Culture
Many countries around the world are spending billions of dollars on fighting HIV and AIDS. On the one hand, we are constantly being told how not to encounter a dangerous virus. On the other hand, the authorities are trying to make people understand that HIV-positive people are not dangerous. Even though we live in a high-tech age, society seems to be stuck somewhere in the Middle Ages when it comes to HIV and AIDS issues. Many people prefer to stay away from HIV positive people, and there are many who believe that those infected with HIV/AIDS should be isolated from society at all.
Even children now know what HIV is and how it can be transmitted. However, many still shudder at the thought of shaking hands with a sick person. Fear and judgment in this case often prevail over common sense.
Pilot Sergey Afanasiev (his name has been changed) had to deal with this kind of attitude in 2005. He was suspended from service after he was diagnosed HIV positive. Afanasiev has worked as a pilot for many airlines for many years. He has flown a total of 14,609 hours since 1989. In 2005, Sergey started working for Aeroflot as a Tu-154 pilot.
When Sergey became very concerned about a sore throat, he was hospitalized at the company's medical center. The results of the blood test showed that he has HIV. However, this led to another serious problem: he was fired. Aeroflot, Sergey's employer, acted according to instructions stating that citizens suffering from AIDS cannot be hired as pilots. Sergey did not agree with this state of affairs and sued his employer. The court took the defendant's side.
According to the law on preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS in Russia, a person cannot be dismissed just because he has been diagnosed with such a diagnosis. In addition, such an instruction by Aeroflot violates the provisions of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
However, officials from the Ministry of Transport insisted that Afanasiev's illness poses a risk to his passengers, because the pilot's health may deteriorate during the flight. The man's lawyer, however, convinced the court that such concerns were absolutely groundless.
Afanasiev is not the first and, unfortunately, not the last HIV-infected person to face such an attitude. The case of Svetlana Izambayeva, a young woman from Tatarstan, who was unable to obtain custody of her younger brother after the death of their parents is known. Svetlana has a good job and a happy family; her only drawback is her HIV infection. It took her several months to obtain a custody permit, and the boy lived in an orphanage all this time.
Many HIV-positive people, faced with fear and rejection by society, begin to lead a socially active lifestyle, trying to prove to other people that they are not dangerous. They also form various groups to protect those who have been discriminated against. However, there are far too many people who prefer to “take no risks at all”, even if they understand that there is no risk in establishing contacts with HIV-positive people.
Fear can make people do unthinkable things. In Kaliningrad Oblast, Svetlana Prosvirina, chairman of HIV positive organization Status Plus, filed a discrimination lawsuit in 2009. Prosvirina and her colleague ordered a taxi to the Anti-AIDS Center building. The car arrived, but as soon as the driver realized what kind of customers he would have to transport, he immediately left. Svetlana called a taxi again. The operator replied: “This is an AIDS center, there's AIDS everywhere.”
In most cases, adults demonstrate a negative attitude towards HIV-infected people. Young people are more tolerant because their understanding of AIDS was formed against the background of more adequate information. They are ready to accept and help those who are ill. The older generation is still afraid, so they are infected with HIV and are completely rejected by them.