Story at a glance
- Nearly half, or 47 percent, of the 2,517 adults people surveyed do not feel knowledgeable about the virus.
- And 87 percent of American adults believe there is ongoing stigma surrounding HIV.
- “For the second year in a row, we are finding that HIV stigma remains high while HIV knowledge remains low amongst Americans,” DaShawn Usher, GLAAD Associate Director, Communities of Color said.
Decades after the initial outbreak of HIV in the United States, stigma surrounding people living with HIV remains pervasive, with nearly 9 in 10 adults reporting those living with the virus are viewed with a prejudiced perception.
“Stories and voices of people living with HIV are not prioritized regularly to humanize the epidemic, reduce stigma around it, and illustrate how HIV is preventable,” GLAAD said in a release announcing the findings of the second annual State of HIV Stigma Study. “Their stories must be told to show how people with HIV lead long and healthy lives, and cannot sexually transmit HIV when on proper treatment.”
Nearly half, or 48 percent, of the 2,517 adults people surveyed do not not feel knowledgeable about the virus, according to the study.
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Of non-LGBTQ people surveyed, more than half, 53 percent, indicated they would be uncomfortable seeing a medical professional living with HIV, while 43 percent said the same about being around a barber or hairstylist living with HIV. More than one-third, or 35 percent, of those who responded to the survey, which was conducted online in January, would not feel comfortable around a teacher living with HIV.
“For the second year in a row, we are finding that HIV stigma remains high while HIV knowledge remains low amongst Americans,” DaShawn Usher, GLAAD Associate Director, Communities of Color said in a release.
“We have to think critically and intentionally about how we truly equip and engage everyday Americans with the facts, resources, and scientific advancements about HIV if we want to end the epidemic,” Usher added.
Discomfort around individuals with HIV, according to the study, was most prevalent in the American Midwest and the South — despite those regions reporting the highest levels of HIV-related deaths in the U.S. In 2018 , the U.S. recorded nearly 16,000 deaths among people living with HIV — almost 50 percent were in the South.
“We continue to do our work of educating folks on living with, the treatment of, and prevention of HIV/AIDS, but a culture stigma and ignorance still exists for so many people,” “Queer Eye” star Jonathan Van Ness, who is living with HIV, said in a statement to GLAAD.
“A lack of compassion and stigma will continue to allow HIV/AIDS to hurt people in all communities until everyone in every community prioritizes ending the judgment and cruelty that is preventing healing for everyone affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” Van Ness concluded.
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