Anthropological Ethics in the Shadows

Researching Drug Use and Aids Interventions in Southwest China

Bibliographic Data

ID3037828
AuthorsShaohua Liu (0000-0002-1834-0105, Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, corresponding author), Shao-Hua Liu
Year2010
Volume9
Issue1
Pages77-94
Publication date2010-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAsian Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1683-478X • E-ISSN: 2168-4227
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1683478x.2010.10552596
OpenAlexW2074736020
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited13

One day in 2005 I was standing among a group of health workers and several bystanders watching a high-ranking health officer lecturing a group of ethnic Nuosu peasants in Limu, an impoverished mountain community in southwest Sichuan Province, China. These Nuosu had tested HIV-positive, and now squatted quietly in front of the officer listening to his advice about how to prevent further transmission of the AIDS virus. All of a sudden, a primary-school teacher, also a bystander, pointed at one female participant among the patient group and asked the health worker by her side, 'Is that woman named Qubi Aga? Is she HIV-infected?' After hearing a positive response, she sputtered in a high pitch and hysterical tone, 'What can I do? I just touched the embroidery she made for our [AIDS-related assistance] center! I'm not yet married. I don't want to get infected!' The health worker attempted to calm her down by saying, 'It's not that easy to contract [HIV].' But the school teacher continued: 'What can I do? I want to tell the director [of the center]. We should not allow her to make embroidery for us any more. We won't be able to sell the embroidery products if clients know they are made by HIV-infected people!'

Active listening · China · Ethnic group · Family medicine · Officer · Political science · Psychological intervention · Sociology · Communication · Gender Studies · HIV Research and Treatment · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology

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