December 1st of every year marks World AIDS Day, which seeks to raise awareness about, and dispel myths that exist around, HIV/AIDS. While HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a retrovirus that infects cells of the human immune system, AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) describes the collection of symptoms and infections associated with acquired deficiency of the immune system. The term AIDS applies to the most advanced stages of HIV infection1. According to UNAIDS, in 2019, there were about 38.0 million people living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus); around 7.1 million people did not know that they were living with HIV. Even though AIDS-related mortality has declined by 39% since 2010, it still affects a large number of persons worldwide.
Vikalp has been working with the severely stigmatized communities of female sex workers (FSW) and men who have sex with men (MSM) since 2001 within the rural, tribal belt of Chhotaudepur. Our focus has been on interventional work and negotiations where we work in the field of HIV/AIDS. In it, we have created profiles of the sex-workers and MSMs who we work with, many among who are living with HIV. Vikalp has also organized blood donation camps, which acted as awareness platforms to hold conversations around HIV/AIDS with a view to destabilize the taboo and stigma around it.
At the level of collaboration with state, Vikalp began to work in partnership with the Gujarat State AIDS Control Society (GSACS)3 and the larger centrally organized society National AIDS Control Organization (NACO)4 in 2000. The HIV/AIDS pandemic broke the silence on sexuality, and facilitated the creation of spaces around it. The spread of HIV led the State to identify Vikalp as an organization working around issues of sexual health.
Last year in November, Vikalp held a meet in a police station in Bodeli which had 25 police personnel. The Police Inspector (PI), Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), and constables attended the meet. The trans men and trans women present there led sessions, and they talked about both the NALSA judgement as well as HIV/AIDS.

This time last year, on December 1st, 2019, a rally was organized in partnership with District AIDS Prevention and Control Unit to facilitate awareness around HIV/AIDS. Efforts to sensitize the youth were also made,and as a part of Red Ribbon Program,six workshops were organized by Vikalp to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS and its prevention amongst the young students in colleges on the following dates:
- 28th August, 2019: N.M.M.S Kapadiya Arts and Commerce College; 73 students were sensitized
- 18th December, 2019: Vanvasi Seva Samaj B.Ed College, Pavijetpur; 67 students were sensitized
- 20th December, 2019: Smt. M.C. Patel, Stree Adhyapan Mandir PTC College in Chhotaudepur; 84 students were sensitized 25th December, 2019: Government Arts College, Kawant; 92 students were sensitized
- 1st January, 2020: Shri C.H. Bhil Government Arts and Commerce College, Naswadi; 92 students were sensitized
- 2nd January, 2020: Sheth T.C. Kapadia Arts and Commerce College, Bodeli; 142 students were sensitized
Questions at the end of the sessions made it clear that cultural silence and secrecy fostered myths around sexual health to take root and grow, which continue to persist even today. The sessions were as much a learning experience for us as an organization, as it was for the students, in how to take forward sensitization programs. Knowledge around bodies is singularly lacking, and there is a need for follow up sessions.
With the COVID-19 pandemic gripping the world, our intervention with the state of Gujarat enabled the communities of female sex workers (FSWs), men who have sex with men (MSM), and trans persons to receive some monetary aid. In addition, Vikalp initiated food distribution for members of these communities who were hardest hit due to the health crisis.
The current pandemic superimposed with the persisting cases of HIV means that there is constant need to “ensure that human rights are not eroded in the response to COVID-19 and to ensure that people living with or affected by HIV are offered the same access to services as others and to ensure that HIV-related services continue without disruption”.5 While then Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017 (HIV/AIDS Act)6 outlaws discrimination and hate against persons living with HIV7, social stigma continues to persist. With large numbers continuing to be affected by HIV, two pandemics co-exist today. While medical advancements and keeping up with social protocols are the need of the hour, experience tells us that stigmatization and misinformation drives already marginalized persons living with HIV/COVID to the brink of isolation. It thus becomes important for us to constantly talk about the myths surrounding HIV/AIDS and work towards breaking them down.
*Note: Integrated Counselling and Testing Centers (ICTCs) have been set up pan-India which must provide free and confidential HIV testing. The list of centers can be accessed from the following website – http://www.naco.gov.in/documents/ictc-centres.
- https://www.unaids.org/en/frequently-asked-questions-about-hiv-and-aids
- https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet
- https://www.gsacsonline.org/
- http://naco.gov.in/
- https://www.unaids.org/en/frequently-asked-questions-about-hiv-and-aids#human-rights-respected-reduce-stigma-discrimination-during-covid19-pandemic
- http://naco.gov.in/sites/default/files/HIV%20AIDS%20Act.pdf
- https://www.thewellproject.org/hiv-information/why-language-matters-facing-hiv-stigma-our-own-words#People-First%20Language