“You cannot eat rights”: a qualitative study of views by Zambian HIV-vulnerable women, youth and MSM on human rights as public health tools

ConclusionsA rights-based approach seeks to tackle the symbolic drivers of HIV—its undeniable roots in cultural and religious systems of discrimination. Yet, it fails to resonate with youth and women’s own understandings of their needs and priorities due to its neglect of material drivers of HIV such as poverty and unemployment. MSM, who suffer extreme stigma and discrimination, have less to lose and much to gain from an approach that challenges inequitable social systems. Developing effective HIV-prevention strategies requires careful dialogue with vulnerable groups and greater flexibility for context-specific implementation rather than a one-size-fits-all conceptualization of human rights.

Source: BMC International Health and Human Rights - October 5, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Choolwe MuzyambaElena BroaddusCatherine Campbell Source Type: research