By Rosario Marina

Following numerous testimonies shared on social media during 2020 and 2021, the discrimination faced by people living with HIV in the workplace in Argentina came to light. From disguised dismissals to being excluded from pre-employment medical exams, these are complaints that are difficult to bring to justice. It is a persistent and silenced problem that worsened during the pandemic, according to activists and human rights organizations.

According to the Stigma and Discrimination Index 2.0 Study on People with HIV in Argentina , “employment relationships continue to be a source of stigma for people with HIV. 35% of those surveyed stated that they were unaware of the laws related to HIV or simply believed that they did not exist.”

Women, the most discriminated against 

In the winter of 2014, Marina caught the flu. She decided to go to the emergency room at Muñiz Hospital and was given a few days of rest. She went to take the medical certificate to Human Resources at the call center, but they rejected it because they told her the company doctor had visited her home and she wasn't there. They accused her of having gone out partying. 

Worried, she went back to the hospital to ask them to somehow record the time of her appointment so they wouldn't dock her pay. She managed to get them to print out the triage sheet, which showed the time she'd been admitted to the emergency room. When she left, she saw that in one corner of the sheet it said "HIV positive." She already knew; she'd lived with the virus since birth, but she was afraid it would be grounds for dismissal. She decided not to hide it; it seemed wrong to tear up or cross out a medical document. 

Weeks later, the telegram arrived: she'd been fired. “That day I went to Human Resources to ask why I was being let go, since everything was fine. There was no problem with my work, I was meeting my targets. There was no reason.” They kept telling her her profile wasn't a good fit, giving her the runaround. But then Marina realized: “They offered me more money. The woman said something like: This isn't fair, but in your case, we're going to give you more severance pay. In my case. And I thought: What is my case?”

“At that time I kept quiet for fear of what might happen in the future,” she tells Presentes, eight years later. “It was only a year and a half ago that I started to make myself visible, to put my face on the line for the cause. If you're going to fight for something, you need faces that come forward to explain the situations,” she says.

Graciela Awad lives 1,300 km from Marina, but she suffered the same thing: workplace discrimination because of HIV. For 10 years she worked at a school in Puerto Madryn, Chubut province, as a teacher's aide and secretary. One day she started feeling unwell, decided to get tested, and learned her diagnosis. She confided in her colleagues, and they "recommended" she stop working. "Think about it, you're working with children, you're putting them at risk," they told her. "With that fear and anguish, I quit my job. Those were very dark, very hard years of my life," she says today. 

Ignorance and prejudice

Years later, Graciela applied for the same position again. She was rejected. They said she didn't meet the required profile, even though it was to perform the same tasks she had done for a decade. Today she lives on a non-contributory pension, food assistance from social services, and the occasional friend who brings her food.

“I believe that activism and visibility are meant to empower all young people, both boys and girls, young and not so young. I have friends who worked in government-run facilities, and the stigma and discrimination led them to stop taking their medication because they were tired and overwhelmed, and today they are no longer here,” says Graciela, now 56 years old and a leader in the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW).

Part of her activism involves giving workshops. There, she sometimes has to explain even the simplest things: "In some places we had to go and give talks to explain that drinking mate doesn't transmit the virus." 

The study, conducted by the organization RAJAP (Argentine Network of Positive Adolescents and Young People), the National Ministry of Health, and the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Racism (INADI), surveyed 948 people living with HIV in the country. One of the most striking findings was that women with HIV are the primary victims of stigma, discrimination, and violence.

“They threw away 15 kilos of meat because I had touched it.”

David is 25 years old and arrived from Venezuela five years ago. He is a cook and flight attendant. After working in other places, he arrived at Abocado Cantina , in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires.

In 2019, he had his annual health check-up. He received a positive diagnosis and began treatment. He started feeling unwell and had a slight fever. His boss asked him what was wrong, and David told him. He felt confident. 

Three days later, the same boss called him to say he couldn't continue working there because they didn't have the necessary resources to work with a person who was HIV positive. “I saw them taking a bag of meat I had prepared out of the kitchen. They threw away the whole lot of meat because I was cooking it with my own hands. They were afraid someone would get infected. They threw away 15 kilos of meat,” David recounted on “ You Can't Live on Love,” the radio program hosted by Franco Torchia .

According to the RAJAP survey, many people living with HIV or AIDS in the country report having experienced some form of discrimination. Sixteen percent said they had been forced to take an HIV test or disclose their HIV status in order to apply for a job or obtain a pension plan.

