Edith Tristán is a Panamanian woman who has been living with HIV for more than two decades. When she was diagnosed HIV-positive, antiretroviral therapy wasn't available in Panama and both her husband and son died of AIDS.
“It was a very difficult time, especially because of the lack of information about HIV,” Ms Tristán said. “My neighbours avoided me. At that time I ran a small food store and people would not buy from me. I struggled to support my mom and daughter with my job.”
Ms Tristán was one of the first people with HIV in the late 1990s to talk openly in Panamanian media about HIV and advocate for improved living conditions. “I started going to health institutions, looking for other people who were in my situation, to provide and receive support,” she said.
She then approached PROBIDSIDA, one of the first organizations in the country to promote and defend the human rights of people living with and affected by HIV. Later on she was named the focal point in Panama for the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS.
Ms Tristán is now a well-known human rights defender. Since 2011, she works as an HIV Counsellor in the Specialized Unit of the Ombudsman’s Office. One of her main duties is to handle complaints of women living with HIV. “Women are still stigmatized and discriminated at work, at home by their partners and at health care centres,” Ms Tristán said. “In 2015 I have followed up on six cases of women living with HIV whose human rights were violated and haven’t resolved any of them.”
Panama has a concentrated HIV epidemic, with a low HIV prevalence rate in the general population but a markedly higher prevalence rate in key populations such as transgender women and men who have sex with men. Nevertheless, the number of new HIV infections among women over 15 years old has been increasing.
In Latin America, the vulnerability of women to HIV infection is associated with barriers they face. These include accessing information about HIV transmission, making decisions about their sexual and reproductive health, accessing testing and treatment services and obtaining the economic and social autonomy to protect themselves from violence. The risk of being infected with HIV is even higher for women who are victims of domestic violence.
Ms Tristán stressed, “The main problem is the lack of women’s empowerment. Fear limits their decision-making power. Women need to build up their self-esteem. With self-esteem a woman can defend her rights and seek information and help.”
To increase women’s empowerment, Ms Tristán coordinates a self-help group in Panama City and maintains regular contact with women living with HIV from around the country. Part of her job at the Ombudsman’s Office is to monitor clinics and pharmacies to check the quality of health care and services, visit antiretroviral therapy clinics and carry out home visits to talk with women and inform them about human rights, health and staying on treatment.
“When I look back, my fight has not been in vain,” Ms Tristán said. “I have taken advantage of every opportunity, not only for me but also to help others.”
