It’s World AIDS Day and this year’s focus is on stigma. Over 100,000 people are living with HIV in the UK. Elsewhere in the world there are an estimated 34 million people who have the virus. Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.
HIV STIGMA: NOT RETRO, JUST WRONG
Being diagnosed with HIV today means something very different than it did 20 or 30 years ago. HIV is no longer a death sentence. However, people’s attitudes can make living with HIV really hard. Some things from the 1980s and 1990s are worth revisiting, but HIV stigma isn’t one of them. It’s time to end HIV stigma.
So let’s join their Not Retro, Just Wrong Campaign to hep put HIV stigma firmly in the past where it belongs.
Take a stand against HIV stigma on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram this World AIDS Day.
So we’ve been asked to share a funny or embarrassing picture of yourself from the 80s or 90s, to show that although some retro styles have come back in to fashion some things should be left in the past, including HIV stigma. Remember to hashtag #HIVNotRetro
So here you go…
Today, scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment, there are laws to protect people living with HIV and we understand so much more about the condition. Despite this, each year in the UK around 6,000 people are diagnosed with HIV, people do not know the facts about how to protect themselves and others, and stigma and discrimination remain a reality for many people living with the condition.
