THE RESPONSE OF THE SOCIAL SURROUNDING TO HIV INFECTION – DISCRIMINATION OF THE INFECTED AND THEIR FAMILIES –

Abstract

This paper focuses on the research of attitudes and reactions in the social surrounding of an HIV-positive person. Its specificity lies in the fact that it attempts to reconstruct the events that happened almost 20 years ago, and the consequences that can be felt to this day. The event is as follows: in a small Central Serbian town, the head of the family dies of AIDS, and his wife shortly after. Ever since, their children and grandchildren have been known in the neighborhood under the collective name "Sidaši" ("Aidsers"). The public branding of an entire family and its members, through three generations, is the topic of this paper.