Although a legal framework exists to protect the rights of people living with HIV, two out of ten respondents in surveys are still unaware of the existence of an AIDS Law (23.798) in Argentina. Half of them believe that the confidentiality of their medical records is not respected, and eight out of ten people living with HIV have difficulty disclosing their positive diagnosis.

Various organizations receive complaints every month about discrimination at work, both in pre-interviews and when an employer finds out about the diagnosis. 

The stigma begins with the job interview.

Matías Muñoz, coordinator of the organization Ciclo Positivo, explains: “Cases of workplace discrimination are the most frequent complaints received by Ciclo Positivo. Many involve people already working, where a supervisor or manager finds out about their situation and fires them within a few days. Others occur during the pre-employment period, when a person has to undergo pre-employment medical exams, tests, or interviews with the occupational health physician. They are asked if they are taking any medication, and when they say they are taking antiretrovirals, they are usually not called back to continue the hiring process.”

David sought information in a Facebook group, contacted Matías Muñoz, and with the legal representation of Gastón Llopart, filed a lawsuit against the restaurant, which is still ongoing. RAJAP held a protest outside Abocado Cantina.

While the justice system was working on his complaint, David began to suffer from depression and attempted suicide. He was never able to work in the food industry again. “A rumor started circulating in restaurants. They would interview me, and when they checked my references, they didn't want to hire me. I had to change careers and ended up working as a sex worker to survive after that.”

With the Covid-19 pandemic, these situations became increasingly common because, as Matías Muñoz explains, employers fear that people with HIV will require more leave. “This not only increases these cases of discrimination in both the contractual and pre-contractual phases, but also leaves people with HIV in a more vulnerable position within this context of economic and health crisis,” says the coordinator of Ciclo Positivo. 

What to do if you are fired for living with HIV?

“What we recommend is that they proceed to provide formal notification so that if they are dismissed, they can say it was due to their health condition,” Fabio Núñez, Human Rights Coordinator of the Directorate of Response to HIV, STIs, Hepatitis and Tuberculosis of the Ministry of Health, Presentes

The HIV Response Directorate does not intervene legally, but provides initial advice (via email consultasdsyets@gmail.com ) and then coordinates with legal sponsorships from the UBA or bar associations, or from the CAJs (Access to Justice Centers), up to the Ombudsman's Office and the Inadi.

Núñez warns that the cases are not very numerous because people are afraid to report it, and that in many cases people, in confidence, tell someone and that person ends up using it as a factor of power to pressure the person with HIV. 

“When you're fired, you have no other option but to sue. But it's very difficult to pursue. It takes a significant emotional toll.” 

They're asking for HIV tests (and it's prohibited)

Often, discrimination begins earlier, during pre-employment medical examinations. Fundación Huésped receives between 20,000 and 25,000 inquiries per year, most of which are related to employment and health issues. “This year, we've received three to four complaints per week from people who were asked to take an HIV test during their pre-employment medical examination, even though we have a resolution from the Ministry of Labor that establishes that such testing is grounds for a complaint,” Romina Cavallo, a lawyer and coordinator of the Direct Care Team at Fundación Huésped, explained to Presentes

Resolution 270/2015 of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security establishes: “The requirement to carry out laboratory studies in order to detect Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or HIV in applicants for work within the pre-employment examinations may be grounds for complaint for violation of Laws Nos. 23,592, 23,798 and 25,326.”

The laws mentioned in that article are the Law on the Penalization of Discriminatory Acts and Other Laws on Discrimination, the Personal Data Protection Law, and the National AIDS Law. These are the three laws that, until now, have protected job applicants. However, according to organizations working on this issue, this protection is not usually enforced. 

The Huésped Foundation created a platform ( denuncias.huesped.org.ar ) to receive anonymous reports of HIV testing being required during pre-employment medical exams. “We activate a system to inform various government agencies of this situation. We send a notification that we received a complaint alleging a violation of regulations,” Cavallo explained. Reports of other instances of workplace discrimination can also be made through the Foundation's social media channels, email ( info@huesped.org.ar ), or by calling 0800-222-4837.

“There’s a lot of misinformation about this. And also because there’s a myth that people will get sicker, take medical leave, or that it will generate more expenses. But if a person is undergoing treatment, they’re just like anyone else who doesn’t have HIV,” said the coordinator of Fundación Huésped, and concluded: “There’s no obligation to disclose it to the employer.”