09 September 25

ACON Westie

Keeping it Real with HIV Facts

Know the facts

Today, we understand HIV far better than ever before. We know how to treat it effectively, prevent transmission, and support people living with HIV it to be healthy. Unfortunately, stigma still lingers – often based on myths, fears, and misinformation. This stigma can harm wellbeing, create barriers to testing and treatment, and keep outdated ideas alive.

One of the most powerful ways to challenge stigma is by knowing the facts. By understanding how HIV really works, you can keep yourself protected, support people in your community, and help end HIV stigma for good.

HIV is no longer a death sentence

In the early days of the HIV epidemic, before treatment was available, a diagnosis often meant serious illness or death. This history left behind fear and stigma that continue today.

But things have changed. Thanks to effective antiretroviral treatment (ART), people living with HIV can live long, healthy and full lives – just like everyone else! With treatment, they can work, study, travel, have relationships, enjoy sex, and have children without passing on HIV. Many are community leaders, raising families, and pursuing their passions.

You can’t get HIV from touch, kiss, urine, or sharing food

HIV cannot be passed on through hugging, kissing, sharing food, using the same toilet, or other casual contact. These myths add fear that fuels stigma against people living with HIV. The truth is, HIV cannot survive outside the body in ways that make everyday contact risky.

HIV is only passed on through specific bodily fluids: blood, semen, precum, rectal fluid, vaginal fluid, and breast milk. Transmission only happens when these bodily fluids enter another person’s bloodstream, usually through sex without protection (like condoms), sharing injecting equipment, or from parent to child during birth or breastfeeding.

People who know they have HIV are not the ones passing it on

Stigma often unfairly suggests that people living with HIV are careless or risky. In fact, the opposite is true. Most people living with HIV take antiretroviral treatment (ART), which keeps the virus at an undetectable level – meaning they cannot pass HIV on (known as Undetectable = Untransmittable, or U=U).

Most new transmissions actually happen when someone doesn’t know they have the virus, because they haven’t tested recently. That’s why regular testing is important.

HIV is still present in Australia

Even though it doesn’t make headlines like it once did, HIV hasn’t gone away. Thousands of people in Australia are living with HIV, and new cases are still diagnosed each year – particularly among people who may not have easy access to testing or prevention tools. Thanks to PrEP, condoms, and U=U, we’ve made huge progress towards ending HIV, but we’ve still got a bit to go!

Let’s end stigma, together

Ending HIV stigma and transmission is a shared responsibility. Staying informed, testing regularly, protecting ourselves, and supporting people living with HIV are how we move forward together.

Let’s build strong communities and uplift each other by learning the facts about HIV and leaving the stigma behind.

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