The ABC’s stigma killing TV show You Can’t Ask That has tackled many different topics over the years, and this week it looks into people living with HIV.

It’s surprising that it’s taken then show this long to get to the topic of HIV, given the wide range of topics they’ve previously discussed and the high level of stigma people living with HIV experience.

The episodes sees people sharing their experiences of being diagnosed, and their personal and varied reactions to discovering they carry the virus.

Eight Australians share how their lives have been changed by HIV, and how other people in the community sometimes react when they discover their status.

David Polson shares that when he was first diagnosed in 1984 it was like “falling down a big bottomless black pit”, and the prognosis for him was impending death, but undeterred he embraced healthy living. and signed up to take part in drug trials.

The show highlights that people become HIV through a wide range scenarios, and the assumption that reckless behaviour is to blame is unfounded.

You Can’t Ask That airs at 9pm on Wednesday 15th April 2020, previous episodes are available on the ABC’s iView platform.

OIP Staff

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