By Lee Han-soo
More than nine out of 10 AIDS patients in Korea experience serious discrimination daily, according to National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) research published Wednesday.
This reflects a deep-rooted stigma associated with the once-incurable disease despite the development of antiretroviral therapy in the 1990s that allows sufferers to have a normal life.
The findings were based on the commission's survey of 208 AIDS patients in Korea. In the research, 93 percent of the patients said discrimination in public areas was "common." Nearly 92 percent said they faced discrimination at work, while the figure was 83.2 percent at schools and 79 percent at medical institutions.
More than a quarter (26.4 percent) said they had been denied treatment at hospitals after revealing they had AIDS. The smaller the hospital, the harsher the discrimination, according to the research.
Only 9 percent filed a complaint with health authorities after being denied treatment. Most patients didn't because they feared their health secret would be leaked to others.
"With the introduction of antiretroviral therapy in the late 1990s, it became possible to suppress the spread of the infection inside HIV-infected people and let them live a normal life," an NHRC official said. "However, there are still a lot of discrimination cases and negative public sentiment towards AIDS patients."
The NHRC said it will hold a policy debate on medical discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients at the Center for Human Rights Education in Jung-gu, Seoul, at 3 p.m. Thursday.
More than nine out of 10 AIDS patients in Korea experience serious discrimination daily, according to National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) research published Wednesday.
This reflects a deep-rooted stigma associated with the once-incurable disease despite the development of antiretroviral therapy in the 1990s that allows sufferers to have a normal life.
The findings were based on the commission's survey of 208 AIDS patients in Korea. In the research, 93 percent of the patients said discrimination in public areas was "common." Nearly 92 percent said they faced discrimination at work, while the figure was 83.2 percent at schools and 79 percent at medical institutions.
More than a quarter (26.4 percent) said they had been denied treatment at hospitals after revealing they had AIDS. The smaller the hospital, the harsher the discrimination, according to the research.
Only 9 percent filed a complaint with health authorities after being denied treatment. Most patients didn't because they feared their health secret would be leaked to others.
"With the introduction of antiretroviral therapy in the late 1990s, it became possible to suppress the spread of the infection inside HIV-infected people and let them live a normal life," an NHRC official said. "However, there are still a lot of discrimination cases and negative public sentiment towards AIDS patients."
The NHRC said it will hold a policy debate on medical discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients at the Center for Human Rights Education in Jung-gu, Seoul, at 3 p.m. Thursday.
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