Personal Stories About HIV

Young adults told us that hearing stories from other young adults affected by HIV is meaningful for them. Some said it makes them feel less alone, or that they can learn something from the experiences of someone whose situation might be similar to theirs. You'll find many different forms of stories below.

If there are other stories you would like to see on this page, send us an email at AmpThisUpSupport@westat.com.

Living Openly with HIV: 'We Could Be Those Role Models We Wish We Had'

William Brawner has been HIV-positive for most of his life. He kept his status a secret for years, even from friends and sexual partners. His life is the subject of a new documentary, "25 to Life."

Click here to listen.

“It’s a Part of Me”: Meet the Young People Born with HIV

Shortly afterward, the CDC began recommending routine HIV testing for pregnant women, and treatment for those who test positive. The push for testing has dramatically reduced the number of children born with HIV: In 1992, the CDC reported an estimated 900 cases of children born with HIV. By 2007, that number had dropped to 73.

That’s where Keith, Tom, and Liza, come in. All three were born with HIV. But they are a lot more than their positive diagnosis. We caught up with them to see how they’re doing now.

Click here to see their stories.

StoryCorps: Born with HIV, Building a Future

Cristina Peña was born in 1984 with HIV. Her father died from AIDS, and her mother is still living with HIV. Cristina was told she had HIV when she was 9, but she and her family kept it a secret from her schoolmates and friends.

In high school, she started dating Chris Ondaatje. One day, Chris decided to tell Cristina that he was in love with her. That's when Cristina sat him down for a revelation of her own.

Click here to hear them tell StoryCorps about when she disclosed her status to him.

If You Are Positive, Stay Positive

"I am HIV positive. I'm healthy, I'm living, and I'm still going."

This is a short video created by two young women who have lived with HIV since birth.

How to Dance

"How to Dance" has been produced by HIV positive children and adolescents from Africaid's Zvandiri programme in Harare, Zimbabwe. This project was made possible through the Auxilla Chimusoro Alumni award from PEPFAR in January 2013. Children and adolescents from Zvandiri have used this award to follow in Auxilla's footsteps by also speaking out through their own song and DVD. For the first time, a group of HIV positive children and adolescents have come out publicly to describe the way in which they have learned "how to dance in the storm", despite the challenges in their lives. As young people living with HIV, they call for zero HIV-related deaths, zero new HIV infections and zero stigma. Uniquely, they have been joined by a super band of Zimbabwean musicians who have helped them to turn their message in to a world class track and performance.

Living with Pediatric HIV (NPR, Baltimore, MD)

Two of NPR Baltimore's producers, Stephanie Hughes and Matt Purdy, worked with David Sloan of Wide Angle Youth Media to teach a workshop on radio to a group of teenagers living with pediatric HIV. The teenagers were all patients at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the department of pediatrics. The students interviewed each other about their experiences living with the virus. One 14-year-old student from Baltimore…was open to having his thoughts broadcast. He talked about how he figured out he had the virus when he was seven years old.

Click here for the full story.

Dandelion (Slam Poem)

"Dandelions live in this matrix of life knowing the price....this life is worth all the crying...I have to do just so someone in my shoes can live." - Mary Bowman, Dandelion

Teen Club (Mbabane, Swaziland)

“After seven years of thinking that I was the only child infected with HIV in Swaziland, hearing that there are others but never meeting any, after seven years of feeling completely lonely as a child, as I had no one my age I could fully relate to–Teen Club came to my rescue in 2006. It marked the end of the seven years of loneliness I had to endure. At first, through Teen Club, I was introduced to 20 adolescents who were infected with HIV. Now, through Teen Club, I have about 200 friends to whom I can fully relate. Thank you, Teen Club. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything else.” - ZS, Age 18

HIV CRIMINALIZATION LAWS

In the early days of HIV/AIDS, people were very concerned about the spread of the virus. In response to these fears, many state governments created laws that made it illegal for people who are HIV-positive to engage in certain behaviors that were thought to put others at risk of getting the virus. Some examples of illegal behaviors are having sex without sharing your HIV status and donating organs. It is important to know that many of these laws were written before people understood how HIV is transmitted. Because of this, some states have laws that criminalize behaviors like scratching or biting, which we now know are not ways that HIV is transmitted. Despite the advances in our HIV knowledge, many of these laws still stand. Below is some information to help you understand the current laws, as well as some of the efforts to remove laws that unfairly criminalize people who are HIV-positive.

HOW CAN I PROTECT MYSELF FROM ALSE CRIMINALIZATION?

For one thing, make sure you know your state’s HIV Criminalization Laws.

32 US states and two US territories have HIV criminalization laws, and each state or territory’s laws are different. The following resources will help you understand the laws in your state or territory.

· The Positive Justice Project: Find your US state or territory in this document.

· The Center for HIV Law and Policy: Find your US state in the drop menu under “State US Laws and Policies.” Not all US territories are listed.

· Law Atlas: HIV Criminalization by State: Find your US state on the map. No US territories are listed.

LEARN MORE ABOUT EFFORTS TO REDUCE HIV STIGMA AND CHANGE UNFAIR LAWS

· Check out Sero Project to see what people are doing to remove laws that unfairly criminalize people who are HIV-positive. Here’s a short film they produced in 2011 that gives an overview (please note that some of the statistics are now out of date).

· Watch this webinar on “The Impact of HIV Criminalization Laws on Young People” from August 2013 to learn more.

· Another way that you can protect yourself from false criminalization is to have written proof that you have told a sexual partner that you are HIV-positive. Check out this brochure with suggestions and a letter you can have your partner sign.