The report is right. There are still far too many countries around the world that are primitive in their thinking and actions and have yet to emerge from the dark ages.
Unfortunately education takes time but education is the key as is perserverance. We must keep pushing, teaching and praying for change.
Gay people with HIV are less likely to come forward for treatment if they face arrest because of their sexuality. The arrival of HIV/AIDS was a major setback for gay rights and acceptance in this country during the 1980′s and some people used AIDS to call for the recriminalization of homosexuality. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and the safe-sex message got through thanks to the ‘Iceberg’ and ‘Tombstone’ adverts and a mass-mailout by the government at the time. The result was a massive drop in the number of gay men turning up at clinics with sexually transmitted diseases other than HIV/AIDS and the apolyctic epidemic that promised to kill so many of us that there won’t be enough left alive to bury the dead never materialised. Having said that we must never become complacent and safe sex should be practiced whatever our sexuality and we don’t know what other nasty virus could be waiting in the wings.
Unfortunately, many see that ad campaign as stigmatising and unhelpful.
Personally, I still feel the only way to get people to practice safer sex and get regularly checked is to scare the living crap out of people; it is not the nicest method, but it is proven that it works: Either follow the rules, or die – your choice.
This is a big problem in the wider sense of hindering HIV prevention across the world. So far I am not aware of any strong anecdotal evidence to suggest the impact of criminalisation & reluctance to test in the UK, but I know it is something some +ve individuals are very concerned about.
We should not also underestimate the effect of legislation like Welfare Reform that is having an impact on individuals taking HIV meds.
Because of the poor assessment process that many disabled individuals at going through, there is growing evidence to suggest that individuals are coming off their meds because they fear they are not considered “unwell enough” to continue to receive disability benefits.
Whilst modern ARV’s have changed the HIV landscape there is a cohort of long term survivors who have been both physically & mentally disabled by the early ARV’s & there is very little support for such people as thier problems are indirectly linked to HIV but HIV itself is now stable.
The support the Government has promised to enable disabled people to get back into the workplace is non-existent as far as I can see, the private companies employed by the DWP have very little experience of dealing with the problems that LTS with HIV have to face.
Charities like THT & others are running “internships” to enable people to experience the workplace again, but other than this type of support there is very little help available.
They say you can tell a great deal about society about how they treat their old & disabled population groups – I would say that the UK would not be considered a compassionate place to live right now!
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34 states that criminalise having HIV? why not criminalise cancer whilst your at it :rollseyes:
The report is right. There are still far too many countries around the world that are primitive in their thinking and actions and have yet to emerge from the dark ages.
Unfortunately education takes time but education is the key as is perserverance. We must keep pushing, teaching and praying for change.
Gay people with HIV are less likely to come forward for treatment if they face arrest because of their sexuality. The arrival of HIV/AIDS was a major setback for gay rights and acceptance in this country during the 1980′s and some people used AIDS to call for the recriminalization of homosexuality. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and the safe-sex message got through thanks to the ‘Iceberg’ and ‘Tombstone’ adverts and a mass-mailout by the government at the time. The result was a massive drop in the number of gay men turning up at clinics with sexually transmitted diseases other than HIV/AIDS and the apolyctic epidemic that promised to kill so many of us that there won’t be enough left alive to bury the dead never materialised. Having said that we must never become complacent and safe sex should be practiced whatever our sexuality and we don’t know what other nasty virus could be waiting in the wings.
Unfortunately, many see that ad campaign as stigmatising and unhelpful.
Personally, I still feel the only way to get people to practice safer sex and get regularly checked is to scare the living crap out of people; it is not the nicest method, but it is proven that it works: Either follow the rules, or die – your choice.
Why are gay men in london having to have their aids diagnosis in their staff appraisals in london hiv charity sector ?
Please elucidate.
You know something we don’t?
This is a big problem in the wider sense of hindering HIV prevention across the world. So far I am not aware of any strong anecdotal evidence to suggest the impact of criminalisation & reluctance to test in the UK, but I know it is something some +ve individuals are very concerned about.
We should not also underestimate the effect of legislation like Welfare Reform that is having an impact on individuals taking HIV meds.
Because of the poor assessment process that many disabled individuals at going through, there is growing evidence to suggest that individuals are coming off their meds because they fear they are not considered “unwell enough” to continue to receive disability benefits.
Whilst modern ARV’s have changed the HIV landscape there is a cohort of long term survivors who have been both physically & mentally disabled by the early ARV’s & there is very little support for such people as thier problems are indirectly linked to HIV but HIV itself is now stable.
The support the Government has promised to enable disabled people to get back into the workplace is non-existent as far as I can see, the private companies employed by the DWP have very little experience of dealing with the problems that LTS with HIV have to face.
Charities like THT & others are running “internships” to enable people to experience the workplace again, but other than this type of support there is very little help available.
They say you can tell a great deal about society about how they treat their old & disabled population groups – I would say that the UK would not be considered a compassionate place to live right now!
Sorry, but you are obviously a professional in this game, so bandying around acronyms doesn’t help educate anybody.
HIV = Human Immunodeficiency Virus
DWP = Department of Work & Pensions
LTS = Long Term Survivors
ARV’s = Anti-Retro Viral drugs also referred to as HAART = Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy
THT = Terrence Higgins Trust
Do you require any further help?