THE findings of a report on the rapid assessment on HIV stigma, discrimination and gender-based violence in Guyana was made public yesterday at a stakeholders’ meeting hosted by representatives of the United States Agency for International Development(USAID)/Advancing Partnering and Communities Project.

Dr. Jocelyn Lehrer, Senior Technical Specialist – Gender, Violence and Health International Center for Research on Women, stated that that report was conducted gathering information on programmatic and capacity needs of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) with the aid of the Advancing Partners and Communities to implement proper services for key populations as well as the structural problems faced by these organisations during the meeting, held at Grand Costal Inn.
The finding was synthesised from both interviews and focus group discussions with staff from 13 NGOs and nine key stakeholders from the Government of Guyana and respected development agencies.
Also addressing the stakeholders was Mr. Nicholas Persaud, from the Advancing Partners and Communities Guyana, who give background data on stigma, discrimination and gender- based violence. Persaud said that according to the Red Thread organisation, 26.6% of women in a relationship reported personal experience of physical abuse; 2.1 % verbal abuse and 65.8 had suffered sexual abuse.
Among the stakeholders at yesterday’s forum were local health sector officials and representatives from non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Also present was Chargé d’Affairesof the local United States Embassy, Mr. Bryan D. Hunt.
In brief remarks, Hunt said that there are significant implications for the continued spread of HIV. They re-enforce prevailing gender, race and socio-economic inequities that hinder access to the resources made available for prevention.
Additionally, he noted that the United States government will continue to support the Guyana government in its efforts to end gender-based violence and HIV-related stigma and discrimination, in order to improve the lives of every Guyanese by advancing social equality for those affected by HIV and for those who are still relegated to the margins for society. This is the pathway to achieving zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS- related deaths.
REPORT’S FINDINGS

Included in the report’s findings are:
* Despite the growing acceptance of people living with HIV by the general population, people are still being subjected to high degrees of shaming and blaming in their communities.
* In institutional settings, attitudes and behaviour of staff towards people living with HIV (PLWH), homosexuals and sex workers have improved.
* Women in Guyana face high levels of violence, particularly intimate- partner violence which increases their vulnerability to HIV infection. NGOs are struggling to meet the needs of clients experiencing violence and have requested training, tools and resources.
* Homophobia and the illegal status of same-sex sexual behaviour seriously impede progress in reaching those affected with these services. Additionally, the report shows that many of those men live on the “down low,” maintaining marriages and families while having sexual encounters with men in secret. Moreover, homophobia and harmful gender norms inhibit help-seeking for intimate- partner violence among these men.

The aim of the project is to build a platform to improve and address HIV stigma and gender-based violence programming among NGOs and key governmental and developmental partners.

(By Clestine Juan)