ABSTRACT
Discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS (PWHAs) has been registered widely in all parts of the world. HIV infected people have lost jobs and homes, children with AIDS have been denied access to public schools, and funeral directors have refused to handle the corpses of people who have died from AIDS. This chapter presents some of the main trends in discriminatory attitudes which might contribute to discriminatory behaviour in the European countries examined. It describes people’s attitudes towards PWHAs as recorded in four European surveys. The chapter investigates differences and similarities in discriminatory attitudes in relation to four topics, namely, segregation, AIDS transmission and medical professionals, management of information about seropositivity, and prosecution of infected person for not warning a partner. AIDS as a disease, some forms of behaviour, and some individuals are seen as health threats for people and society.
