section_path: Society and culture/Stigma
section_name: Stigma
paragraph_text: Stigma
  
  AIDS stigma exists around the world in a variety of ways, including ostracism, rejection, discrimination and avoidance of HIV-infected people; compulsory HIV testing without prior consent or protection of confidentiality; violence against HIV-infected individuals or people who are perceived to be infected with HIV; and the quarantine of HIV-infected individuals. Stigma-related violence or the fear of violence prevents many people from seeking HIV testing, returning for their results, or securing treatment, possibly turning what could be a manageable chronic illness into a death sentence and perpetuating the spread of HIV.
  
  AIDS stigma has been further divided into the following three categories:
  
  Often, AIDS stigma is expressed in conjunction with one or more other stigmas, particularly those associated with homosexuality, bisexuality, promiscuity, prostitution, and intravenous drug use.
  
  In many developed countries, there is an association between AIDS and homosexuality or bisexuality, and this association is correlated with higher levels of sexual prejudice, such as anti-homosexual or anti-bisexual attitudes. There is also a perceived association between AIDS and all male-male sexual behavior, including sex between uninfected men. However, the dominant mode of spread worldwide for HIV remains heterosexual transmission.
  
  The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt was conceived in 1985 to celebrate the lives of those who had died of AIDS when stigma prevented many from receiving funerals. It is now cared for by the National AIDS Memorial in San Francisco.
  
  In 2003, as part of an overall reform of marriage and population legislation, it became legal for those diagnosed with AIDS to marry in China.
  
  In 2013, the U.S. National Library of Medicine developed a traveling exhibition titled Surviving and Thriving: AIDS, Politics, and Culture; this covered medical research, the U.S. government's response, and personal stories from people with AIDS, caregivers, and activists.
  
  Stigma has proved an obstacle to the update of PrEP. Within the MSM community, the greatest barrier to PrEP use has been the stigma surrounding HIV and gay men. Gay men on PrEP have experienced " slut-shaming ". Numerous other barriers have been identified, including lack of quality LGBTQ care, cost, and adherence to medication use.