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Thread 1/14: Channel 4’s #ItsaSin is hugely popular and has received rave reviews. It follows the lives of a group of friends in London, starting in 1981, as AIDS is hitting the news
Nowadays there is still an amount of stigma around HIV & AIDS, but in the early days it was rife
Nowadays there is still an amount of stigma around HIV & AIDS, but in the early days it was rife
2/14...victim blaming was practically the norm and the media had a field day, labelling it ‘The Gay Plague’. It was presumed, wrongly, that only gay men and intravenous drug users were at risk.
3/14 The virus was spoken of as if it were a kind of retribution, somehow deserved for ‘bad behaviour’; one grim example was when chief constable of Greater Manchester, James Anderton, announced that homosexuals were “swirling around in a cesspool of their own making”.
4/14 AIDS patients were treated as unworthy of sympathy, some undertakers even refused to handle the deceased for fear of transmission. Families of those who died with AIDS often lied about the cause of death, attributing it to cancer or pneumonia rather than deal with the shame
5/14 Ironically people were told, in a huge government-funded advertising campaign, not to ‘die of ignorance’ – exactly what the virus was being treated with by the media.
6/14 Fortunately, nowadays things have vastly improved and an HIV diagnosis is no longer considered a death sentence, with antiretroviral therapy having good outcomes and PrEP also available as a preventative.
7/14 Education is key and the lack of comprehensive, inclusive sex ed is still an issue. Good sex and relationships education not only helps young people to understand how to protect themselves and others, it can also reduce the stigma and opens up conversation.
8/14 Here in NI, there is still so much stigma around LGBTQ+ issues which needs to be busted, an example being the fact gay and bisexual men were only given the green light to donate blood in December of last year.
9/14 There are excellent organisations here for help & advice. Positive Life is a NI charity which exists to raise awareness & challenge negative perceptions of HIV across NI, promoting a positive future for people living with or affected by the condition. https://positivelifeni.net/
10/14 @TRPNI Rainbow Project website has lots of advice on sexual health and details on how to access PrEP. They also offer free, confidential HIV and STI testing and free safer sex packs among many other fantastic services. https://www.rainbow-project.org/
11/14 The HIV Prevention Clinic/Risk Reduction clinic runs several times per week in the Royal Victoria Hospital & Altnagelvin Hospital GUM clinics. It has been set up to provide testing for STIs, behavioural interventions aimed at reducing risk and access to PrEP.
12/14 We know there are many people who may be struggling to come out, who need advice and help. Our website has a list of support organisations. Please, do not struggle alone, there are many people out there who want to help. https://www.raiseyourvoice.community/helpadvice
13/14 Things may not be as bad as they were in the 1980s, but we still have a long way to go; unfortunately homophobic hate crime is once again on the rise.
14/14 We are hopeful that better education and information will bring about cultural change, and shows like It’s A Sin are so very welcome in breaking down stigma. Well done and thanks to @russelldavies63 & @Channel4
