The Socioeconomic Prolematization Of HIV/AIDS Analysis

The socioeconomic prolematization of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is well-understood in the public health spectrum, but these factors are further complicated in the context of sexual abuse in conflict zones. Prevalence is markedly high in the region: among combatants, it is 60% (Ohambe 2005), while in Eastern DRC 40% of young rebel soldiers are HIV-positive (Yeager 2003). Among victims of rape, 20% of females are HIV-positive (IMF 2013). These statistics substantiate the aforementioned victims’ fear of the systematic spread of HIV among the Congolese people; with high prevalence among soldiers, their targeted female population is at high risk, not only due to the increased chances of infection via the sexual act, but also due to the physical trauma
(2014) found a positive correlation between sexual violence, stigmatization, and higher level of mental health problems among adolescent girls. Mental health issues were more pervasive among those subjected to psychological torture i.e. forced to watch other family members tortured and raped (Verelst et al. 2014, 1145). While it is never easy to induce behavioral change- a factor that public health professionals lament time and time again, Dossa et al. (2014, 2212) calls for educational campaigns to reduce stigmatization and vilification of rape
However, these services should be different from popular short-term psychiatric solutions for PTSD that popular opinion regards as a “western construct” (Summerfield 1999). Summerfield (2000, 234) cites the use of social tools to weave the war-torn social fabric of the survivors’ psyche back together. He makes his case by presenting evidence from findings that lack of social support contributed more strongly to depression than subjugation to torture (2000, 232). He further claims that all health issues have a social and political basis, and therefore require public accountability and acknowledgement for the atrocities’ victims to heal