Stigma and gender dimension based on rural and urban communities in preventing HIV and AIDS in childbearing age couples in Banyumas Regency

Introduction: Transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) becomes a serious problem in Banyumas Regency, particularly in Cilongok and South Purwokerto sub-districts. The aim of this study was to map the stigma and analyze the gender dimensions according to access, roles, benefit, and control. Material and methods: This was a cross-sectional study, with a quantitative approach. The population and sample taken in a quantitative research included 193 participants of fertile age couples (couples of childbearing age) in Banyumas Regency from Cilongok and South Purwokerto sub-district. Paired t-test was used for data analysis. Results: Based on the research, most of the respondents were between 36 and 49 years old (66.33%). Men and women ratio were almost equal, resulting in 49.74% and 50.26%, respectively. The majority of respondents had a high level of education (39.37%), not working resulted in 53.88%, while those having children accounted for 67.87%. The outcomes of the study revealed that there was no stigma reduction in role and gender equality improvement according to sex category. There were differences in role reduction stigma between urban and rural communities, and also differences in the role of gender equality improvement in urban and rural areas. Conclusions: There are differences in role reduction stigma and also discrepancies in the role of gender equality improvement between urban and rural communities. It is important to pay attention to residence area factor in the effort of implementing a prevention program for HIV and AIDS. It can be related to the prevailing approaches to HIV and AIDS prevention policies and programs. HIV AIDS Rev 2020; 19, 1: 61-66 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/hivar.2020.93178