Community, Family, and Partner-Related Stigma Experienced by Pregnant and Postpartum Women with HIV in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Abstract

Pregnant and postpartum women with HIV often face stigma and discrimination at home and in the community. In Vietnam, associations between HIV and the ''social evils'' of drug use and sex work contribute to stigmatization of people with HIV. We conducted a qualitative study to explore discrimination experienced by HIV-positive pregnant and postpartum women in Ho Chi Minh City at home and in the community. We conducted 20 in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions. Participants described managing disclosure of their HIV infection because of fear of stigma and discrimination, particularly to the wider community. In cases where their HIV status was disclosed, women experienced both discrimination and support. The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to support pregnant and postpartum women with HIV, particularly during this period when they are connected to the healthcare system and more readily available for counseling.

Community stigma endorsement and voluntary counseling and testing behavior and attitudes among female heads of household in Zambézia Province, Mozambique

“…As in many high HIV/AIDS prevalence areas, women between the ages of 15 and 45 years are targeted under interventions to scale up the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in Mozambique [16-19]. The questions we addressed are: Does endorsement of community stigma have a significant association with VCT use and endorsement?…”

Women’s willingness to be tested for human immunodeficiency virus during pregnancy: A review

“…Women infected with HIV/AIDS often describe stigma as a major factor influencing their health behaviors [52] . Women's fear of receiving stigma and discrimination at the hands of their community, spouses, family, and health care providers have been shown to be major impediments to HIV testing during pregnancy in various countries [36,37,[53][54][55][56][57][58] . Even in settings where prenatal HIV testing is normative, women's expectation that they will experience stigma as a result of HIV testing can impede their willingness to be tested [59] .…”

Obstacles to the ‘cleanliness of our race’: HIV, reproductive risk, stratified reproduction, and population quality in Hanoi, Vietnam

“…Recognizing stigma and discrimination as a social (Parker and Aggleton 2003) rather than simply an individual process (Goffman 1963), our research builds on existing studies that discuss the cultural and familial context of HIV-positive women’s experiences of pregnancy and childbirth (Brickley et al 2009; Nguyen Thu Anh et al 2008; Oosterhoff 2008). We draw on two key conceptual sources: Link and Phelan’s (2001) analysis of the ways in which stigma and discrimination result in social stratification and Colen’s (1995) concept of ‘stratified reproduction’, which calls attention to how social inequality is reflected by and reproduced through the differential valuation of children.…”

“…Substantial research has described how the Vietnamese government’s Social Evils Campaign 1 created and reproduced stigma and discrimination of PLHIV (Brickley et al 2009; ISDS and CSAGA 2008; Khuat Thi Hai Oanh 2007; Khuat Thu Hong et al 2004; McNally 2007; Oosterhoff 2008; Van Dat 2009;). Despite ongoing efforts to ‘delink’ the association between HIV/AIDS and the ‘social evils’ of prostitution and intravenous drug use, PLHIV are still considered immoral by many Vietnamese.…”