Shocking new research conducted by Newfoundland Diagnostics, the UK’s leading provider of self-diagnostic tests, has unveiled a distressing truth: 10 million Brits would avoid friendship or professional collaboration with someone who is HIV positive. This revelation, just ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1st, underscores the prevailing ignorance surrounding HIV in the UK.
The research, carried out in collaboration with Censuswide, indicates that 15 percent of respondents would refuse to work with an HIV+ individual, while 14 percent would shy away from forming friendships with someone who is HIV positive.
One factor contributing to this alarming trend is the significant lack of awareness about how HIV is transmitted. Startlingly, the research reveals that nine percent of those surveyed believe HIV can be transmitted through sharing drinking glasses, and seven percent think it can be spread by sharing eating utensils.
The top ten misconceptions about how HIV can be transmitted in the UK are as follows:
- By having unprotected sex – 62 percent
- Giving or receiving oral sex – 44 percent
- Kissing someone – 14 percent
- Drinking from the same bottle or glass – 9 percent
- Sharing eating utensils – 7 percent
- Touching a toilet seat – 6 percent
- Touching a door handle – 6 percent
- Using the same gym equipment – 5 percent
- Holding hands – 3 percent
- Hugging someone – 3 percent
These findings are particularly disconcerting given that they emerge three decades after the UK Government’s impactful ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’ campaign, launched in 1986 to educate the public about HIV and its modes of transmission.
Even more troubling is the revelation that nearly four in five people (78 percent) do not believe that heterosexual partners could have HIV, despite data from the UK Health Security Agency (HSA) indicating higher rates of HIV among heterosexual individuals for the first time in a decade.
Frederick Manduca, co-founder of Newfoundland Diagnostics, emphasized the urgent need for comprehensive education and awareness, stating, “These misconceptions about HIV are deeply troubling and underscore the crucial necessity for comprehensive education and for Brits to know their status.”
Manduca further highlighted the importance of accessible HIV self-tests, not only as diagnostic tools but as catalysts for open conversations, stigma eradication, and confronting the misconceptions faced by individuals living with HIV.
It is imperative to challenge and dispel the stigma and misconceptions surrounding HIV to create a more informed and compassionate society.