Gay London Life | June '25 Edition - Magazine - Page 34
Introducing:
The GMI
Partnership
Lou Riggs (they/he)
HIV Outreach Worker
What’s a small but powerful way someone can support HIV awareness
at Pride?
Educational activities are important at Pride, especially for raising awareness
among those living in communities with high levels of stigma and discrimination,
and highlighting how this discrimination harms individuals and communities.
Meet the hard workers behind this long-running,
community-based sexual health service playing a crucial
role in the fight to end new HIV transmissions by 2030
When seeking to end new HIV infections, stigma and discrimination block
Sam Styan (he/him)
Munatsi Shoko
HIV Prevention Coordinator and Community Development
Gay Men’s HIV Prevention Coordinator
What’s a small but powerful way someone can support HIV awareness at Pride?
What’s a small but powerful way someone can support HIV awareness
Thinking about the language you use, especially when talking about HIV. It can
at Pride?
be damaging for someone to hear sexual health spoken about in terms of ‘clean’.
Elevating the voices of people living with HIV, especially Trans and Queer
Instead, you can use positive language that puts people first and doesn’t make
People of Colour, is important to combat prejudice and raise awareness by
anyone feel excluded or lesser, such as saying “people living with HIV”.
sharing new perspectives with different people. This could look like sharing the
If you had a billboard at Pride, what would it say in big, bold letters?
work of these content creators on social media, signing petitions and contacting
SPEAK UP FOR YOUR TRANS FRIENDS.
your local officials in support of policies for these communities, or having open
efforts to reach ‘hidden’ individuals.
If you had a billboard at Pride, what would it say in big, bold letters?
End discrimination and stigma - it’s the only way to end HIV!
conversations about these topics with people in your life.
Taofique Folarin (he/him)
If you had a billboard at Pride, what would it say in big, bold letters?
HIV Prevention Coordinator and Promoter
Protect the Dolls!
What’s a small but powerful way someone can support HIV awareness?
Work to help put an end to HIV stigma and discuss U=U (Undetectable equals
If you’re interested in adding
untransmittable) with your friends and colleagues. Ensure you and they
some testing and/or outreach to
understand what it means — a person living with HIV taking their medication as
your venue or event, get in touch with
prescribed cannot pass the virus on.
Taofique at
If you had a billboard at Pride, what would it say in big, bold letters?
I’M HIV+ AND WHAT!
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taofique.folarin@spectra-london.org.uk.
For more information, head to gmipartnership.org.uk.
