While stigma is sometimes hard to pin down (it may be found in people’s attitudes or beliefs), discrimination is a little easier to describe. It’s about actual behaviour.

Discrimination means treating one person differently from another in a way that is unfair - for example, treating one person less favourably simply because he or she has HIV.

Depending on the situation in which discrimination occurs, it may be against the law. The Equality Act protects against discrimination at work, in education and when using shops, businesses and services.

The Equality Act applies in England, Wales and Scotland. In Northern Ireland, similar protections are given by the Disability Discrimination Act.

Here are some examples of things which would normally be against the law:

• A dental surgery which refuses to register people with HIV as patients.
• A company which pays a lower salary to employees with HIV.
• A sports club which, because of unjustified fears of HIV transmission, excludes people with HIV.

All people with diagnosed HIV are protected by the law, in the same way as people who are discriminated against because of their race, sex, age, sexual orientation or religion.

For the purposes of these laws, people with diagnosed HIV are defined as having a ‘disability’. Some people with HIV don’t feel disabled and would prefer not to be described in this way. Whether or not you agree with the definition, you can still benefit from the protection of the law.