Uma nova côr [A new Colour]: Men's accounts of HIV-related stigma and discrimination in Portugal

Aim To explore the experiences and perspectives on HIV-related stigma and discrimination of men living with HIV in Portugal within health care settings and beyond, examining implications for their health, wellbeing and social needs. Background The prevalence of HIV in Portugal is one of the highest in Western Europe, with men being disproportionately affected, however, little is known about men's experiences of living with HIV in Portugal. Methods The study utilised semi-structured interviews with 20 men living with HIV in urban Portugal, and 10 health care professionals. Results A number of structural issues impact on men's experiences, including general ignorance concerning HIV in the population at large and reduced government attention, leading to the rejection of people living with HIV. Men living with HIV experience a sense of ‘social death’, linked to the everyday invisibility of the condition. Despite moves to reframe HIV from a fatal to a chronic condition, HIV is still regarded as a dangerous disease at social and institutional levels. Adaptation to living with HIV may be facilitated if men had experienced previous biographical disruption. Somewhat paradoxically, and in contrast to earlier accounts of the ‘layering’ of HIV-related stigma, previously ‘spoiled identities’ may make living with HIV somewhat easier, for some men at least. Conclusion The present study captured something of the tensions inherent to living with HIV in a developed country today, which may be important to consider when addressing HIV-related stigma and discrimination.