Marseille 2007
Marseille 2007
Abstract book
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Abstract #490  -  Sick or victim ? The mobilization of the category of victim in the social history of the fight against aids in France.
Session:
  6.4: Posters A (Poster) on Monday   in  Chaired by
Authors:
  Presenting Author:   Mrs Musso Sandrine - CRECS, France
 
  Additional Authors:   
Aim:
The social history of collective mobilization against aids has shown several times the stake of saying that persons who living with aids are victims . In fact, since the beginning of the epidemy, the distinction between good ans bad siks and causes of transmission is a central issue. The definition of a frontier between persons living with aids involve the using of other categories. Those can refer to social, ethnic or gender identities. The use of the qualification of victim involves a definition of a guilt . Consequently, it can involve a judiciarisation of the transmission, wich is in debate in several countries.
 
Method / Issue:
A comparison between two associations in France, a collectif of migrants against aids and an association of seropositive womens is useful to show what kind of stakes and consequences imply the use of the term of victim . How is the victim define ? Who are the guilts ? What are the reaction of associatif milieu in front of these questions ? Interviews, participant observation and lectures of texts of these groups are the materiau of this research paper
 
Results / Comments:
We want at first to show how this debate put into light the principles of theories of aids prevention, and the representation of the subjects of prevention. The reference to victims implies in a second hand a sort of unmasking about social dynamics of the epidemy and inequalities in front of the infection. A fight for recognition is visible in the action of new groups and associations and reveals inequalities in the capacity of mobilization. The repertory of action, the reference at different sequences of history or other social movements to construct the fight againts aids is also interesting to observe. It shows how the fight against the virus enrol in a preexistant social and political context.
 
Discussion:
Finally, a finest description of these groups strategies and differents matter of using the category of victim can permit us to discuss the notion of individual responsability in the prevention and the stakes of using the term of victim in front of the risk of stigmatization of a part of persons living with aids.
 
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