We Will Still Live: Confronting Stigma and Discrimination Against Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi

Abstract

This report culminates a year-long project undertaken by the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School to study the impact of stigma and discrimination on the lives of women living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi in light of Malawi’s international commitments. While in Malawi, the delegation interviewed over 300 women living with HIV/AIDS in rural and urban areas of Malawi’s Northern, Central, and Southern regions and documented widespread community-level stigma and HIV/AIDS-related discrimination. The delegation also interviewed men living with HIV/AIDS, traditional leaders, men and women in rural villages, commercial sex workers, police officers, secondary school students, peer educators, lawyers, government officials, health workers, and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and inter-governmental institutions. The delegation conducted approximately 500 interviews in all. This report presents the findings of this research effort.