Russell has been out and proud since 1989 but telling people about his HIV status in 2014 was hard - especially in the workplace. Initially Russell only told his manager - making the words “I’m HIV positive” come out of his mouth was difficult enough then. He worried about telling his colleagues - the people he spend most of his time with - he felt alone at a time that he needed support after having received his diagnosis and was still learning himself.
Conversations about a positive HIV diagnosis today compared ones in the 1980s are different - but there’s still a huge gap in awareness and understanding. For many people over the age of 45, the overriding image connected with AIDS was the giant tombstone with the words ‘don’t die of ignorance’ etched onto it. The problem, Russell points out, is that in a society that was more homophobic than today’s, the image created unnecessary fear and exclusion of the HIV positive community. After decades of research our understanding of the virus is vastly different - you can’t catch it from kissing or sharing a bathroom and many living with HIV have an undetectable load within months of starting medication.
Join Russell on World AIDS Day to find out why he wouldn’t change a thing about his HIV status, and why living with HIV has made him a better person.