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Paper Short Abstract:

As part of a research examining the vulnerabilities to HIV and aids of black people in continental France, we show how global inequality in the face of HIV and aids fuels the continuous exclusion of people living with HIV and Aids (PLWHA) from some African and Caribbean immigrant communities.

Paper Abstract:

*Introduction*

This communication is part of a doctoral research examining the vulnerabilities to HIV and aids of people considered black in continental France, whether natives or immigrants. We questioned key life dimensions, such as the material conditions of existence, the social and sexual networks and access to healthcare and HIV prevention.

*Results and discussion*

The exclusion of people living with HIV and Aids (PLWHA) in all spheres of life impacts their quality of life and health-related outcomes. On the field, Individuals and Professionals alike reported an exacerbated stigma of PLWHA by immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, invoking “cultural” arguments.

Actually, interviewees who expressed the strongest rejection of PLWHA shared an intense fear of HIV borne out of their perceived powerlessness against the illness. Indeed, those who had spent their adult life in high prevalence communities with uncertain access to treatment were more likely to avoid contact with PLWHA whereas those aware of the therapeutic possibilities expressed more tolerance towards them.

*Conclusion*

To understand stigma against PLWHA, it is indispensable to understand the context in which individuals constructed their image of the illness and its sufferers. Since, the initial commercialization of ARV in 1996, the continuous exposure to aids-related deaths has been both geographically and sociologically situated: hence in our case, the exclusion of PLWHA is inseparable from a context of global inequality.