Syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections are “secret diseases,” says Dr. Adel Botros, a specialist of dermatology and venereology in Egypt, recalling a phone call he received more than 10 years ago. A hospital reached out to report a case of congenital syphilis in a newborn. Dr. Botros rushed to the hospital and asked the father for permission to see the patient – no fee would be charged. Rather than agree, the father left the room; Dr. Botros never saw him again.

Stigma around sexually transmitted infections has long been used to divide communities and reinforce hierarchies – even as it drives people away from health services, perpetuating illness. Syphilis is perhaps the most notorious example of this, having been variously described as “the French disease”, “the Neapolitan disease”, “the Polish disease”, “the German disease”, “the Spanish disease” and “the Christian disease”, among many other names, typically by communities seeking to blame outsiders or enemies for the illness (Tampa and others, 2014).