Think it doesn’t affect you? There are over 80,000 people living
with HIV in the UK
A third of them don’t know their diagnosis
More than 1 in 10 of new diagnoses in 2007 were amongst 16-24 year olds
At least 20,000 children live in a family affected by HIV
Quick facts about HIV HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s
immune system
In the UK the main ways HIV is passed on are:
Unprotected sex between a man and a woman, or between two men
Sharing needles for injecting drugs
You cannot get HIV from day-to-day contact such as spitting, sharing cups, toilets, holding hands or kissing
Living with HIV
In the UK, treatment is available to keep people with HIV healthy
People on treatment can live long, healthy lives
But treatment can be difficult to take and have serious side-effects
You can’t tell someone has HIV just by looking at them
Speaking out If you have HIV, it can be hard telling
other people Some people are scared of people with
HIV They think they might get HIV from
them So they don’t want to be friends, or
work with them, or live next door to them
But we know you can’t get HIV from day-to-day contact
Discrimination Discrimination means being treated
badly because of something about you It could be because of race, religion or
having HIV People with HIV can face discrimination
in different places, such as Schools Work GPs or dentists Or even from friends and family
Sara’s story
Sara was about to start primary school
Her mum told the school that Sara was HIV-positive
The teachers were very worried about teaching a child with HIV and said they didn’t want her in their class
Would it matter to you if someone in your class had HIV?
Protection
The law makes it illegal to discriminate against people living with HIV
This protects people from discrimination in: Work Schools Colleges Services
Which means Sara should be able to go to school just like anyone else
Prejudice and discrimination come out of ignorance
Tell other people about HIV so they know the facts
Make this school a positive place that supports everyone
Make a difference
Presentation produced by
November 2008For more information visit www.worldaidsday.org