Men like you and me, these are the people who have their say in the videos and current adverts of the I KNOW WHAT I DO campaign. Here they talk about their lives with HIV and give an up-close and personal impression. As different as their everyday lives are and as varied as their experiences are, the diagnosis "positive" has not left anyone unscathed. Many of them also report on the stigmatisation and discrimination that accompanied the announcement of their infection.
Ian has known about his positive serostatus for a year. For him as a volunteer working in HIV prevention, the reactions of others were characterised by accusations - "why did you get infected?" But he doesn't feel guilty about it. Marcel, on the other hand, blamed himself a lot and almost hated himself after the test came back positive. He was only able to accept himself again after he got to know himself and his body all over again. Only then was it possible for him to have sex again. Guilt and recriminations are issues that other people living with HIV are also familiar with.
The loss of a job, as in René's case, as well as turning away from friends or even bullying in the sports club, as Andreas experienced, these experiences show that HIV is not (yet) dealt with in the same way as other illnesses. The fear of being ostracised has led or continues to lead to many people not being able to talk openly about HIV.
The men featured in the videos are not alone in their unpleasant experiences. HIV-related stigmatisation and discrimination still takes place - even in the gay community. What have you encountered? In what places, in what way and how often are you confronted with it? Or do some things only happen in your own head?
The "positive voices" project addresses these questions www.positive-stimmen.de to the bottom. It documents the experiences of people living with HIV in Germany. This is done on the basis of interviews conducted exclusively by HIV-positive people themselves. A questionnaire is used to record whether and what kind of discrimination is experienced and whether and how people deal with it personally. For example, it is not just a question of whether social workers treat HIV-positive people in the same way as non-infected people, but whether they also experience the same discrimination. Feeling to be treated equally. Because personal perception has an influence on one's own attitude to life. So what does society's treatment of HIV and AIDS do to people living with HIV? And how does this treatment affect one's own perspective on living with HIV? To what extent are social images and thus also stigmatisation internalised?
The results of the survey should show where (more) destigmatising measures are necessary. They will be publicised after the project is completed in summer 2012. The more people with HIV take part in the survey, the more valid the evaluation will be.
In Germany, 2/3 of all people with HIV are men who have sex with men. Therefore: Be there, be interviewed, spread the word. More under: www.positive-stimmen.de
Positive Voices is part of the international HIV Stigma Index, for more information see: www.stigmaindex.org
Watch the film here: www.positive-stimmen.de/content/trailer-video-positive-stimmen
(Carmen Vallero)
