婚姻平權公投反同婚文宣對男同志愛滋病毒感染者的心理影響初探

A Pilot Study of the Psychological Impact of the Anti-Same Sex Marriage Campaigns in the Marriage Equality Referendum on Gay People Living with HIV/AIDS in Taiwan

公投期間愛滋一直被反同婚方用來作為反對同性婚姻的理由，本文期待了解愛滋負面文宣對男同志愛滋 感染者產生的心理影響。本文先多方收集反同婚理由述及愛滋的文宣，並透過愛滋民間團體工作人員招 募受訪者，於2019年4月進行一次性焦點訪談團體，團體前先進行所收集的負面文宣簡報，再進行2.5小 時訪談，之後形成逐字稿進行質性分析。8位男受訪者平均年齡38.75歲，平均感染愛滋11年，均服用抗 愛滋病毒藥物中，都接收過愛滋的負面文宣。研究結果如下:第一、受訪者會取笑文宣內容，或是感到 煩悶、生氣，因應方式會避開、客觀冷靜或是主動教育身邊的人。第二、在愛滋負面文宣下，受訪者面 臨三個兩難的三角關係:(1)受訪者不會想和反同婚方對話，轉而期待官方及其他有力人士澄清; (2)受訪者想提出反證會擔心殃及其他無辜族群;(3)受訪者擔心影響社會大眾對男同性戀者社群的 觀感或被社群切割。第三、受訪者建議愛滋反歧視的宣導，應強調愛滋治療效果、修改官方公布的愛滋 統計分類、與其他團體形成友善聯盟等面向。第四、家人開始討論同性戀議題，讓受訪者有被接納的感 覺，但還是不容易現身愛滋感染者身分。綜上，男同志愛滋感染者對於婚姻平權公投時的歧視愛滋文 宣，陷於內化汙名與外在歧視的處境下，帶來兩難的影響。

 

Context and Objective: On May 24, 2019, Taiwan becomes the first country in Asia to legalize same sex marriage. However, many supporters felt disappointed by the referendum on marriage equality that took place on November 24, 2018. Marriage equality was discussed in Taiwan before the referendum, which entailed many public hearings and debates. There were alliances opposing same sex marriage (referred to as "anti-same sex marriage groups"), as well as alliance that supported same sex marriage. During these debates, anti-same-sex marriage groups highlighted HIV/AIDS issues as justification for opposing same-sex marriage with arguments that included, "most people infected with HIV are gay", "gay sex among men is the primary factor in HIV transmission", " legalizing same sex marriage will cause the spread of HIV/AIDS epidemic", "Taiwan will become an HIV/AIDS island", "The cost of HIV/AIDS treatment will consume medical resources," and "Taiwan should not provide health care benefits to those who got HIV/AIDS." Internet and social media outlets have promoted numerous negative messages about HIV/AIDS, and the anti-same-sex marriage group still uses "HIV/AIDS" as a reason to repeatedly attack the gay community. The present research aims to understand the psychological impact of negative HIV/AIDS propaganda on gay men living with HIV/AIDS in Taiwan and how they coped during the marriage equality referendum. Methods: We first collected articles, pictures, videos, and news about anti-same- sex marriage justification for discrimination against HIV/AIDS from websites, social media, and mobile APP. We then recruited focus group participants through AIDS service for non-governmental organizations. On the day of the focus group in April 2019, we made a brief presentation on relevant negative propaganda before conducting the 2.5 hours focus group. We then conducted a qualitative content analysis after the verbatim transcript was created. The average age of the eight interviewees was 38.75, and the average years of HIV infection was 11 years. All participants were taking HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy). The interviewees all stated that they had received negative propaganda messages about AIDS on social media during the marriage equality referendum promotion period. Results: (1) Respondents will make fun of the content of the propaganda, or feel bored and angry. In response, they will avoid, be objective and calm, or take the initiative to educate those around them. (2) Ways to respond to negative propaganda messages: somebody would avoid, disregarded, and simply ignore it; somebody would aim and calm, or somebody would actively educate other people around them. (3) There are three dilemmas: (a) They do not want to have conversations with anti-same sex marriage group that distribute the AIDS- stigma messages and instead look forward to clarification by officials (Taiwan Centers for Disease Control) and other powerful non-government organization; (b) Interviewees do not want to hurt other vulnerable groups during the process that messages are clarified; (c) They are worried about affecting the public’s perception of the gay community or being separated from the gay community. (4) For HIV/AIDS anti-discrimination advocacy recommendations, the effectiveness of HAART treatment should be strengthened, the official classification of HIV/AIDS statistics should be revised, and vulnerable groups that are friendly to HIV/AIDS should be invited to form alliances. (5) In particular, some of their family members began to discuss homosexuality issues, making the interviewee feel accepted, but it was still not easy to show up as a PLWHA. Discussion and Conclusion: Based on the research results, this study suggests: (1) Self-stigma is deeply rooted in PLWHA; (2) Public anti- discrimination education for HIV/AIDS needs to be promoted as soon as possible, especially on HAART treatment effects. Gay men with HIV/AIDS are discriminated against HIV/AIDS in the marriage equality referendum, and they are caught in a situation that includes both self-stigma and external discrimination.