HIV a stigma in aboriginal communities

Source: The Toronto Star

Rates of infection among Canada's native people grossly disproportionate to their total numbers

Emily Mathieu - Staff Reporter

HIV rates among Canada's aboriginal community continue to rise at alarming rates – and women face the highest risk. That's where Catherine Beaver comes in.

A wry, outspoken, slip of a woman who walks with a bit of a limp, Beaver is a public speaker with 2-Spirited People of the First Nations in Toronto, a gay, lesbian and transpositive organization that conducts HIV/AIDS outreach for the community.

"The way I look at it is, I am not ashamed or afraid of it," says Beaver, 28, who is HIV-positive. She tells her story nationwide to try to stem the epidemic spread of HIV in the aboriginal community – mostly connected to intravenous drug use.

In November, the Public Health Agency of Canada released its latest stats on the spread of HIV and AIDS in this country. The report reveals aboriginal people (Inuit, Métis and First Nations) accounted for more than a quarter of all positive HIV tests reported in 2006, even though they only make up about 6 per cent of the total population in the 12 provinces and territories included in the stats. (Ontario and Quebec are excluded because they do not collect ethno-specific HIV data.) And, for the third year in a row, women accounted for more than half of the positive test results among aboriginal people. In her talks, Beaver explains how she became infected 2 -1/2 years ago through intravenous drug use. She talks about being adopted, of her isolation while living on the streets, losing custody of her two children, substance abuse and prostitution.

"You know, when the whole world just disintegrates, goes black, like in TV shows ... and you are just standing there by yourself..."

After years of treatment, she is no longer an addict but still struggles to fight the occasional setback. Beaver uses her story to make a point.

"I'm not scared of people reacting," she says, insisting not enough aboriginal people are speaking out, which is why the number of infections continues to rise.

According to the Public Health report, intravenous drug use was the main cause of HIV infection among aboriginal people, at 64 per cent. Heterosexual contact was the other main cause, at 34 per cent. That's the reverse of the national averages for HIV-positive tests, where 74 per cent of new cases are attributed to heterosexual contact and 24 per cent to intravenous drug use.

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