A Comparative Report on Social Determinants of Health and HIV/AIDS

This report investigates the significant impact of social determinants on the health of individuals, particularly concerning HIV/AIDS among sex workers in Australia and Africa. It explores how factors such as legal frameworks, societal stigmas, discrimination, access to healthcare, and living environments influence health outcomes. The report compares the experiences of sex workers in both regions, highlighting differences in government regulations, social justice, and access to resources. It also discusses how awareness campaigns and global health initiatives have shaped societal responses to HIV/AIDS, emphasizing the importance of education, treatment, and support. The report concludes by underscoring the critical role of social determinants in affecting the lives of sex workers and the need for comprehensive approaches to address health inequalities.

SOCIAL
DETERMINANTS OF
HEALTH

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
The impact of social Determinants on health of Australian Sex workers...................................1
The impact of social Determinants on health of African Sex workers.......................................2
Comparison between Social Determinants of sex workers suffering from HIV, AIDS in Africa
and Australia...............................................................................................................................2
Societies have changes and their response towards the diseases................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Social Determinants of health are the circumstances like born, age, work etc. Under
which an individual is born and no one has control over it. HIV AIDS, is the disease cause due to
infection and can only be transmitted in the body through sexual intercourse or by using infected
syringe or injection which directly connect with the blood of human or animal body. The report
will discuss the impact of social determinants on health of people suffering from HIV, AIDS on
sex workers in South Africa and Australia. Further, the report will identify and compare the
consequences faced by sex workers in both countries. Moreover, it will discuss how the
Countries have changed regulation but still the individuals faces discrimination because the
workers suffer from human immunodeficiency virus.
MAIN BODY
HIV, AIDS is the disease spreading like viral and affecting the health of various people
going through sexual intercourse or taking drugs using injection. There are various vulnerable
groups like, women, men, sex workers, children, and injecting drug users suffering from disease.
However, the most infected group is sex workers because the individuals lack information about
the clients. Prostitution has been legalised and documented in many societies and countries.
The impact of social Determinants on health of Australian Sex workers.
Australian sex workers operate in both environment that is legal and non legal but the
individual work under legal regulation of Australian government lives the better health and
social outcomes which aims at supporting their work. In accordance, it has been noted that the
females workers working under legal environment set by Australia has diverse the trend of
sexual practices and abuse which has reduced the chances of people suffering from HIV.
Whereas, the individuals working under illegal environment faces the major risk of getting
infected and violent practices which affects the mentality of society (Health, Well-being and
Sexual Violence among Female Sex Workers: A Comparative Study 2007). The profession is
very old and enduring and is continued from ages but now the people started developing
understanding over the diseases caused due to intercourse which are the reason of increasing
health issues. In Australia, this profession is directly connected to social, political and economic
factors. Further, the people working under Australian regulation are having job satisfaction and
healthy environment to live work but the people do not work under the legal framework are the
reason behind increasing impacts of disease which are as follows:
1

 Declining health, economic and social progress.
 Reducing life span of workers (Viner and 2012).
 Decline in economic growth and development.
 Enhancing gender inequalities.
The impact of social Determinants on health of African Sex workers.
The major reason increasing health issues in Africa is no appropriate regulation to
support the work of sex worker (Marmot and 2012). Moreover, the major cause of declining
health of workers in prostitution sector is lack of knowledge and awareness about diseases and
health. Apart from this, there are two different frameworks of Africa to support the work and
reduce the chances of risk arising due to HIV in which the workers are responsible for serving
their services in order to earn money which lies under illegal activities in specific areas like,
Tanzania, Uganda where government is not responsible for any kind of damage. Whereas, in
areas like, Malawi, Ethiopia, Lesotho the government has defined and appropriate set of rule to
support the work of sex workers which helps in reducing health issues and creating awareness
about diseases. Further, the increasing impact of disease is making the African environment
more challenging for the workers and African countries (Braveman, Egerter and Williams 2011).
Apart from this, there are various impact of increasing HIV AIDS in African countries which are
as follows:
 Lack of education and awareness regarding health and diseases.
 Increasing sexual violence which is harming the stability and environment of country.
 Increasing poverty in backward areas of region (Marmot 2015).
 Increasing discrimination due to gender beliefs of individual.
Comparison between Social Determinants of sex workers suffering from HIV, AIDS in Africa
and Australia
Basis Australia Africa
Stigma The Australian government
has formulated and
implemented the strategy of
supporting prostitution
because of which the chance of
increasing HIV has decreased
The African government has
formulated and implemented
strategy of creating awareness
and making prostitution legal
but still it lacks in some areas
due to which the health issues
2

