#WearUNTILTheresNoStigma
Wear it. Know it. Challenge it.
Yes, HIV has a history. We have been fighting for decades, and still, HIV persists because of stigma and fear that is deeply rooted in rich history. From the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, HIV aroused widespread fear and stigmatizing laws and policies that created large health disparities among the most vulnerable groups. Throughout the lifetime of the epidemic, communities of gay and bisexual men have constituted the majority of annual HIV cases, and because these groups were already heavily stigmatized according to both legal and social frameworks, HIV became untouchable.
In the 1990’s, social attitudes changed as community-based organizations started to fight for the rights and HIV treatment of those living with HIV and scientists started developing increasingly better treatments. Public health measures started to become more focused on addressing stigma and the social determinants of health to improve disparities in HIV care and supportive laws began to be passed. However, this stigma still exists in the ways we talk about, think about, and learn about HIV/AIDS, and it continues to be expressed in laws and social institutions.
The only way we can beat HIV stigma is if we dissolve it at its roots. Fight for basic human rights, treat your community with love, and spread the truth about HIV.
Wear for your community.
Wear it. Know it. Challenge it.
Yes, HIV has a history. We have been fighting for decades, and still, HIV persists because of stigma and fear that is deeply rooted in rich history. From the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, HIV aroused widespread fear and stigmatizing laws and policies that created large health disparities among the most vulnerable groups. Throughout the lifetime of the epidemic, communities of gay and bisexual men have constituted the majority of annual HIV cases, and because these groups were already heavily stigmatized according to both legal and social frameworks, HIV became untouchable.
In the 1990’s, social attitudes changed as community-based organizations started to fight for the rights and HIV treatment of those living with HIV and scientists started developing increasingly better treatments. Public health measures started to become more focused on addressing stigma and the social determinants of health to improve disparities in HIV care and supportive laws began to be passed. However, this stigma still exists in the ways we talk about, think about, and learn about HIV/AIDS, and it continues to be expressed in laws and social institutions.
The only way we can beat HIV stigma is if we dissolve it at its roots. Fight for basic human rights, treat your community with love, and spread the truth about HIV.
Wear for your community.
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