Three years into the human territory, the fight against HIV/AIDS still prevails. According to Fuller (2008), it is estimated that by 2025, 80 million Africans will have been killed by this pandemic, while 90 million are estimated to be infected by HIV. Close to 3 thousand women are infected with HIV daily. In the beginning of 2008, some 22,5 million sub-Saharan Africans were living with HIV (Fuller 2008). In South Africa, 5 million people are estimated to be infected with HIV, 250 thousand die each year due to AIDS-related deaths, while a thousand people die daily and 17 hundred get infected daily. South African women are the hardest hit population group, compared to their male counterparts (Fuller 2008; Zuberi 2004). In South Africa this epidemic crawled under the shadow of denial, fear, ignorance, stigma and discrimination, which disrupted efforts to prevent further spread and care for the infected and the affected individuals and groups. South African women are subjected to gender inequality, sexual violence and rape, and in the presence of HIV/AIDS their plight became exacerbated. They became subjected to blame and rejection because people do not want to associate themselves with this group, who possess the deadly infectious disease which is associated with commercial sex workers, intravenous drug users and homosexuals. The aim of this research was to investigate the plight of anticipated and enacted stigma among the South African women who receive treatment as outpatients in the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. The study was conducted among six women who are living with HIV/AIDS over a period of four weeks, with a qualitative research design adopted as research method. In-depth interviews were used as the primary tool for data collection. This study was conducted in order for the researcher to obtain insight into the subject of HIV- and AIDS-related stigma and to highlight the experiences of participants for policy and programme designing and development purposes.

With an estimated 500 infections everyday, the country is beset with a galloping HIV and AIDS epidemic. With these accelerating numbers, it is no longer possible to ignore people living with HIV and AIDS, as they will inevitably form a more and more significant volume of the workforce. A key aspect of this phenomenon, that needs dedicated attention, is the issue of their stigmatisation in the workplace. The intent is to present the voice of the stigmatised. The dissertation attempts to understand how a stigmatised identity affects a productive member of society. It tries to capture the perspective of sero-positive persons as productive members of society and not as `victims' or `threats'. The ultimate objective is to influence policy in the workplace in order to provide a nurturing and productive work environment. The key thought emerging from the research is: driven by the inescapable structural stigma of the workplace, the virus fundamentally influences the self-definition of the sero-positive person. / Sociology / M.A.

With an estimated 500 infections everyday, the country is beset with a galloping HIV and AIDS epidemic. With these accelerating numbers, it is no longer possible to ignore people living with HIV and AIDS, as they will inevitably form a more and more significant volume of the workforce. A key aspect of this phenomenon, that needs dedicated attention, is the issue of their stigmatisation in the workplace. The intent is to present the voice of the stigmatised. The dissertation attempts to understand how a stigmatised identity affects a productive member of society. It tries to capture the perspective of sero-positive persons as productive members of society and not as `victims' or `threats'. The ultimate objective is to influence policy in the workplace in order to provide a nurturing and productive work environment. The key thought emerging from the research is: driven by the inescapable structural stigma of the workplace, the virus fundamentally influences the self-definition of the sero-positive person. / Sociology / M.A.