Ms. Melba Katindi of KELIN takes participants through the Right to Privacy and Confidentiality Picture By KELIN/Ted Wandera
On the 21 and 22 July 2014, KELIN in partnership with the Network of People Living with HIV and the Kenya Pediatric Association (KPA) with support from Privacy International will train 20 persons living with HIV on the right to privacy and confidentiality.
The need to uphold the right to privacy and confidentiality in the context of the status of HIV positive patients is important for the reason that, when such privacy is breached it exposes those who are living with HIV to stigma and discrimination. As documented in a study done by KELIN, the exposure of information relating to ones HIV status without their consent exposes them to human rights violation’s such as dismissal from employment, denial of access to health facilities, denial of access to education services and denial of provisions of insurance services. The breach of the right to privacy and confidentiality has also seen many women exposed to physical and sexual abuse in the family and societal context. All these violations stem from the breach of confidentiality of ones HIV status.
The training whose main objective is to enhance the knowledge of persons living with HIV on HIV related legal and policy provisions relating on the right to Privacy and Confidentiality will focus on strengthening the role of the persons living with HIV on the promotion and protection on their right to privacy and confidentiality while accessing health services. KELIN is hopeful that at the end of the training there will be enhanced knowledge on HIV and human rights for the participants.
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This was a very good interractive session to empower health care workers, but i do request for a followup session in our institution so that many of us can also desiminate the the information for the purpose of our rights.