from past few years. are increasing continuously.
Discrimination Australian government has
strict laws to support the
discrimination activities which
do not allow individual to
discriminate on any behalf
like, cast, race, sex, creed and
work.
The African country lack the
regulation therefore there is
major discrimination face by
sex workers due to increasing
impacts of HIV, AIDS which
also impacts the mental health
of people.
Social Justice The system of Australia focus
ons supporting and providing
social justice to people
suffering from infectious
diseases (Hogben and
Leichliter 2017).
The African society do not
support the work of sex
workers and further the
increasing affect of HIV has
completely diverse the
mentality of people because of
which people working under
prostitution are treated as
criminal and are being isolated
from the society.
Living environment The country tries to serve
equal and healthy living
environment to all the citizens
of the country but somehow
people suffering from HIV
gets isolated from society as
according to many Australian
community the diseases is
infectious and individual
should not be allowed to roam
around and work with normal
people.
The country tries to serve
equal and healthy living
environment to all the citizens
of Africa but still te
communities form their group
which do not allow people
suffering from HIV to get
mingled up which isolates sex
workers from society
(Berkman, Brissette and
Seeman 2010).
3

Health care system The health care system of
Australia understand and
support the people suffering
from HIV. Moreover, the
system do not discriminate
between the people of society
and the people working under
prostitution which establishes
equal and healthy services for
all the individual struggling to
deal with social determinants
(Marmot and 2012).
The care facilities of Africa
lack the appropriate
information and adequate
facility for the people suffering
from HIV, due to which
sometimes the sex worker
society remains neglected
which is heading towards
increasing impact of diseases
(Friedland, Renwick and
McColl 2016).
Societies have changes and their response towards the diseases.
Due to increasing awareness of diseases and preferences of individual in the society of
every country as decreased the impact of diseases and created awareness and equality among
people living under same sky. The awareness campaigning and conferences by UNAIDS has
revolutionized the impacts of HIV in the society. The awareness seminars in Australia and Africa
has developed the equality among society and people suffering from diseases. Further, the World
heat organisation has launched various global health programmes on AIDS which has developed
the understanding of society and individuals working under prostitution in context to education,
training, appropriate information, prevention, care, gender equality, treatment and support
(Lönnroth, Jaramillo and Raviglione 2015).
Apart from this, Australian government focus on organising various high level meetings
to ensure and make people educated about the health issues and diseases which can impact their
metal and physical status (Health, Well-being and Sexual Violence among Female Sex Workers:
A Comparative Study 2007). Moreover, the meetings are held by African system to make people
understand about the consequences of regulating prostitution activities under illegal
circumstances. Increasing illegal practices of African Sex workers are disturbing the stability of
various African areas and community. HIV/AIDS has been a topic of major discussion and
societal issues. It has created revolution in the fault lines of society and exposed various
4

increasing health issues. Old tensions in society that have been tolerated or hidden have been
exposed. The most raised issue was of gender inequality and patriarchy and sexual abuse in the
lives of sex workers. The lack of food, knowledge, housing, education, information, health care
amenities and access to medications. Henceforth, the increasing inequality as well as the
hypocrisy of societies in Africa is heading towards is interrupting global political relationships'
which is creating big time impact on the image of Country.
CONCLUSION
The report summarized that, it is important for the society to understand the system of
Social determinants which are increasing impact on the health of people and society. The report
analysed the life of people suffering from HIV, AIDS. Further, it has discovered the issues faced
by vulnerable group of Sex workers in Australia and Africa due to increasing heath issues and
infection from HIV. Besides, it has compared the impacts of social determinants on the life of
sex worker in Africa and Australia. The report outlined that awareness created through seminars
in countries has developed the equality among society and people suffering from diseases. Thus,
it concluded that lack of amenities like, food, knowledge, housing, education, information, health
care and access to medications is the major reason behind increased effects of HIV on the lives
of sex worker.
5

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Berkman, L.F., Brissette, I. & Seeman, T. E., (2010). From social integration to health:
Durkheim in the new millennium. Social science & medicine. 51(6). pp.843-857.
Braveman, P., Egerter, S. & Williams, D. R., (2011). The social determinants of health: coming
of age. Annual review of public health. 32. pp.381-398.
Friedland, J., Renwick, R. & McColl, M., (2016). Coping and social support as determinants of
quality of life in HIV/AIDS. AIDS care. 8(1). pp.15-32.
Hogben, M. & Leichliter, J.S., (2017). Social determinants and sexually transmitted disease
disparities. Sexually transmitted diseases. 35(12). pp.S13-S18.
Lönnroth, K., Jaramillo, E., & Raviglione, M., (2015). Drivers of tuberculosis epidemics: the
role of risk factors and social determinants. Social science & medicine. 68(12). pp.2240-
2246.
Marmot, M., & (2012). WHO European review of social determinants of health and the health
divide. The Lancet. 380(9846). pp.1011-1029.
Marmot, M., (2015). Social determinants of health inequalities. The Lancet. 365(9464). pp.1099-
1104.
Viner, R. M., & (2012). Adolescence and the social determinants of health. The Lancet.
379(9826). pp.1641-1652.
Online
Health, Well-being and Sexual Violence among Female Sex Workers: A Comparative Study
2007. [Online]. Available through:
<https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16398/1/Charlotte_Seib_Thesis.pdf>. [Accessed on 11th
October 2017].
6