World AIDS Day is on Sunday, 1st December. The World Health Organisation believes that it will be possible to end the public health threat of AIDS by 2030. For a disease that has been around for so long, there is still a huge stigma within society.
Anderson and Fenton (2022) noted in a paper to the BMJ, “Over 80% of respondents agree that people with HIV face negative judgments in society, but only a minority recognised that their own views might contribute to stigma, and just a third completely agreed that they have sympathy for all people living with HIV.”
VinciWorks has put together an impressive 30+ page guide, “HIV in the Workplace: A Guide for Employers.” (Registration required). The document aims to educate businesses and empower them to create a safer, more inclusive environment for employees affected by HIV.
The battle against HIV isn’t won, with 106,000 people in the UK alone living with the disease. Many continue to face discrimination and prejudice. Another Survey conducted for World AIDS Day 2022 found that 74% of people who have AIDS reported they’ve experienced stigma or discrimination due to their HIV status.
VinciWorks also identified the challenge of facing non-visible diseases. Only 25% of respondents feel very confident in supporting a colleague with a non-visible disability. While 18% were unsure or not confident.
HIV in the Workplace: A Guide for Employers
Vinciworks has created the guide in partnership with HIV advocate Mark Mills. It draws from anonymous insights of professionals currently living with HIV. The report is divided into nine chapters. These aim to educate the reader about the HIV situation in the UK today. Thus dispelling many of the myths that have grown up around the disease. Each section is briefly described below:
What’s it like living with HIV today
The first section explodes some of the myths around HIV, noting that today, “HIV is a chronic, manageable condition which has no impact on a person’s life expectancy.” While HIV can affect anyone, it is not easily passed on.
Key terms to know
Explains some of the abbreviations commonly used around HIV.
State on HIV today
It gives some basic statistics about HIV, which are interesting. For business leaders, it is noteworthy that people living with HIV are protected from discrimination under the Equality Act of 2010.
About HIV
Explains about treatments available. Together with their effectiveness and some quite shocking anecdotes about how individuals with HIV have been treated at work.
Getting Diagnosed with HIV
People often have HIV without knowing about it. Therefore, 44% of people only find out they have contracted the disease in later stages. Other tests are conducted routinely during pregnancies. Even if pregnant with HIV, 1,000 babies are born HIV-negative to positive mothers every year in the UK. This section concludes with advice on the dos and don’ts for managers when someone discloses they have HIV at work.
Living with HIV
It gives an explanation of what treatment is like, how it has evolved and what it means day to day for many people with the condition. Most people believe what was circulated during the height of the hysteria. However medicine has moved on with treatments ever evolving due to research. The section concludes with advice on what to do and what not to do if someone at work discloses they are newly diagnosed with HIV.
Preventing HIV infection
It gives up-to-date information on how to prevent HIV infection as preventative measures have evolved and significantly improved over the last few decades. The section includes information about simple yet effective measures.
HIV, work and discrimination
Gives a rapid run-through of the current legislation and regulations to the status of people living with HIV. For businesses, it is against the law for people living with HIV to be discriminated against. The guide also notes that it is a criminal offence to knowingly infect someone else with HIV. The guide also offers health and safety advice for the Workplace, especially relevant for first aiders.
What to do now
A set of points and actions for business leaders and HR leaders to review and act on. The section includes five key pieces of information to remember and 7 actions to take immediately to ensure workplace and employee safety and compliance. These will help organisations design policies and education for staff as well as enhancing the organisational culture to include non-visible diseases.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
This is a welcome and comprehensive document that HR and business leaders should consider and download to read. HIV still has a huge stigma attached to it, unfairly at best. As the fight against HIV succeeds, the education of the general public needs to improve.
Nick Henderson-Mayo, Director of Learning and Content at VinciWorks and a former board member of HIV Scotland, said, “The reality is that ignorance and inertia are no longer acceptable excuses.
“By taking deliberate steps to create a culture of understanding and inclusion around non-visible disabilities, employers can make a monumental difference in the lives of their employees.”
The issue remains, even in healthcare, which one might have expected to be better educated than other sectors. In an article last year, Boardman et al. wrote: “Proposed strategies to reduce stigma in healthcare settings include training staff about HIV stigma, running campaigns within organisations, adopting a clear reporting process for people who experience discrimination, and providing support for staff living with or affected by HIV.”
These recommendations could apply to any industry. The guide provides some tools to help business leaders deliver these actions.
Henderson-Mayo concluded, “The reality of HIV is that many employers may never know of a staff member’s diagnosis, but that doesn’t take away from their right to be supported,” continues Henderson-Mayo. “Around 80% of all disabilities are non-visible, so it’s incredibly important for employers to have policies and support mechanisms that can be accessed by employees no matter the health condition or disability.”
