This work helped shape the National AIDS Trust’s HIV Confident Charter and led to UNISON developing a model policy to support workers living with HIV. Through motions passed at national conferences, the campaign is now embedded within UNISON policy, with a clear commitment to expand it across regions. At the London Regional Council AGM in 2025, members also voted to make this one of the region’s formal priorities.
But there is still much more to do if we are to help reach the UK’s goal of zero new HIV transmissions by 2030. That goal is only achievable if we tackle HIV stigma head on – encouraging testing, ensuring people feel safe to stay on treatment, and making sure that workplaces and public services offer real, practical support, free from stigma.
Understanding why stigma persists
HIV has changed dramatically.
Thanks to U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable), people on effective treatment cannot pass on the virus. PrEP (pre‑exposure prophylaxis) provides highly effective protection for those at higher risk. Yet these crucial messages are far from universally understood. Too many people continue to face discrimination simply because they are living with HIV.
Stigma remains a major barrier to safety, healthcare, mental wellbeing and equality. It thrives in the same environments created by racism, misogyny, ableism, homophobia and transphobia. These overlapping inequalities make it harder for people to seek support and harder for us to reach the 2030 target.
The Positive Voices 2022 survey highlights the scale of the ongoing challenge:
- Almost 1 in 3 people living with HIV report experiencing stigma
- Over 40% experience symptoms of depression or anxiety
For Black communities, the impact of HIV stigma is even more pronounced. Many experience:
- Cultural stigma and silence around HIV
- Immigration barriers that limit access to services
- Mistrust of statutory bodies
- A lack of healthcare that is culturally competent or free from racial bias
These pressures can prevent people from testing early, engaging with treatment or feeling safe to disclose their status at work. When HIV stigma intersects with racism and sexism, people can be pushed into isolation and shut out of the decision making spaces where their experiences should be central.
Disabled Black people living with HIV and Black migrant workers often face multiple layers of discrimination in both healthcare and employment. This is why expanding the Unionising Against HIV Stigma campaign is essential: no worker should be left behind as we work towards ending new transmissions by 2030.
How can you support this campaign?
- Register for the LGBT+ Training and Organising Day | Friday 24 April
- One of the workshops will be on this issue, looking at how we can negotiate more policies for workers living with HIV and continue our campaigning efforts to tackle HIV stigma.
- Register here
- Encourage your employer to adopt UNISON’s model policy for supporting workers living with HIV
- Urge your employer to sign up to NAT’s HIV Confident Charter
- Educate yourself and others through NAT’s and THT’s resources
- NAT’s resources
- THT’s resources
- Positive Voices (a team of volunteers who provide informative talks and education sessions about their personal experiences of living with HIV)
