The team at REACH Nexus is excited to share the Canadian HIV Stigma Index Report – a landmark study that shines a powerful light on the real experiences of people living with HIV across Canada.

The report presents findings from the Canadian implementation of the People Living with HIV Stigma Index, a tool used in more than 100 countries to document how stigma affects people living with HIV. Through this study, over 1,400 people living with HIV shared their experiences.

This report brings together over 8 years of hard work and dedication, collaboration, and community leadership. It is not only a compilation of numbers and words, but also a collection of real stories, lived experiences, and voices that need to be heard.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone who made this possible. To the participants who shared their stories, thank you for your trust and for helping build the evidence we need to push for change.

To all the peer researchers involved, your expertise and contributions shaped every stage of this project. Thank you for being the heart of this work.

To all frontline staff and national partners, your knowledge, support, and collaboration was integral to the success of this work. Every interview, every conversation, and every insight has contributed to a clearer picture of what HIV stigma looks like and what we must do to eradicate stigma in Canada.

But why does this report matter? Because understanding is the first step towards change. At its heart, this report is about people. It’s about listening, learning, and using what we’ve learned to make life better for those living with HIV. This report is a milestone, but the journey doesn’t stop here.

Together, we can use this evidence to:

• Create tailored communication campaigns to address misinformation and stereotypes  
• Strengthen community-based programs to support people living with HIV
• Improve healthcare provider training to address stigma in healthcare settings  
• Advocate for anti-stigma policies to ensure the protection of people living with HIV
• Guide future research and evaluation priorities

This report is a tool for action.

You can now download the Canadian HIV Stigma Index Report below. We invite you to think about how you might use this report to educate others, shape programs and policies, or make a difference in your community. Every action, big or small, brings us closer to a Canada where HIV stigma has no place.

Read the full report here:

Additional Stigma Index Publications

The Stigma Index has been the foundation for several peer-reviewed publications, and across all of them, one message comes through clearly: HIV stigma continues to harm the lives of people living with HIV, though not everyone is affected in the same way.

Our data shows that there are important differences in how stigma is experienced, depending on factors like gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Discrimination also does not just hurt in the moment.

It can change how people see themselves, leading to feelings of shame and depression that build over time and affect both mental and overall health. At the same time, support makes a real difference.

Having people to lean on and feeling confident and respected in healthcare settings can help lessen the impact of stigma. Sharing accurate, affirming information, like the message of U=U, is one important way to build that confidence and continue reducing stigma.

There is an urgent need for future work to be rooted in community leadership and for action to be informed by what people with lived experience are telling us.

Taken together, these studies highlight not only the ongoing harm caused by stigma, but also the ways in which we can move forward to erase stigma.

‍READ MORE:

1. Impact of experienced  HIV stigma on health is mediated by internalized stigma and depression:  results from the people living with HIV stigma index in Ontario. Click here
2. Building capacity in  quantitative research and data storytelling to enhance knowledge translation:  a training curriculum for peer researchers. Click here‍
3. The cost of  anticipating stigma:  longitudinal  examination of HIV stigma and health. Click here‍
4. Understanding lived experiences of stigma for people living with HIV: a community based participatory research study. Click here‍
5. The impact of determinants of health on the relationship between stigma  and health in people living with HIV. Click here
6. The role of dimensions of social support in the relationship between  stigma and mental health: a moderation analysis. Click here
7. ‍Intersecting gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation identities and  HIV stigma: results from the People Living with HIV Stigma Index study in  three provinces in Canada. Click here
8. The moderating effect of healthcare empowerment on the relationship  between stigma and self-rated health in people living with HIV in Canada. Click here
9. Awareness, acceptance, and impact of undetectable equals untransmittable  (U = U) among people living with HIV across Canada. Click here

To learn more about our Stigma Index-related work, you can check out some of our previously published journal articles using the links above. For any issues accessing a journal article, please email alex.tran@unityhealth.to

Please stayed tuned for more articles on the Stigma Index including the top 10 things you need to know and you’ll hear directly from the researchers involved.

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