Despite medical leaps, public understanding of HIV hasn’t quite caught up (Picture: Getty Images/Westend61)
The stigma of HIV isn’t going away anytime soon in the UK with three in four Brits living with the virus still encountering discrimination or stigma.
According to a poll released today for World AIDS Day, bigotry remains a reality for countless HIV-positive people despite once unthinkable medical leaps.
After all, medicine means people living with HIV do just that – living lives that are long and healthy.
Yet the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), a sexual health charity, found 62% of people living with HIV had faced raised eyebrows in their dating lives and relationships, such as being rejected on dating apps.
They also faced small-mindedness in their sex lives and, for 59% of those polled, their status was a barrier to accessing healthcare as well.
Many of those surveyed said they feel HIV stigma in almost every area of their lives. Around a third said their family, friends or workplace respectively has discriminated against them.
In a sign of how much has changed since the global epidemic began four decades ago, more than half of respondents said medicine has liberated them.
PrEP is among the many medical milestones made in HIV in recent years (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Of those surveyed by THT, 57% said antiretroviral therapy – a daily drug regimen that prevents the virus from multiplying in the body – means they can ‘enjoy sex and not feel judged’.
This sense of freedom was felt by the 55% who said this motivated them to stay on treatment and 53% who said this had a positive impact on their mental health.
For years, HIV and sexual health advocates have been locking arms to stress one thing: U=U, which stands for undetectable equals untransmittable.
This means that if someone living with HIV is on proper antiretroviral treatment, their viral load (the amount of the virus in their blood) becomes so low they have no risk of transmitting the virus to someone.
And bit by bit, the number of daily pills people take is becoming less and less and long-lasting monthly injections could soon become more widely available.
HIV-preventative medication pre-exposure prophylaxis, otherwise called PrEP, is already available on the NHS.
Public perception hasn’t quite caught up to this, however. THT found three quarters (86%) of people living with HIV think the public doesn’t know the difference between HIV and AIDS.
Health secretary Steve Barclay is leading government efforts to achieve zero new HIV infections by 2030 (Picture: Reuters)
HIV and AIDS are two very different things. HIV is a wily virus that slips into white blood cells and tricks them into making copies of it, the NHS says.
Over time, people’s immune systems try to hunt down these cells, weakening the body in the process – the number of potentially life-threatening infections and illnesses that can follow is what is called AIDS.
AIDS cannot be transmitted from person to person, but HIV can.
AIDS is, however considerably less of a given for those living with HIV thanks to the immense developments in treatment options.
Ian Green, CEO of THT, said: ‘It’s extremely saddening to hear that stigma remains a big issue for people living with HIV in the UK.
‘We experience it every time someone cruelly rejects us on a dating app, when someone in healthcare takes extra precautions while taking our blood and when we hear a joke where HIV is the punchline.
‘It’s clear that poor knowledge and outdated beliefs on the virus are continuing to fuel stigma because if people knew the truth about HIV, they’d know there’s no reason to discriminate against me or anyone else living with the virus.’
Campaigners have long stressed that, no, HIV is not just a concern for LGBTQ+ people (Picture: Reuters)
Matthew Hodson, the executive director of HIV education platform NAM aidsmap and himself living with the virus, knows this feeling well.
Stigma is something he hasn’t completely shaken off over the years, he tells Metro.co.uk, but speaking about his status unapologetically has helped.
‘Stigma remains a large part of the lives of people living with HIV,’ he says, adding that stamping this out is easier said than done.
‘On a personal level, I found that the more brazen I am about my HIV status the less stigma I experience. I recognise, though, that as a white cisgendered man, I enjoy many privileges which other people do not,’ Hodson says.
‘We have a situation where stigma prevents people from being open about their status but it’s the fact that people are unable to be open that perpetuates stigma.’
And this stigma can come in many forms. More straight people are acquiring HIV than gay men for the first time in a decade, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
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This patchy understanding of what it means to live with the virus can often curdle into people thinking that HIV isn’t something they should worry about, so won’t think they even need to test for it.
‘The more people who are able to talk about living with HIV, the increase in life expectancy since treatment came in and the impact that HIV has on preventing HIV transmission, the more we are believed,’ Hodson adds.
Hodson has two pieces of advice for people living with HIV who want to tell the world – even if it’s just a Twitter follower or friend over coffee.
‘Know why you want to share that information, don’t share it from a place of weakness or insecurity. Share it from a place where you feel strong and confident,’ he says.
