Junior Maxwell's new site is dedicated to education people about HIV.
Words: Paul Usher
12-02-2016
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Although he’s HIV-negative, Junior believes passionately in destigmatising HIV via simple education. Befriended by many HIV-positive men after moving to Manchester to escape the discrimination he faced in his home town – before being able to finish school – he witnessed first-hand their unjust treatment in the dating world and beyond…
You’re launching #DESTIGMATIZE on World Aids Day. Can you tell us a little more about the site and how you came to be involved?
We’re aware that there’s information online about stigma and HIV but it’s often complicated and uses terminology that the average person won’t understand. We want to simplify it because we believe the cure to stigma is education. We want to teach people about what undetectable is, what PrEP is and also point people in the direction of genuine online supplies if they wanted to start taking the drug.
Our target audience is mainly anyone who has been recently diagnosed and HIV-negative people, in the hope that they will then educate their families and friends. We’ve got our ‘stigma warrior’ campaign – talking to HIV-negative and HIV-positive people, asking for their take on stigma and how it’s affected them. We hope any diagnosed person reading it will find hope and reassurance that it’s not the end of the world.
It’s nice to hear someone being so passionate about this especially given that you are HIV-negative. How and when did this issue become so important to you?
It started when I was being bullied in high school. I had to leave school a year early because it was too dangerous for me to be there. I’m from a very small-minded town and when I was 14, I started taking secret trips to Manchester so I could be around people more like me. I was befriended by a group of older men. A lot of them were HIV-positive and they told me that even though we’ve come so far, in terms of medication, it’s no use to them living a long healthy life if they still have to face the stigma attached to this condition. So for me it was more about returning to them what they gave to me. They gave me back my self-esteem and I learned about what they go through. I could relate to it – they were categorised and marginalised as I was in school.
You said the key is education, how did you learn the facts about HIV?
Mainly from friends. They’d tell me horror stories about the struggles they face in the dating world and a lot unnecessary rejection. It’s still happening in 2016, even though we’ve come so far in terms of controlling the virus. In my opinion, if you sleep with someone who is undetectable, it is safer than to sleep with somebody who doesn’t know their status for sure. I try to educate as many people as possible in the hope that they pass on what I’ve taught them.
Do you see the stigma for yourself or is it only via stories? Do you actually see it when you’re out?
I’ve seen it for myself. Say if I was approached by a guy, I might have the occasional HIV-negative friend say: “Watch out for him he’s HIV-positive.” That’s something that needs to be worked on. Of course with me not being HIV-positive, I don’t get the bulk of it, which is why we interview HIV-positive people. I can’t speak on behalf of these guys.
You say the key to destigmatisation is to educate people, do you think more should be being done in schools to prevent miseducation?
Absolutely. I’ve already been invited into one school in my home town to give a talk. LGBT+ relationships should be part of their education. When we do teach the younger generation about the virus, we should be telling them what HIV is today, not what it was back in the 1980s.
How important it is World Aids Day to you and do you think it does a good job in the wider world?
I don’t like the actual name World Aids Day. Aids is something that is rare in this generation. It’s incredibly rare to see HIV develop into Aids but it’s good being able to raise awareness. It looks at HIV from a more positive perspective, no pun intended. It’s all about being comfortable with your status.
One thing that’s been in news this year is PrEP. What’s your opinion on the drug and should the NHS be providing it?
I interviewed someone the other day and the only reason that he is not on PrEP right now is because he’s a student and he can’t afford it. I also have been to the police recently about a dangerous individual who was going around purposefully infecting people with HIV. So PrEP can protect you from dangerous individuals as well as if you do something silly. I think if the NHS set a good criteria, then it should be available for people who genuinely need it and can’t afford it.
Unfortunately you seem to have had a tough time growing up and coming out which is a situation some of our readers will be able to empathise with. Do you feel it is easier to come out now and are you positive about the future?
If you’re from a small town as I am, it’s still very backward. I know of people who have not been able to come out yet because of the fear of rejection. I think especially in small towns where bullying is more rife, we still need to do a lot of work.
Is that with sex education and LGBT+ rights being taught at school?
There should be a law which says that we must teach children what the real world is like. They grow up with this perception that it’s fine to live a heterosexual lifestyle but if they’re growing up LGBT, they might well think there is something wrong with them. We need to change that.
For more visit destigmatizehiv.com.
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