Positively Speaking Out
posted: 28/05/2009
Face to face talks by people living with HIV make all the difference to stigma. Kath Morgan, positive speaker coordinator, reveals our inspiring Positive Speakers’ work.
Challenging HIV-related stigma, the Positive Speaker programme was launched in summer 2008, deliberately to dispel HIV myths and raise awareness of the reality of living with HIV. It does this through powerful personal ‘real life’ presentations. The pilot stage ended in March.
There were 32 sessions in our pilot, for a wide range of groups including schools, further education colleges, healthcare and social care professionals and trainees.
Impactful
How did the talks go? We measured the impact with audience questionnaires, before and after the talks, asking people to rate how strongly they agreed or disagreed with eight statements. We looked at people’s attitudes towards who is at risk, life with HIV, the rights of positive people, and working and being friends with people living with HIV.
What people told us shows that as people listen and learn, their knowledge and attitudes towards HIV positive people significantly improve through hearing the Positive Speakers. The most positive changes were in how long a life the audience believed people living with HIV could expect to have now, whether people should be sexually active with HIV, and the right to HIV confidentiality at work. Most impressive were groups of further education college students whose attitudes improved dramatically with just one session.
Face to Face Works
“When you hear the stories of people with HIV, you can understand it more. It made me see it differently.”
What the findings demonstrate is that face to face contact with a person living with HIV, is one of the most effective tools in combating stigma. Facts and figures don’t always resonate, but hearing someone tell their personal story provides a strong emotional connection that makes a deep difference.
Speakers sign up and train for different reasons: wanting to encourage safer sex and prevent others becoming HIV positive; to show people that life with HIV can be a great deal better than they think; to challenge the prejudice and stereotypes of who is at HIV risk; and to empower themselves. Whatever their reasons, speakers feel empowered by talking about their status openly and by being able to directly challenge HIV-related stigma.
Watching the attitudes of the listeners change from misinformed and prejudiced, to being aware, informed and even speaking out against HIV stigma, is an inspiring experience for the speakers and others involved.
There’s been a strikingly positive impact, not only onthe attitudes of those hearing the Positive Speakers’ testimonies, but also on the speakers themselves. Positive
Speakers is out of the pilot stage and now going from strength to strength, with additional speakers now being recruited.
“I feel better about myself since starting Positive Speaking. It has changed my view of myself and made me feel more positive generally.”
Secrets and Lives
Details of the Positive Speaker Programme, how to make a booking, and on becoming a speaker are at our website or ask Kath at kath@ght.org.uk , or on 0161 274 4499.
See and hear for yourselves at our Manchester Pride showcase ‘Secrets and Lives: Coming out of the HIV closet’ at the Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, on Wednesday August 26th - details and tickets at our website.
Download the Summer 2009 issue of Insight - pdf file
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