Dignity, Freedom, and Grace

The search for common ground in combatting HIV - Forty years after the advent of HIV and AIDS, many people around the world living with HIV still endure assaults on their dignity and basic human rights - from stigma and discrimination to denial of legal protection and even medical care. Bringing together people living with, working with, researching, or personally affected by HIV or AIDS, this volume developed by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) and its global partners draws directly from on-the-ground experiences elicited from frontline actors in the churches and agencies. Their insights and reflections are always lively, sometimes uncomfortable, and often deeply moving. Dignity, Freedom, and Grace broaches the truly tough questions faced by those with HIV and those who work directly or programmatically with them. It offers strong, substantive discussions of the meaning of human rights, its relation to the more religious language of church traditions, the contextual wisdom of key populations most at risk for HIV, and the best practices and theological reflection of Christian churches.

"One of the book's values is that it reminds us that lots of people around the world still suffer not just from acquired immune deficiency syndrome but also from attacks on their foundational human rights and the respect they deserve as persons." --Bill Tammeus, "A small c catholic" column, National Catholic Register, Sept. 28, 2016 [Subject: Religious Studies, Human Rights, Christianity]

Gillian Paterson is a research fellow and visiting lecturer at Heythrop College, University of London. She co-ordinates the Catholic Network for Population and Development. She has worked in the field of HIV and AIDS since the mid-1990s, often with the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance and the World Council of Churches. She is the author of books and articles on faith and health, especially in relation to HIV. Callie Long is a media development practitioner, journalist, and organizational communicator with a special focus on conflict, health and AIDS advocacy. She is working on her doctorate in the Humanities at Brock University in Canada, researching HIV-related stigma within a framework of trauma theory.

Cautarea unui teren comun in combaterea HIV - La patruzeci de ani de la aparitia HIV si SIDA, multi oameni din intreaga lume care traiesc cu HIV inca suporta agresiuni asupra demnitatii si drepturilor fundamentale ale omului - de la stigmatizare si discriminare la refuzul protectiei legale si chiar medical ingrijire.