THERE are more than 5000 people with HIV in Scotland and as a result of major advances in treatment they are living longer, healthier lives than ever before. A person on effective treatment can’t pass the virus on.
Scotland also just became the first of the UK nations to prescribe PrEP, a drug that prevents the person taking it from getting HIV, on the NHS to people most at risk. All of this means Scotland has the tools needed to reach zero new infections.
Despite all advances in treatment, stigma is still a huge issue for those living with and affected by HIV and this can cause significant negative health and social outcomes.
Fear of stigma or discrimination can stop people revealing their status to family, friends and partner, leading to mental health problems including anxiety, loneliness, depression and, in some cases, thoughts of suicide.
As one of the biggest barriers to testing, HIV-related stigma also undermines prevention efforts and can stop people from accessing treatment and support.
It is also important to keep in mind that there is no singular experience of HIV-related stigma and that work needs to be done to address the inequalities that further deepen social divides based on gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality and culture.
This is why Scotland’s HIV sector, along with people living with, and affected by, HIV have come together to create Scotland’s HIV Anti-Stigma Strategy. We need to work together to make sure that current barriers, including addressing inequality, gaps in policy and lack of consistency between projects don’t stand in our way any longer.
Scotland’s Anti-Stigma Strategy: Road Map to Zero provides the foundation for a concerted effort to tackle stigma and outlines that everyone, from government to the individual, has a role to play to create a Scotland free of HIV-related stigma.
Nathan Sparling is head of policy and campaigning at HIV Scotland
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