"HIV-related stigma and discrimination remain major barriers to accessing HIV services for people living with HIV
worldwide. In this context, stigma can be understood as the negative perception of people living with HIV based solely
on their HIV status. Experienced stigma, or discrimination, occurs when people living with HIV experience negative or
unfair treatment based on these perceptions. An estimated one in eight people living with HIV are denied health
services because of stigma and discrimination, and research shows that over 50% of people report having
discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV [1]. Understanding and addressing stigma is critical to achieving
the zero discrimination element of UNAIDS vision and successive strategies to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
To improve the understanding of experienced HIV stigma in the community, ECDC — in collaboration with the
European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG) and AIDS Action Europe (AAE) — initiated an exploratory survey in 2021
to measure HIV-related stigma across Europe and Central Asia. The objective of this survey was to examine the
experience of HIV-related stigma in the region and to establish a benchmark measure of perceived and
experienced HIV-related stigma among the most affected communities in order to assess progress toward the
UNAIDS target of zero discrimination by 2030 [1]." (p. 1)
([1] UNAIDS. 2025 AIDS Targets. Geneva: UNAIDS. [Accessed 30 Aug 2023]. Available at:
https://www.unaids.org/en/topics/2025_target_setting )
