Gareth Thomas revealed he was living with the virus in September 2019 but a lack of understanding made him initially struggle to come to terms with it and tell others; the Welsh rugby star has since launched the Tackle HIV campaign to better educate people
Wednesday 28 April 2021 12:36, UK
Gareth Thomas believes perceptions surrounding HIV have to change in order for people not to feel stigmatised about talking and dealing with the condition.
The Welsh rugby star revealed he was living with the virus in September 2019 but admits a lack of understanding made him initially struggle to come to terms with it and tell others.
"I was diagnosed with HIV many years ago but because of self-stigma I didn't tell anyone," Gareth Thomas told Sky Sports News.
"I was afraid of the reaction and how I would be able to carry on living the rest of my life.
"But unfortunately people found out and it kind of got out of control and I was pressurised through the press to tell people I was living with HIV.
"What I realised then was that as much as I was fearful of people's reactions there was also so much justification in me being afraid because the stigma and misunderstanding around the subject of HIV was a real thing."
Thomas quickly decided to take control of the narrative of the situation, though, to turn it into a positive of using his profile to better educate, launching the Tackle HIV campaign just under a year ago to raise awareness.
The campaign's latest survey revealed fewer than 1 in 5 (18 per cent) do not know that someone living with HIV who is on effective treatment cannot pass HIV onto their sexual partner, 49 per cent would not consider taking an HIV test while many also do not believe people living with HIV can have an active sex life or start a family.
"People think they know about HIV but they don't know the facts and misunderstanding causes stigma," Thomas added.
"It is now a manageable condition and people living with HIV on effective treatment cannot pass the virus onto their partners.
"Living with HIV does not stop you doing anything but without people knowing the facts, stigma will still exist.
"Our perceptions of people who live with HIV are misunderstood and we need to change this."
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