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HIV/AIDS-related Stigma is not a Myth in Kerala, India
Get PDFThe stigma associated with HIV is the foremost barrier to HIV prevention,treatment, care and support (UNAIDS, 2014). It prevents people fromseeking information and services related to HIV/AIDS. The stigma hindersthe efforts to prevent new HIV infections, inhibits treatment adherenceand access to care and support programmes. AIDS stigma results ineconomic and social marginalisation and the withholding of treatment ordenial of services amounting to a violation of the human rights of peoplewith HIV (UNAIDS, 2000). The state of Kerala has been recognisedinternationally since the 1970s for its achievements in the developments inthe health sector. In many aspects, Kerala’s health status is on a par withthat of developed countries. Alhough the state has a higher literacy status,the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS is widespread inKerala. The present paper describes the extent of stigma and discriminationfaced by the women living with HIV/AIDS (WLWHAs) in Kerala. Thispaper is based on a study conducted among 372 women living with HIV/AIDS to explore the extent of HIV-related stigma in the form of enacted,vicarious, felt normative and internalised stigma experiences and to envisagethe associated problems faced by them. The tool used to measure thesame was ‘the HIV-related stigma scale’ and the study found that HIV/AIDS-related stigma is still prevalent in Kerala, even among the healthcare workers. The study finds that the respondents experienced the enactedstigma and were asked to move out of their houses because of their HIVstatus. The vicarious stigma is also prevalent in Kerala and many of therespondents frequently heard about the incidents of HIV stigma anddiscrimination in terms of mistreatment by hospital workers, untouchability,denial of treatment, revealing the HIV status by a health worker, refusal ofcare by the family members when they were sick, disclosing HIV status bythemarking on records, avoidance of family members and ostracisation bythe community or the village. The study also finds that the respondentshad an experience with internalised stigma
Sustainable Livelihoods Perspective in Social Work Education and Practice
Get PDFIn the wake of a globalized world and ever-changing social, economic,political and environmental circumstances, the challenges of addressingand sustaining development have become quite complex. A majorimplication of these changes is on the livelihoods of people, which havebecome increasingly fragile and insecure. The present development rhetoricand welfare policies thus focus on the livelihood concerns, way beyondthe established understanding of human subsistence and poverty. In theprevailing scenario, the realm of social work is at crossroads, engaged in anassiduous struggle to rethink, evolve, adapt and overhaul its long-establishedparadigms of practice and education. The paper argues that the social workeducation in India needs to respond to these dynamic local as well asglobal realities and their implication on people’s livelihoods. The practicum.structure must attempt to cater to proficiency building in rational problemsolving.strategies aimed at managing and combating the individual- andcommunity-identified livelihood problems during fieldwork and site visits.It is contended that incorporating sustainable livelihoods perspective insocial work will reinforce its interdisciplinary base and progressiveorientation, rendering practice and interventions along with provision ofsocial services more meaningful in existing times and ahead
Book Review : NGOs and Participatory Development in India
Get PDFNGOs and Participatory Development in India.Baiju P.V.,2015, New Delhi,Concept Publishing Company Pvt.Ltd., ISBN-13:9789351251354. Paperbackpp.x+134,Price: `45
Household Food Security: Below Poverty Line (BPL) Families in the Coastal Areas of Cochin
Get PDFThe public distribution system (PDS) in Kerala is known for its extensivecoverage. The objective of this study is to assess the household food securitystatus of people living below the poverty line (BPL) and its impact on thehealth of women and children in the selected coastal areas of Kochi inKerala. Household food security was assessed using a food security coremodule questionnaire on 500 BPL families in coastal Kochi. The utilizationof PDS, nutritional status and diet pattern of women and children 3-6years(sub sample 37) were studied. The results showed that PDS was bestutilized by the majority. Poor quality of rice and inadequate quantity ofcommodities such as sugar forced the respondents to buy from the openmarket. Only 43% families were food secure, and the case of the rest ofthem food insecurity levels varied from no hunger to severe hunger.Significant differences in weight and height of children and the levels offood security were found. The study revealed the current food securitystatus and identified the short comings in PDS. It shows the importance ofPDS in ensuring food security and thereby good health for women andchildren
Balapanchayat under Kudumbashree in Kerala
Get PDFChild rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of theChild (UN-CRC) are broadly classified into rights of children for Survival,Development, Protection and Participation. The concept ofneighbourhood network of children for enhancing child participation incommunity development process, experimented by UNICEF is extensivelyimplemented under Kudumbasree Mission in Kerala. The three tier systemof balasabha, balasamathi and balpanchayat established in the panchayatunder the Kudumbashree Mission, are the structured grassroot levelneighbourbood network of children for ensuring the development andparticipation in the rights of children. The prime objective of constitutingbalasabhasis to prevent inter-generational transmission of poverty throughcapability enhancement of children. A case study of the balasabhas inChendamangalm panchayat in Ernakulam district was undertaken to identifythe actual performance of the balasabhas. The findings of the study showedthat the programme provides opportunities for children to develop theirskills and talents as well as ample opportunities for building up better socialrelationships. This network for the children could be seen as the structuralsocial capital formed in the villages on which children and their families canrely upon to realize the child rights for development and participation. Thenetwork is providing a secular platform and an enabling environment forsocio-cultural and educational development of the children. The properinstitutional mechanism with adequate financial support from local selfgovernments.is necessary to empower these children’s forums so that issuesand concerns of children are continuously brought to the attention of thepanchayats for proactive solutions
Crossing Boundaries: Tensions and Transformation In International Service Learning
Get PDFThis article will present a best practice model employed tosupport an international service-learning course in international socialwork. Learning will be drawn from collaborations between a UnitedStates graduate social work programme, the child welfare professionalsin a mid-sized Russian city, and between the American programme anda partner College in Southern India. The course design features indepthexploration of the challenges of poverty, child abuse and neglect,child trafficking, mental illness, domestic violence and substance abusefrom a global perspective using a collaborative model with emphasison reciprocity with the host culture. The model features a project-basedinternational service-learning experience. The model incorporates animmersion experience aimed at a comprehensive student educationprocedure. It features a process-based model of service-learning throughreflective writing and discussions as well as project-based andcommunity-development international service-learning features. Thisarticle will include strategies in establishing and maintaining a sustainedinternational partnership together with the service-learning educatioopportunities embedded in the instructional pedagogy. Specificrecommendations will be provided to address the thorny and difficultchallenges specific to international service-learning along withrecommended planning strategies for faculty delivery
Social Responsibility of Business, Business Ethics and Corporate Governance - Need for a Unified Approach
Get PDFSocial Responsibility of Business, Business Ethics and Corporate Governance - Need for a Unified Approac
Sewa-Rural: Community Based Integrated Rural Development in South Gujarat
Get PDFSewa-Rural: Community Based Integrated Rural Development in South Gujara
Traditional Artisans in Global Market: Experience of Weavers’ Collective from Western Rajasthan
Get PDFTraditional Artisans in Global Market: Experience of Weavers’ Collective from Western Rajastha