A Q&A with SFU assistant professor Angela Kaida
Women living with HIV have high rates of sexual inactivity and dissatisfaction, and a lower quality of life. This is according to Angela Kaida, the Canada Research Chair in Sexual and Reproductive Health, and one of the women who is part of a research group studying stigma surrounding HIV.
The Peak got a hold of Kaida, who is an assistant professor at SFU’s Faculty of Health Sciences, to talk about the project, potential changes that could arise, and how they’re hoping to reduce stigma.
The Peak: In regards to educating the public, how will this project help remove the HIV stigma?
Angela Kaida: First, the really good news: with improving access and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART; the standard of treatment for people living with HIV), HIV is increasingly considered a chronic disease [and no longer an infectious disease].
People living with HIV (PLWH) who start treatment early and are adherent have life expectancies on par with HIV-uninfected people. We now also have evidence showing that when people living with HIV are successfully on ART and achieve a suppressed viral load (which means that there is such a low number of HIV virus particles in the blood, that they can’t be detected by standard lab tests), the risk of HIV transmission to sexual partners approaches zero, even when condoms are not being used.
Sadly, however, in Canada and elsewhere, increasing use of ART has not substantially alleviated the presence or impacts of HIV-related stigma and discrimination. There is a plethora of evidence showing how damaging HIV-related stigma is to the health and well-being of women living with HIV.
The impacts of stigma include increasing delays in accessing HIV care and treatment, growing fears of disclosing HIV status, and pervasive high levels of violence towards women living with HIV.