OUR FIRST STORY AT JUSTICE

So the first story that we have begun work on is about HIV/AIDS. Initially, we wanted to explore the stigma associated with virus and those affected by it. What we found in the process was that there was another story to explore before we could get to the stigma, and that is the secrets surrounding infection.

Apparently, 1 in 9 Ghanaians are HIV positive (though I do not have a source for this information yet). In our research, we have not come across very many people who have the virus. Even the medical workers that we interviewed have not come across many people with the virus.

What has been suggested is that this is due to the sting of the stigma, which, in the recent past, and still in many cases has caused families to disown infected family members. In one interview, a woman told the story of her sister who was abandoned by her father because he thought that she had AIDS. She died without his support, but it was not of AIDS. She was actually brought to Tamale from Mali where she was living by a neighbour, as her family up there would have nothing to do with her.

Another interview that we did revealed a medical worker who has a close friend that he says is HIV positive. He also told us that her husband died of AIDS recently. What was striking about the story is that no one around them knows of the status of her or of her deceased husband. Being that he worked in the south of the country, the local community did not see him deteriorate. She has not told them of her condition due to fear of rejection.

One medical worker who did a lot of workshops in village communities said that a great majority did not take advantage of free testing that was brought to their doorstep. Her suggestion is that people would rather not know.

So, what began as a story about the stigma, is evolving into a series about the effect of the stigma in causing such deep secrecy and the dangerous effects of the silence on those infected and those not infected.

I will add updates on our progress.