People Infected With HIV Discriminated Against at Work

5.05.2010 | By: S. K.

Many people infected with HIV lose their jobs when they speak out about their disease.

If you don't want to become infected with HIV, you better use protection! (PhotoXpress)

Infected with HIV? Better keep it to yourself!

A British medical journal recently posted the information that people infected with HIV are often victims of discrimination at the workplace. Even more than that, they lose job after job because of the virus, despite being qualified to perform the tasks at hand.

You can imagine that people infected with HIV have to struggle for survival every day because they cannot get a job.

The researchers came to their findings when they researched the people in France. As a sample they took 478 employed people, who became infected with HIV a while after getting the job. They were also on medication which slows down the virus the whole time after discovering they were infected with HIV.

The group which was observed reported on the disease, its progress and the relationships at work. The most interesting data came from the reactions of the co-workers to the disease and the discriminating of the diseased person.

Sexism even regarding those infected with HIV

They found out the following: if a woman is infected with HIV, the chances of her losing her job and being discriminated are four times greater. If a man is infected with HIV, he is also discriminated, but it is unlikely he will lose his job. It appears as if we are not all equals in sickness and death yet.

The information is especially alarming because the diseased people spend a lot of money on medication which slows down the virus. This means that they desperately need work and a regular income. When the symptoms of these people infected with HIV start exhibiting on the outside, the discrimination becomes worse, the research also proved.

Many people infected with HIV do not know about their disease until it is too late. So use you sense when having intercourse with a stranger! And the most important little detail? Use a condom!