A long way from there to here: human rights approaches to HIV/AIDS in a local setting

Although global and national strategies to promote a human rights-based approach to HIV/AIDS have been in place for many years, these strategies appear to have had little impact at the local level, where human rights violations are commonplace. In this article, Peris Jones and Farhana Zuberi summarize findings from a recently completed research project, the Tswelopele study, in South Africa. The study documented human rights violations in three areas: privacy and disclosure; informed consent and HIV testing; and access to health-care services. The article describes these violations and explores why discrimination still occurs at the local level. The authors conclude that remedial action is required, targeting the persons and institutions that shape attitudes and beliefs, including churches, workplaces, schools, and the media; and that this action needs to be complemented by wider public education, activism at hospitals and in the courts and, more generally, fulfillment of socio-economic rights.