The outlook has never been better for people with HIV in this country.

HIV treatment is very effective and has brought a longer, healthier life for the thousands of people who are able to access it free of charge. In fact, doctors are now hopeful that most people with HIV will live long enough to draw an old-age pension.

In 2005, there was an important change to the law which means that it is illegal to discriminate, in areas like health care and employment, against somebody because they have HIV.

Gay men are one of the groups most affected by HIV in this country, and there’s also been a transformation in the legal rights of gay people. Another group affected by HIV are people from Africa and the UK has very strong laws to protect people against discrimination because of their race, nationality or the colour of their skin.

Public attitudes have also shifting. Generally speaking, it’s no longer considered acceptable to display prejudice against people because of their disability, colour, race, sex or sexuality.

People with HIV are living full lives and there are very few things that you can’t do just because you have HIV.  Crucially, most people with HIV find that they are loved, accepted and supported by those close to them.

But we don’t live in a perfect world and people with HIV do still encounter discrimination, prejudice and stigma. These can have quite serious consequences or, at the very least, can make life harder.

It’s good to know that stigma and discrimination are taken very seriously by the government and organisations that work for the rights and wellbeing of people with HIV. There has been progress tackling these issues, and a lot of hard work is going into making more progress.

To deal with stigma and discrimination, it’s important to understand what causes them, to work out ways of responding to them, and to find out where you can go for help and support.

You’ve made a good first step dealing with these issues by picking up this booklet.

Throughout the booklet are short quotes from real people living with HIV about their experiences of stigma and discrimination and the way that they’ve responded. You may find them useful, but people respond to situations in different ways, so don’t think that you have to react in the way suggested by these examples.