A comparison of HIV/AIDS-related stigma

loomberg Somma (2006) as ‘‘a social process, experienced or anticipated, characterized by exclusion, rejection, blame or devaluation that results from experience, perception or reasonable anticipation of an adverse social judgment about a person or group’ ’ (Weiss et al., 2006). Historically, illnesses most likely to induce stigmatizing attitudes are those characterized as difficult to conceal, disruptive or intrusive to daily living, manifested with disfiguring or visibly displeasing qualities, incurable and progressive, and with a high propensity for transmission, qualities which to varying degrees q We thank the communities that partnered with us in conducting this research, and all study participants for their contributions. We also thank the Project Accept (HIV Prevention Trials Network, protocol 043) Steering Committee (Tom Coates