‘If you’re sure that’s the right decision – and it’s a decision I would support strongly, vigorously and it’s a decision I have no regrets making – it’s quite often helpful to tell them why you’re telling them, to help them respond appropriately.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Despite medical leaps, public understanding of HIV hasn’t quite caught up (Picture: Getty Images/Westend61)
The stigma of HIV isn’t going away anytime soon in the UK with three in four Brits living with the virus still encountering discrimination or stigma.
According to a poll released today for World AIDS Day, bigotry remains a reality for countless HIV-positive people despite once unthinkable medical leaps.
After all, medicine means people living with HIV do just that – living lives that are long and healthy.
Yet the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), a sexual health charity, found 62% of people living with HIV had faced raised eyebrows in their dating lives and relationships, such as being rejected on dating apps.
They also faced small-mindedness in their sex lives and, for 59% of those polled, their status was a barrier to accessing healthcare as well.
Many of those surveyed said they feel HIV stigma in almost every area of their lives. Around a third said their family, friends or workplace respectively has discriminated against them.
In a sign of how much has changed since the global epidemic began four decades ago, more than half of respondents said medicine has liberated them.
PrEP is among the many medical milestones made in HIV in recent years (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Of those surveyed by THT, 57% said antiretroviral therapy – a daily drug regimen that prevents the virus from multiplying in the body – means they can ‘enjoy sex and not feel judged’.
This sense of freedom was felt by the 55% who said this motivated them to stay on treatment and 53% who said this had a positive impact on their mental health.
For years, HIV and sexual health advocates have been locking arms to stress one thing: U=U, which stands for undetectable equals untransmittable.
This means that if someone living with HIV is on proper antiretroviral treatment, their viral load (the amount of the virus in their blood) becomes so low they have no risk of transmitting the virus to someone.
And bit by bit, the number of daily pills people take is becoming less and less and long-lasting monthly injections could soon become more widely available.
HIV-preventative medication pre-exposure prophylaxis, otherwise called PrEP, is already available on the NHS.
Public perception hasn’t quite caught up to this, however. THT found three quarters (86%) of people living with HIV think the public doesn’t know the difference between HIV and AIDS.
Health secretary Steve Barclay is leading government efforts to achieve zero new HIV infections by 2030 (Picture: Reuters)
HIV and AIDS are two very different things. HIV is a wily virus that slips into white blood cells and tricks them into making copies of it, the NHS says.
Over time, people’s immune systems try to hunt down these cells, weakening the body in the process – the number of potentially life-threatening infections and illnesses that can follow is what is called AIDS.
AIDS cannot be transmitted from person to person, but HIV can.
AIDS is, however considerably less of a given for those living with HIV thanks to the immense developments in treatment options.
Ian Green, CEO of THT, said: ‘It’s extremely saddening to hear that stigma remains a big issue for people living with HIV in the UK.
‘We experience it every time someone cruelly rejects us on a dating app, when someone in healthcare takes extra precautions while taking our blood and when we hear a joke where HIV is the punchline.
‘It’s clear that poor knowledge and outdated beliefs on the virus are continuing to fuel stigma because if people knew the truth about HIV, they’d know there’s no reason to discriminate against me or anyone else living with the virus.’
Campaigners have long stressed that, no, HIV is not just a concern for LGBTQ+ people (Picture: Reuters)
Matthew Hodson, the executive director of HIV education platform NAM aidsmap and himself living with the virus, knows this feeling well.
Stigma is something he hasn’t completely shaken off over the years, he tells Metro.co.uk, but speaking about his status unapologetically has helped.
‘Stigma remains a large part of the lives of people living with HIV,’ he says, adding that stamping this out is easier said than done.
‘On a personal level, I found that the more brazen I am about my HIV status the less stigma I experience. I recognise, though, that as a white cisgendered man, I enjoy many privileges which other people do not,’ Hodson says.
‘We have a situation where stigma prevents people from being open about their status but it’s the fact that people are unable to be open that perpetuates stigma.’
And this stigma can come in many forms. More straight people are acquiring HIV than gay men for the first time in a decade, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
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This patchy understanding of what it means to live with the virus can often curdle into people thinking that HIV isn’t something they should worry about, so won’t think they even need to test for it.
‘The more people who are able to talk about living with HIV, the increase in life expectancy since treatment came in and the impact that HIV has on preventing HIV transmission, the more we are believed,’ Hodson adds.
Hodson has two pieces of advice for people living with HIV who want to tell the world – even if it’s just a Twitter follower or friend over coffee.
‘Know why you want to share that information, don’t share it from a place of weakness or insecurity. Share it from a place where you feel strong and confident,’ he says.
‘If you’re sure that’s the right decision – and it’s a decision I would support strongly, vigorously and it’s a decision I have no regrets making – it’s quite often helpful to tell them why you’re telling them, to help them respond appropriately.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
