Jean-Luc Martinage in Minsk, Belarus
Hanna Nazarova recently turned 34. Yet, she is almost surprised to be still alive. The young woman from Minsk, the capital city of Belarus, became aware of her HIV positive status at the age of 19. As with many infected people at that time, she thought she would die soon.
We meet Hanna at the headquarters of Belarus Red Cross, in the heart of Minsk. It has only been two years since Hanna decided to live openly with HIV. Unlike many people in Belarus who are infected by the virus, she no longer hides herself but rather tries to fight the stigma and discrimination still associated with her status.
Faced with stigma right from the start
“ As a teenager, I was a drug user,” she recalls. “When I was tested positive, I received very little support. Stigma even started right from the start as one of the first things I was asked to do was to sign a paper stating I was aware that I was HIV positive and that it was a crime punished by law to transmit the virus to anyone else.”
“Then I left the hospital and I started to watch the posters that had been displayed in public places just before World AIDS Day. There happened to be a poster typical of what HIV prevention campaigns used to be at that time. It warned that getting infected with HIV meant death in a near future. At that time, I really felt my life was all over and told myself that, since I had only a few months to live, I should enjoy life as much as I could and this led to more addiction to drugs.”
However, the years went by and Hanna was still alive. A few years later, she could access antiretroviral treatments as they became more widely available. She stopped using drugs and her health improved. Now Hanna realizes she does have a future and decided she would use this unexpected repreive to help other people in Belarus affected by HIV.
Getting involved
The turning point was certainly when she joined the Belarus community of people living with HIV. She understood that despite the fact stigma and discrimination are still very high, she could live with HIV differently as before, the “dreadful years”, as she named them,when she had to hide both her drug addiction and her HIV status.
Eighteen months ago, as she was spending some time at the headquarters of the Belarus association of people living with HIV, she noticed an invitation to a workshop organized by Belarus Red Cross about HIV prevention on the workplace and decided to attend. After discussing with the volunteers and staff, it quickly appeared that she could bring her expertise to the HIV programme by helping on the legal aspects of fighting stigma and discrimination. Since then, Hanna has been closely involved with Belarus Red Cross.
Lack of awareness
When asked if the level of stigma has been decreasing, Hanna has mixed feelings. She recognizes that substantial steps have been made by both the authorities and civil society. Belarusian music stars no longer hesitate to associate themselves with prevention campaigns against discrimination towards people living with HIV.
“Yet a lot still needs to be done in the sense that since the level of infection in Belarus is relatively low compared to some countries, people are not always aware of the danger and believe HIV infection is only connected with drug users. But the latest survey from April 2010 shows that 70 per cent of contamination cases in Belarus are through sexual intercourse. This means that ignorance is often the cause of many contamination and deaths since people are not always aware of their status,” she adds.
From hiding to openly living with HIV
Slowly but surely, Hanna became more and more open about her status. She started to give interviews to regional media. Then, she was also invited twice for debates on national television. Hanna has now become one of the charismatic voices of people living with HIV in Belarus and, together with Belarus Red Cross, she is working to promote information and prevention as well as reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV on the workplace.
“Even though there again things are improving, the latest Red Cross survey shows that only four per cent of employers in Belarus would be willing to employ someone living with HIV,” she sighs.
“Working closely with people living with HIV like Hanna is a key part of our strategy to have a lasting impact on HIV infection and prevention,” explains Tatyana Snitko, Belarus Red Cross HIV programme coordinator. “Hanna is helping us to work on reducing stigma against people living with HIV and make sure the information we are disseminating avoid any discriminatory language”.
“Because of our auxiliary status to the governement, we are ideally placed to discuss with the ministry of Health and other official services while, at the same time, we also work hand in hand with organizatons representing people living with HIV. In our own way, we are promoting a useful dialogue within the Belarusian society,” concludes Tatyana Snitko.