Only 37% of people would feel comfortable kissing someone with HIV
Terrence Higgins Trust – a charity set up in Terry’s memory by friends and his partner to promote awareness and prevent the spread of the virus – suggests huge stigma still surrounds the public’s perception of HIV.Data from YouGov polling of more than 2,000 Brits found only 30% of people would be comfortable dating someone living with HIV, while just 37% of people would feel fine kissing someone who has the virus.Alex Sparrowhawk, from Manchester, was diagnosed with HIV in 2009 and fears people still carry outdated views from the 1980s when it comes to the illness.‘I’m a happy, confident person living with HIV and very open about my status,’ he told Metro.co.uk.‘But it’s not always easy when there’s still so much stigma in the world and to keep being resilient in the face of that.‘There’s no reason not to kiss or date me, other than because I have a boyfriend.
I also know I won’t pass on HIV by having sex with him because of the treatment I take which suppresses the virus in my blood to undetectable levels.‘We need more people to know about the realities of HIV today rather than in the 1980s.‘But we also need that to influence their actions and not see people living with HIV as any lesser.‘We’re kissable and datable – and we shouldn’t be treated differently from anyone else on dates, dating apps or anywhere else.’Similarly, only 21% of people say they would feel comfortable having sex with someone living with HIV and on effective treatment.The Terrence Higgins Trust fears memories of the government’s Aids awareness advert from 1987 – with actor John Hurt saying ‘it’s a deadly disease with no known cure’ as tombstones fall in the background – are still damaging perceptions, despite its accuracy at the time.According to.
