National AIDS Trust on Workplace Inclusivity, Battling Stigma, and More
November 28, 2022Ahead of World AIDS Day 2022, myGwork reached out to charity organization National AIDS Trust (NAT) to discuss the incredible work they do. From battling HIV related stigma to advice for workplace inclusivity, NAT provides a helpful and insightful perspective on how to be a good ally to people living with HIV.
Image Credit: National AIDS Trust
Could you tell us a little bit about your charity and the work that you do?
National AIDS Trust is the UK’s HIV rights charity. We work to stop new HIV transmissions and to secure and defend the rights of everyone living with, affected by or at risk of HIV. Some of our successes include making PrEP, the HIV prevention medication, available for free on the NHS, making pre-employment health questionnaires illegal – so employers can’t decide whether to offer a job based on HIV status, and ensuring HIV is recognized as a disability, leading to a host of legal protections. We also run a discrimination casework service, supporting and advocating for people living with HIV facing discrimination because of their status.
We maintain the World AIDS Day website and are the UK’s main supplier of the iconic red ribbon. Every year, we work with thousands of companies to support them in marking World AIDS Day at work.
What advice do you have for allies who want to support people living with HIV?
World AIDS Day is one very visible way to show support. The red ribbon is the globally recognized symbol for HIV awareness and wearing – or ‘rocking’ – a ribbon shows people living with HIV that you care about HIV equality. Educating yourself about HIV so you have a clearer understanding of the experiences and needs of colleagues or clients living with HIV will also help you to identify the need for, and help to implement, change at work.
People living with HIV may or may not wish to share their status at work, but they should feel comfortable to do so, and confident that they will be supported and not discriminated against. Marking World AIDS Day and being part of an ongoing conversation about HIV equality helps to create an atmosphere where someone can be open about their status if they wish to be. You can find up to date information on a range of HIV related topics through our online tool LoopedIn.
How can we help battle the stigma still attached to HIV in society?
We know from our recent national polling that HIV stigma is still rife. One quarter of respondents feel that their employer should have to tell them if a colleague is living with HIV, and only one third fully agree they have sympathy for people living with HIV, regardless of how they acquired it. HIV stigma is persistent and complex and takes place in between individuals but also in settings such as healthcare, employment and in accessing services.
Using our expertise, knowledge and strong relationships with decision makers we’ll ensure that institutions take action, and we’ll ensure the right funding is in place for work to stop stigma and discrimination in its tracks. We can all play our part in this by making sure we understand HIV and challenging incorrect information, or discrimination whenever we see it.
What can workplaces do to provide support for employees living with HIV?
World AIDS Day is a key date in the calendar to make a visible commitment to HIV equality as a company, but is only the start of the conversation. Reviewing policies and practices to make sure they don’t indirectly or directly discriminate against people living with HIV, making sure that these policies are widely communicated and organizing training, particularly for managers, are key to developing an inclusive, supportive working environment.
Under the Equality Act 2010, HIV is constituted as a disability. Equality legislation ensures that people with a disability, including people living with HIV, have the same access, as far as is reasonable, to everything involved in doing a job as people without a disability. This means making reasonable adjustments to remove barriers that, because of a person’s HIV status, make it more difficult for them to work. For example, recording employees’ leave related to their HIV status as disability leave, keeping this separate from general sick leave. Because HIV medication can have some side-effects, particularly when starting or changing medication, reasonable adjustments may include time off to attend hospital or doctor’s appointments, flexibility in working hours and the request to work at home occasionally.
You can contact National AIDS Trust for support in putting things in place, and we also run a ‘HIV at work’ workshop that you can enquire about attending.
What do you think is the next course of action to improve conditions for people living with HIV in wider society?
Effective prevention and treatment are now freely available, so we don’t live under the same cloud of fear of the 80s and 90s. We can even see a possible end to new cases within the next 7 years. But the battle is far from over. People living with HIV continue to be viewed negatively and discrimination remains rife. Our community is more likely to live in poverty, be unemployed, be lonely and experience mental ill health.
We believe the most successful model is to tackle stigma at source – by both supporting individuals and ensuring lasting, top-level change. We’ve already created the political and policy environment where the Government has publicly committed to ending new HIV transmissions by 2030, and tackling stigma is a key part of this. We will push for the Government to commit to a national approach to improving HIV knowledge and challenging stigma.
For more information about National AIDS Trust, including how you can support as an organization or an individual contact Chris Dye, Partnerships & Philanthropy Specialist at [email protected] or go to www.nat.org.uk.
Join myGwork for our World AIDS Day panel on December 1 at 16:00 GMT, where we will talk with people living with HIV about their experience in the workplace, the progress of HIV testing/treatment, and the work that still needs to be achieved.
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