Combating HIV from New York to Nong Khai

by Nicole Findlay

In pursuit of her Masters in Anthropology, Miranda Mason has gone further than most.  Mason spent a week in New York City before jetting off to Thailand to continue her research in HIV/AIDS and the labour movement.

This summer, Mason interned with the Canadian Labour Congress where she assisted in the development of a petition advocating the Government of Canada to implement work-based programs to combat HIV.

“Ninety per cent of people affected by HIV are of working age. Many people living with HIV suffer from stigma and discrimination at the workplace and loss of employment over HIV status,” said Mason.

With a long history of organizing and advocating on behalf of workers, unions are uniquely placed in combating the spread of HIV through both education and treatment programs.

The internship gave Mason the opportunity to attend the United Nations high level meeting (HLM) in June. “My main tasks included covering the civil society caucus meetings to ensure the voice of trade unions was represented in any major decision-making processes.”

However, her experiences in New York gave her further insight into her own research.

“For the first time, migrant and mobile persons are listed as key vulnerable populations in the 2011 United Nations Declaration on HIV and AIDS.” Mason adds that the United Nations meeting highlighted the particular plight of migrant women in contracting the disease. “Young women are five times more likely to contract HIV than young men due to biological, social and structural elements.

Mason is now living in Nong Khai, a small city in Thailand. There she will be gathering research on the Lao migrant women who work and live in the region and their ability to access health services. She will also examine the HIV related projects offered non-governmental organizations located there.

In four months, Mason will return to Carleton to complete her MA. She will go on to pursue her PhD in medical anthropology and public health and to continue to do HIV related research and advocacy work at the international level.