HIV STIGMA

Shifting attitudes towards HIV positive diagnoses

Do Gareth Thomas and Jonathan van Ness’s revelations about being HIV- positive amount to a watershed moment? Diagnosed across the decades since the condition was first given its dreaded name, five HIV activists tell Attitude if they think the condition still allows for discrimination

Jonathan Blake 70, diagnosed 1980s, one of the first people in the UK to be diagnosed, founding member of LGSM

I have been living with this since October 1982. They were calling it a gay plague and saying we’d brought it on ourselves. When I was told, it was a death sentence. Over the years so much medication and information has changed. Now we know if you are undetectable, you can’t pass it on. But the one thing that hasn’t changed is the stigma. It’s the same.

Rebecca de Havilland 60, diagnosed 1980s, trans and HIV activist

I had to have an HIV test because I was about to have gender- reassignment surgery. But then was told I had Aids and they wouldn’t operate on someone who was HIV+. I became a drug addict, an alcoholic, and a street prostitute. I’ve come a long way since then but the stigma still stops me from having a relationship. I often get asked when do you tell a person you are positive? I’ve learned you tell them at the start. If they run, then let them.

Ian Green 54, diagnosed 1990s, chief executive Terrence Higgins Trust

When I was diagnosed, they said there were new treatments coming soon but they were early days. So it’s remarkable that I have a normal life expectancy, and my medication has no side effects — that used to be horrendous. You don’t hear the horror stories of the past: porters who won’t move your bed, funeral directors who won’t lay you to rest. But the stigma remains — now it’s in dating, at work, and in medical environments like the dentist.

Reverend Jide macaulay 53, diagnosed 2000s, pastor

The voices of the religious communities haven’t changed. HIV is still seen as a sin. I would love it if the Church of England had a robust task force on HIV like the church in Sweden. But when we have people such as Gareth Thomas saying he has HIV, it makes the journey much easier. There are so many young people who need stories like Gareth’s so they don’t feel guilty.

George Westwood 21, diagnosed 2010s, student and activist

We live in an age that’s more accepting. But the stigma still exists. My video, about being denied a tattoo because of being HIV positive, went viral. In terms of day- to- day life, I’m blessed to have a supportive community around me. HIV has stayed relevant to the LGBTQ community’s media, but not the wider press. But ignorance and stigma can be fixed with education. I wish more people understood that undetectable equals untransmittable.