There are many stories of stigma and discrimination based on HIV status in the workplace. There are many stories of workers and employers who reject those infected and affected by the virus. However, there are also many stories of workers and employers showing solidarity with their sisters and brothers who are HIV+.
There are many workers who can tell us how the workplace can be a place of acceptance, friendship, care and support, a place where “decent work” means that all women and men, regardless of real or perceived HIV status, enjoy productive work under conditions of freedom, equity, security and dignity, inwhich rights are protected and adequate remuneration and social coverage are provided.
We knew that those positive stories were out there, and we wanted to hear them.
The contest, “Positive Workers Write!” was open to all workers and employers in
Latin America. The main criteria was that the authors had to either be a worker/employer living with HIV or a worker/employer who has reached out to her/his HIV+ colleagues and made their workplace a better place as a result. The format could be a narrative, short story, poem or any type of written reflection of no more than 1500 words.
