HIV Activist Claims Trafalgar Sq Plinth
posted: 29/07/2009
A HIV activist mounted Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth this morning as part of Antony Gormley's One & Other exhibition.
Eric Page spent part of his hour on the plinth wearing a THIVK you're still negative? T-shirt to raise awareness of the work of Terrence Higgins Trust.
THIVK is a year long campaign developed by the CHAPS partnership and launched by THT to get men to consider if they have HIV without realising. The Health Protection Agency estimates up to 10,000 gay men in Britain have HIV without knowing.
THIVK, Test and Take Control campaign
Page, from Brighton, who has worked for THT as a sexual health outreach worker for eight years, said: "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I wanted to spend my hour on the plinth to highlight the issues of sexual health and gay men in particular as HIV is a risk for all people. I started my time on the plinth in a fabulous outfit, slowly changing my outfits until I end up, in homage to Gormley's previous work, naked. Leaving me, very literally exposed and vulnerable.
Sue Peters from Terrence Higgins Trust said: "I want to say a huge thank you to Eric for supporting us. It's now recommended that gay men test at least once a year, or after any unprotected sex. Yet around a third of gay men in England have never taken an HIV test, with the figure even higher in Scotland and Wales. It's fantastic that Eric is helping us to get the message out to men to take control and make testing for HIV a regular part of their lives in such a unique and visible way."
Watch the action live from the plinth every Friday at 7pm on Sky Arts 1/HD and online at oneandother.co.uk
The THIVK campaign and information website
Source and photo
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