Do Grandparents Have to Worry About Acquiring HIV? I am 53 years old and have nine grandchildren. I wouldn’t have thought that HIV would be an issue to people in my generation.
Photo Source: cdc.gov/actagainstaids/campaigns
Guess again. Currently, more than 1.2 million individuals in the United States are living with HIV. Not only that, but approximately 45,000 Americans will become infected during the next year. The scariest part of all of this is that about one in eight people are currently living with HIV, and they don’t even know they have it.
Photo Source: cdc.gov/actagainstaids/campaigns
HIV is not a thing of the past. However, due to the miss-information and stereotyping that we saw in the past, there is much stigma attached to HIV. You might be wondering why I am saying this. I am referring to the shame and disgrace that results from prejudices associated with HIV. The biases include the words we use, beliefs we have, and actions we take; that can make a diagnosis of HIV-positive feel socially unacceptable.
Photo Source: cdc.gov/actagainstaids/campaigns
Unfortunately, the stigma attached to HIV is one of the main reasons that people in my age group are less likely to get tested than our younger counterparts. If we could stop the stigma around HIV testing, we could be opening the door wide for testing. We need to stop believing that only certain groups of people can get HIV. We need to stop refusing to have casual contact with someone who is living with HIV. We need to stop making moral judgments about people who take steps to prevent HIV transmission. We need to stop socially isolating members of the community that test HIV-positive.
Photo Source: cdc.gov/actagainstaids/campaigns
Even though the overall infection rate has decreased in the United States, those who fail to get tested face higher mortality rates than those who get tested and undergo treatment. With this knowledge, it is more important than ever we shut down the stigma attached to HIV.
Realistically speaking, when you think about this, it makes sense, right? No matter what our age, we are still meeting new people and forming new relationships throughout our lives. Of course, when and if we got married, we were thinking, whew…., I’m glad I don’t ever have to go through this dating process again, just to discover that, for whatever reasons, marriage sometimes doesn’t last forever. Then, if we become single again, we end up facing the same dangers that worried us when we were younger, maybe even more. For more on this type of situation, see Theresa’s story.
Photo Source: cdc.gov/actagainstaids/campaigns
Well, this post is for three groups of people. First, anyone who is dating, and having unprotected sex, which could make them more susceptible to participating in high-risk behavior. Secondly, to those who would become the support network of the first group, when they discovered that they had become HIV-positive. And, third to the rest of the population, who can stop the stigma associated with talking about HIV and AIDS. The best way to end the stigma attached to HIV is to get educated about it.
Photo Source: cdc.gov/actagainstaids/campaigns
Since we now know that an HIV-positive diagnosis is no longer the death sentence it was thought to be 30 years ago, we need to stop being afraid. HIV-positive people are living healthy, fulfilling lives as long as they get proper treatment in time. Join me in the movement to end the stigma that surrounds HIV by listening to conversations around you and share the facts so we can stop the myths.
This post is made possible by support from the Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign. All opinions are my own.