Forty years since Terrence Higgins became the UK’s first named person to die of an AIDS-related illness on the 4 July 1982, new data shows that the public's attitudes to the virus remain stuck in the past.
The data also highlighted that a Government AIDS awareness advert from 1987 was particularly harmful, with almost half of those surveyed remembering it four decades after it aired. The data has been released by Terrence Higgins Trust, the charity established in Terry’s name to save lives during the darkest days of the epidemic.
With the haunting words "It's a deadly disease with no known cure" paired with a tombstone, the advert struck fear into a entire generation of LGBT+ people all over the UK.
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According to new research, which marks 40 years since the death of the Welshman, stigma and attitudes towards HIV still remain nearly how they were nearly half a century ago. Despite the exceptional care and treatment available that can stop someone who has HIV from passing on the virus, the stigma remains implanted within society.
The data from YouGov polling of over 2,000 Brits shows that almost half of people (48%) remember the infamous tombstones campaign, with that rising to three quarters (76%) in 45-54 year-olds and 70% in those aged 55 and over. That was the devastating situation at the time, but today the realities of HIV transmission are very different.
Now incredible progress in HIV medication means you can live a long, healthy life with HIV and that 97% of those diagnosed and on treatment in the UK are virally suppressed and can’t pass on HIV.
However, just 38% of Brits know that people living with HIV and on effective treatment can’t pass this virus on to other people, with older people far less likely to believe how much progress has been made that means people living with HIV can expect a normal lifespan.
“The adverts end by saying ‘don’t die of ignorance’, but now we’re fighting a different kind of ignorance – an ignorance to all the incredible progress that’s been made. The previously life-saving information in that advert is now completely out of date,” Ian Green, Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust, said.
"We’re very proud of Terry Higgins and all we’ve achieved in his name, but the best way to celebrate 40 years since his untimely death is to engage as many people as possible in all the progress that’s been made since, including that someone living with HIV and on effective treatment can’t pass the virus on to their partners.”
The research also found high levels of HIV related stigma 40 years since Terrence Higgins’ death, with just 30% of people saying they are comfortable dating someone living with HIV. Fewer than 2 in 5 (37%) would be comfortable kissing someone living with HIV. This comes despite it being clear since the start of the epidemic that HIV can’t be passed on through kissing or any other day-to-day contact including sharing cutlery or holding hands.
Similarly, only 21% of people say they would be comfortable having sex with someone living with HIV and on effective treatment, despite it being impossible for HIV to be passed on as medication suppresses the amount of virus to such low levels it can’t be detected or passed to anyone else. These numbers show a worrying disconnect between knowledge about HIV transmission and its impact on how people living with HIV are perceived and treated.
Martyn Butler OBE, co-founder of Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “We started the Trust almost by accident because no-one else was providing the information our community needed to protect themselves against this new virus which had killed Terry. I’m very proud of all that’s been achieved since in Terry’s name to empower, educate and ultimately save lives. I hope that this anniversary galvanises everyone to push through any complacency around HIV and do the work required to end new cases by 2030. What a legacy that would be for Terry.”
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