Why Don’t People with HIV or HepB Have to Wear Badges?

There is a very good reason why people with HIV and hepatitis B don’t have to wear distinctive badges.

And whether or not they work in a hospital, it has nothing to do with the fact that they don’t pose a risk to others, and it has nothing to do with health care workers who refuse to get a flu shot and have to wear a mask.

Confidentiality Rules and Civil Rights

Hopefully we have gotten over a lot of the misinformation and stigma that once kept kids with HIV and hepatitis B out of schools and teens and adults out of work.

“Ryan White confidentiality guidelines have helped allay the fears that many people living with HIV have around unwanted disclosure and HIV discrimination.”

Building Trust: Confidentiality and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program

And of course, that’s why people with HIV and hepatitis B don’t have to “wear any distinctive badges or clothing.”

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the most powerful law safeguarding the rights of children in public and private schools and daycare centers. The law also prevents any organization or business from discriminating against a person because of a real or perceived disability, such as an infectious disease.

A second law, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, bars schools, colleges and other organizations receiving federal funding from discriminating against children with disabilities. Section 504 identifies chronic liver disease as a “hidden disability.”

Legal Protections for Children with Viral Hepatitis

In fact, laws protect people with HIV/AIDS and other conditions, so that no one would try and make them “wear any distinctive badges or clothing.”

“Almost 30 years after the onset of the epidemic, HIV stigma and discrimination—fed largely by ignorance and animus—persist and continue to have a forceful impact on people living with HIV.”

HIV Stigma and Discrimination Persist, Even in Health Care

Or at least you would hope no one would try and make them wear a badge…

More on Rights of People with HIV and Hepatitis B

• California Doctor Invokes Holocaust Analogy, Compares Non-Vaccinating Parents To Persecuted Jews
• The annals of “I’m not antivaccine,” part 18: Dr. Bob goes full Godwin over SB 277
• Antivaccine pediatrician Dr. Bob Sears finally faces discipline from the Medical Board of California
• Doc Says Anti-Vaxxers Are Treated Like Jews in Nazi Germany
• Dr. Bob Sears of Weekly Cover Fame Compares Anti-Vaxxers to Jews Under Nazis
• Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases
• Legal Protections for Children with Viral Hepatitis
• Protecting the Civil Rights and Health Information Privacy Rights of People Living with HIV/AIDS
• Building Trust: Confidentiality and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program
• Questions and Answers: The Americans with Disabilities Act and Persons with HIV/AIDS
• Filing an HIV/AIDS Discrimination Complaint
• HIV Disclosure Policies and Procedures
• HIV Stigma and Discrimination Persist, Even in Health Care
• HIV Stigma and Discrimination
• UNAIDS warns that HIV-related stigma and discrimination is preventing people from accessing HIV services
• HIV/AIDS and Discrimination
• Activities Combating HIV Stigma and Discrimination
• It’s Time to End Policies That Treat People Living With HIV as Expendable
• Dealing with Discrimination When You Have HIV
• HIV and the Law
• Dealing with Stigma and Discrimination
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
• The red ribbon