HIV stigma tied to moral judgments, complicating destigmatization efforts

Persistence of stigma toward people living with HIV has puzzled scientists looking at the numerous destigmatization campaigns that have taken place in the U.S. in the four decades since its initial discovery. Scientists have explained the presence of stigma with the fact that people with HIV have in the past been legally excluded and marked as criminals, and because of the overlap in LGBTQ+ populations and HIV-positive people.