discriminatory stigmas. Many studies point to the relationship the disease has with deviant behavior, while others suggest that fear of contagion is the actual culprit. When examining the existing literature and putting it into societal context, it could lead one to believe that there is no one cause of this societal phobia. Instead, there would appear to be associated factors that influence society's attitudes towards AIDS and PLWAs.

Hopefully, this analysis will offer an examination of the stigmatization process associated with AIDS and how to counter the effects of stigma. This is of particular pertinence to the field of social work due to our

Some religious groups see AIDS as a punishment from God for sinful behavior. As children, many people were told that of what could happen to them if they strayed from what their parents or religious doctrine considered appropriate behavior. Quam (1990) writes, "Their parents and other parental authorities warned them that if they succumbed to pleasures of the flesh they would suffer dire consequences. Now AIDS would appear to fulfill such prophecies" (36). These thoughts and moral sentiments still exist publicly in today's society. When asked about his feelings about the AIDS epidemic, Jerry Falwell, a popular and quite influential televangelist said publicly, "When you violate moral, health, and hygiene laws, you reap the whirlwind. You can not shake your fist in God's face and get away with it" (Giblin, 1995). Another factor influencing attitudes towards PLWAs is the fear of contagion. In fact, Bishop, Alva, Cantu, and Rittiman (1991) argue that this is a greater cause of st!

gest mandatory practice, but taking into account the high possibility that social workers will come into contact with PLWAs in their careers, it is perhaps not such a radical idea. With an understanding of the issue of AIDS related stigma, it is essential for the field of social work to address this issue. It is one of the many aspects of the HIV infection that PLWAs must face and also one of the many with which social workers can provide assistance.

An especially strong association exists between homosexuality and AIDS. This is largely due to the fact that, in the early years of the disease, it was far more prevalent within the gay community and almost non-existent outside of it. In fact, until 1982 the disease was referred to as GRID or Gay Related Immune Deficiency. Even today, AIDS is often referred to as "the gay plague" (Giblin, 1995). Even though AIDS is now far less prevalent in the homosexual community and increasingly more outside of it, this mind set of it being a "gay" disease is still prevalent in today's society.

es making it illegal to discriminate against people for having AIDS. A major turning point occurred in the U.S. in 1990 after the highly publicized case of Ryan White.

Social workers are and will be called upon to serve clients with AIDS in almost all fields of practice. As the numbers of the HIV positive climb, PLWAs will be appearing in nearly every area that social workers practice and even if we do not desire or plan to work with this population we will be required to do so and unable to ignore the issues of PLWAs. There are many ways in which social workers can address the issue of stigma, both in trying to alleviate its effects and actually working towards removing stigma in our society. What is disturbing, however, is that many social workers and social work students, when questioned, say that they do not want to have to come into contact with PLWAs and may even refuse to provide services to them (O'Hare, et al., 1996). Therefore a second issue that must be addressed is the attitudes of social workers. One of the principal roles of the social worker is that of advocacy. This is of particular importance in relation to AIDS related stig!

of color and other groups associated to HIV infection are not only seen as deviant or undesirable, but also as potential carriers of the virus who are to be feared and avoided.

Since the appearance of AIDS in the late seventies and early eighties, the disease has had attached to it a significant social stigma. This stigma has manifested itself in the forms of discrimination and fear of "people living with AIDS" (PLWAs). As a result, the social implications of the disease have been removed from people with other life threatening conditions to PLWAs. Unfortunately, they are not only faced with a terminal illness but also social isolation and constant discrimination throughout society. Various explanations have been suggested as to the underlying causes of these

An especially stro

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hospital HIV, Social Workers, PLWAs Stages, PLWAs Hopefully, AIDS AIDS, PLWAs PLWA, HIV CASW, Borchert Rickabugh, White Act, AIDS Society, social workers, aids related, related stigma, aids related stigma, et al, et al 1996, o'hare et, giblin 1995, quam 1990, casw 1990, al 1996, o'hare et al, contact plwas, plwas social workers, social workers help,
Approximate Word count = 5388
Approximate Pages = 22 (250 words per page double spaced)