On This Gay Day: The first report about HIV/AIDS was published in 1981 It’s often reported that the first information about what would later be identified as HIV/AIDS was when on 5 June 1981 the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention published a notice about gay men who had died from rare, and usually […]
‘That’s What Friends Are For’ wins Grammy award for Song of the Year On this day in 1986 the song That’s What Friends Are For won the Song of the Year category at the Grammy Awards. The recording by Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Elton John also picked up the Grammy Award for Best Pop […]
Author Randy Shilts was known as the first openly gay journalist Randy Shilts died on this day in 1994, the author is best known for his 1987 book And The Band Played On which documented the early days of the AIDS epidemic. Shilts studied journalism and the University of Oregon and came out while he working on […]
The ABC will air a new drama called In Our Blood. The four-part musical drama series is inspired by Australia’s radical response to the discovery of HIV/AIDS in the early 1980’s. The series features an ensemble cast led by Tim Draxl (A Place to Call Home, Summer Love), Matt Day (Rake, Harrow), Jada Alberts (Mystery […]
French sociologist and HIV/AIDS activist Daniel Defert has died at the age of 85. Defert was the partner of Michel Foucault, the writer, philosopher, and literary critic who died of an AIDS-related death in 1984. Following his passing Defert founded AIDES, the first national HIV/AIDS organisation in France. The organization’s name is a play on […]
Liberace denied he was gay and kept his HIV status a secret Liberace died on this day in 1987, the musician had been diagnosed with HIV in 1985 but did not publicly disclose his diagnosis. Władziu Valentino Liberace was born in Wisconsin, USA, in 1919. His parents were immigrants, his father hailing from Italy, while […]
Philadelphia was one of the first mainstream studio film to focus on HIV On this day in 1993 the film Philadelphia was screened for the first time, it was one of the first mainstream studio film to focus on the AIDS epidemic. Tom Hanks won his first Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Andrew Beckett, a […]
The Federal Government’s confirmation of a specialist taskforce to drive the end of HIV transmission in Australia, along with increased funding to UNAIDS, have been strongly welcomed by AFAO, as we mark World AIDS Day 2022. The Government confirmed the taskforce will be headed by Health Minister, the Hon. Mark Butler and Assistant Health Minister […]
A new alliance aims to make life saving HIV medication available to children who are living with the virus. Globally, only half (52%) of children living with HIV are on life-saving treatment, far behind adults where three quarters (76%) are receiving antiretrovirals, according to the data that has just been released in the UNAIDS Global […]
Victorian Police raid Tasty, resulting in a $10 million lawsuit On the 7th of August 1994, dozens of police officers entered the Tasty club night in Melbourne, then detained and strip searched, and in some cases cavity searched, 463 people over seven hours. Tasty was a regular club night that was known as a popular […]
