John Manwaring, a representative of people living with HIV, has spoken about the irrational fear that people with HIV face daily and encourage people to be open about their lives and experiences.
Manwaring made his comments as a keynote speaker at the closing of the AIDS 2014 conference in Melbourne.
” Every day, those of us living with HIV have to contend with fear, and the irrational, often cruel, reactions it incites. These reactions take many forms, whether a senseless remark, or a law that enshrines hatred and perpetuates stigma. These laws, these seemingly insurmountable barriers, they’re devastating. They fly in the face of all the progress we as a community have worked, fought, and died to achieve.” Manwaring said.
Manwaring, who is originally from the USA but now calls Australia home, noted that when the USA removed it’s restrictions on HIV positive people visiting the country President Obama referred to it as a policy; “rooted in fear rather than fact.”
“When governments legitimise homophobia and transphobia, when they criminalise sex work and drug use, when they stifle the rights and voices of women and youth, when they take these marginalised segments of society and try to suffocate us into nonexistence, they promote fear. They promote hate. They put policy above humanity. They enable stigma to thrive.” Manwaring said.
Manwaring encouraged people not to fall silent but to come forward and share their stories. Quoting the catch phrase of some of HIV/AIDS earliest activists Manwaring said, “silence equals death.”
“It doesn’t require any special skill or talent. It requires from us only one thing: honesty. A simple conversation, one that is open, fearless, and forthright, will change the hardest of hearts and coldest of minds. When those of us living with HIV come out into the light and share our stories, we dispel the fear, the stigma, and the hate. In their eyes, we are no longer stereotypes and statistics; we are human.” Manwaring said.
Speaking to the media prior his speech Manwaring said people needed to be honest. Acknowledging that in many counties speaking about your status and life could be dangerous Manwaring encouraged those who were in a position to share their stories to speak up.
“It’s a simple conversation to have with people about our experiences, about who we are as people, where we come from, where we’re going, what are hopes and dreams are, because it humanises us. It takes us out of this realm of some fearful and horrifying disease and makes us people… it helps people see we are just as deserving and just as entitled to dignity as they are.
“It needs to be understood that people living with HIV are not victims, we’re not suffers any more, we are living full and wonderful lives and we are active and willing participants in fighting this battle.” Manwaring said.
A recently released report from The Kirby Institute showed that 26,800 people in Australia are living with HIV. In 2013 1,236 new HIV diagnosis were made. The highest form of transmission of the virus in men who have sex with men, which accounts for 69% of transmissions bewtween 2009 – 2013.
Image: 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014). International AIDS Society, at the Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia. FRPL02_Closing Session.Photo shows: John Manwaring. Photo: International AIDS Society/Steve Forrest
