Stigma, Discrimination, and Institutional Violence

Stigma is defined as negative attitudes, feelings or beliefs directed toward a person or group of people. It can often act as a pathway to unequal treatment, discrimination, and marginalization.

There are four ways to think about stigma: institutional stigma, internalized stigma, social stigma, and stigma by association. All forms have an impact on women living with, or facing systemic risk of, HIV.  For more information, see Women, HIV and Stigma: A Toolkit for Creating Welcoming Spacesopens in a new window

"Welcoming spaces" is a phrase referring to spaces that help connect people and create a sense of community. These are places where women can go to foster connections with each other, share resources and information, and have a sense of belonging. A welcoming space can reduce a woman’s feeling of isolation, enhance the capacity of women to build health and well-being, and focus on the strengths of women’s differences and diversity. In many cases, welcoming spaces can serve as a haven from stigmatization and discrimination.

Many communities have done amazing work to model welcoming spaces. This includes 2SLGBTQ communities, the violence against women sector, and Indigenous communities. For more information, see Women, HIV and Stigma: A Toolkit for Creating Welcoming Spaces.

Creating welcoming spaces involves making a commitment to address stigma and discrimination. It also involves being informed about HIV prevention, being able to provide accessible HIV resources, and being able to make trusted referrals. This work requires an examination of how physical spaces, organizational culture and atmosphere, and individual staff all work together to address stigma and discrimination and to foster a welcoming space. For more information, check out WHAI's resource Women, HIV and Stigma: A Toolkit for Creating Welcoming Spaces.