Values: Shame, Blame and Judgment

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Values Shame, Blame and Judgment
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Moral values and HIV/AIDS Stigma

• The tendency to associate moral impropriety to
  HIV/AIDS leads to stigmatization of PLHAs.
• Many stigma reduction interventions aim to change
  attitudes that associate moral impropriety to
  HIV/AIDS.
• However changing moral-based attitudes is a
  challenging and sensitive issue. Achievement of
  changes takes time.

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Commonly used Indicators

• Percent of people who would judge or blame
  persons living with HIV/AIDS for their illness
• Percent of people who would feel shame if they
  associated with a person living with HIV/AIDS

Each indicator is constructed using several
items/questions The Tanzania team field-tested
these indicators
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Percent of Respondents Agreeing and Perceptions
of Community Responses to Stigmatizing
Attitudinal Statements
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Construction of two Indicators
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Items Selected

• Shame
• I would feel ashamed if I were infected with
  HIV/AIDS
• I would feel ashamed if someone in my family had
  HIV/AIDS
• People with HIV/AIDS should be ashamed of
  themselves
• Judgment and Blame
• People with HIV/AIDS are promiscuous
• It is women prostitutes who spread HIV in the
  community
• HIV/AIDS is a punishment from God

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Recommendations from field-testing

• Indicators are needed for two dimensions shame
  and blame/judgment
• Construction of each indicator needs at least
  three items.
• Omit positive attitudinal questions/items, they
  do not show adequate variations to support
  analysis.

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Progress made, but more work needed..

• The 3-items recommended indicators capture
  value-based stigma and can be adapted to measure
  this stigma in different populations to monitor
  progress of programs.
• Further careful phrasing of the stigmatizing
  statements is needed to differentiate the reality
  that may underlie spread of infection from the
  general stigmatization of MARPs.