If you contracted HIV, who would you turn to? Discovering your status is life-changing. But disclosing it can make the situation more complex. Those who test positive still have to brave stigma and some may even refuse treatment to avoid being victimised.
Dudu Ramorwalo initially responded to her diagnosis with disbelief. When she shared the news with her family, their reassurance helped her adjust. But at her local clinic in Johannesburg, Ramorwalo noted that other HIV-positive people had no support. “Most people living with HIV were scared that they would be rejected,” she says. To ease their fears and isolation, she founded the Asibambaneni Support Group in 2014.
Charlie Jacobs, a Mr Gay South Africa finalist, was also in denial until he realised the pageant could be a chance to inspire others. “I started the Change the Stigma Project after I saw the opportunity to show that ordinary people are actually living extraordinary lives,” he says. One such person is Saidy Brown, who discovered she was HIV-positive at the age of 14. She chose to share this in a tweet. “I could never have imagined the reaction I have gotten simply by posting my status on Twitter,” she says. “We live in a generation where people are more open to talking about these things.”
Activists such as Ramorwalo, Brown and Jacobs are changing perceptions about HIV within the communities they’ve built. “Everyone deserves a chance in life to live without being judged or discriminated,” Jacobs says.
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