it is not selective, and will infect anyone it comes into contact with. In India, the bulk of males who test positive for the HIV get it either through the use of infected intravenous needles and drug abuse or through what the Director General of Health Services calls heterosexually promiscuous behavior (Thomas, 1994).

Authorities in India battle the enormous drug abuse problem causing so many of its male AIDS cases. Women on the other hand contract it mainly through sexually promiscuous behavior with men. However, Thomas explains a number of rituals in association with Indian practice or custom, which might help explain a number of cases. Every Saturday night, eight couples meet at a south Calcutta house.

The men are dressed as business men, and the women as housewives. They partake in dinner and drink, then each toss their car keys in a hat. One man at a time selects a set of keys, where they then pair up, and partake in sexual relations with a random partner each turn. Dispelling the notion that AIDS is a gay disease in India, only six men were found out of 3,188 to have contracted the virus through sex with other men (Thomas, 1994).

Thus noted, the AIDS virus could be considered a different disability when social values are concerned, in different cultures, and societies. HIV and AIDS victims are generally are not accustomed to addressing their disease as a distinct disability due to the often slow, and lingering effects of the virus on the body. HIV victims have statistically been prone to live long periods of time without feeling any symptoms. During the more severe and latter stages of the virus however, many bodily functions begin to wither; the immune system is not able to tolerate much of the environment's smaller and less-harmful contagions. Only in this stage of the infection will it resemble a chronic illness of sorts. As a result, the AIDS victim is more likely to adopt new practices, such as taking doses of medication several times daily.

Several routines are more likely to set in, ranging from visits to support groups, seeing friends within a tight social network, exercising more often, eating healthier, and weekly check-ups with a doctor. It is quite unfortunate that in addition to these circumstances, a much more real disability is bestowed upon the AIDS victim. This is the unmistakable bias and stigma towards HIV-AIDS culture, gay communities, and people living onthe street with the disease. Again, this discrimination is partly drawn by people who believe this to be a new and evil virus, sent to plague the world by those who have contracted it themselves. On a positive note, the past few years have shed new light on what the virus really is. There have been new advances injected straight into the education system.

As a result, community awareness and support has sky rocketed. The only true hope that AIDS victims have right now is a chance for a cure. Living with AIDS is a disability that asks far more of itself than most people can give. Unfortunately, more and more people are giving, by passing the disease along to someone else.