Actually Gay Men’s Chorus, Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus and Rainbow Chorus are jointly producing this year’s 12th annual fund-raising concert to mark World AIDS Day, 2018.
THE concert will take place at St. Mary’s Church, Brighton on Saturday, December 1, at 7.30 pm (allowing time for those attending the Candelight Vigil close by from 6pm-7pm at the AIDS Memorial statue on New Steine to arrive) and will feature performances by Actually Gay Men’s Chorus, Brighton Belles Women’s Concert, Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus, Qukulele, The Rainbow Chorus, Rebelles, Resound Male Voices and The Sweet Chilli Singers.
Last year’s concert sold out well in advance so there are unlikely to be tickets on the door this year.
Mince pies and mulled wine will be served during the interval and all profits will be donated to local Brighton charity, Lunch Positive, the weekly lunch club for people who are HIV positive.
Event: Brighton & Hove World AIDS Day Charity Concert
Where: St Mary’s Church, 61 St James’s St, Brighton BN2 1PR
The Mayor of Brighton and Hove, Cllr Dee Simson will lead representatives from over thirty community and statutory organisations in the reading of the names tonight at the Brighton AIDS Memorial.
THE annual World AIDS Day candlelit vigil takes place in New Steine Gardens in the shadow of the Brighton AIDS Memorial at 6pm this evening when the names of those lost to HIV/Aids over the last 37 years will be read out.
Everyone is welcome to attend and space will be available for anyone seeking quiet moments of reflection.
If you wish to have the name of a friend or loved one added take details to the Memorial Space in New Steine Gardens from 4pm where Lunch Positive will be offering hot drinks and their volunteers will be on hand to answer questions about the evenings event and take any additional names of those we have lost to be read at the vigil.
The event is organised by the Brighton & Hove World AIDS Day (WAD) Partnership which includes: Brighton & Hove City Council Partnership Community Safety Team, Gscene, Lunch Positive, Martin Fisher Foundation, Sussex Beacon, Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Sussex Ecumenical HIV Chaplaincy and THT South.
Lunch Positive, the HIV lunch club will be holding a community drop in with refreshments at Dorset Gardens Methodist from 1pm – 4pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Event: Brighton and Hove Candlelit Vigil and reading of the names
Where: New Steine Gardens, St James Street, Kemptown
In a speech to the Commons ahead of World Aids Day on Saturday, December 1, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven discloses his HIV status in a bid to tackle the stigma still associated with the condition.
THE Labour MP has become only the second parliamentarian ever to reveal his HIV status, the other being Baron Chris Smith, the UK’s first openly gay MP when he entered the Commons in 1983, who announced he was HIV positive a few months before leaving parliament in 2005.
A former Brighton Counsellor before being elected to parliament in the 2017 election, Russell-Moyle told the Commons he had been HIV positive for 10 years, since he was 22.
He said: “This Saturday, December 1 will mark the 30th Anniversary of World AIDS day, and next year it will be ten years since I became HIV positive. I was 22 years old, and diagnosed early. Since then I have been on world-class treatment provided by the NHS – so I have not only survived, I’ve prospered, and any partner I have is safe and protected.
“I am leading this debate today because we are in many ways at a juncture in the fight against HIV and Aids. We could be more vocal, more ambitious, more determined to eradicate the disease in the UK. Or, we could go in the direction of the government, which is putting our hard-fought progress at risk.
“The disease is still deeply misunderstood. Etched into much of the public’s memory as a death sentence, HIV conjures images of gravestones and a life marked by tragedy.
“The reality is that today, the prognosis is wildly different to what it was when it was bought to the public’s attention. If treated, someone who is HIV positive, like myself, can expect to live a long and full life with little to no side-effects from the drugs regime.
“I hope that my coming out serves to defy the stigma around the disease. I hope that more people will understand that effective treatment keeps people who are HIV positive healthy, and it protects their partners. That my story might encourage others to get tested and ultimately begin their treatment earlier on.”
After the speech he said:“My announcement today will come as a surprise for many across the country. I have been asked if I am worried about the public’s reaction, or whether my constituency will be supportive. Those people clearly do not know Brighton.
“It is a privilege to represent one of the most dynamic, forward thinking and accepting communities in the country. My decision to make public, this very private aspect of my life was because of the ground-breaking organisations in my constituency who moved me to do so.
“The pride they have in their work and their unique bravery is something which I looked to and was directly inspired by. We are leading in Brighton, not just nationally on HIV & AIDS research and treatment but internationally. The Sussex Beacon, Lunch Positive, The Martin Fisher Foundation are just a few examples of exceptional treatment and support offered to those in Brighton. We are an example for the rest of the country to follow.
“Coming out today with my status will be newsworthy but the recognition should go to the countless who have come before me to fight – and it has been a fight for many – this disease. We are where we are today because of giants in our community that have paved the way for where we are today. I could not be more proud to represent Brighton Kemptown, today more than ever.”
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party said: “Lloyd has shown enormous courage today. I know the whole Labour Party is proud of him. His dignity and hope will inspire people across the country and around the world – those with HIV, and also those of us who will always stand together with them.
“Thanks to activists and campaigners, from Act Up to parliamentarians like Lloyd and Chris Smith, stigma against people with HIV is gradually lessening. And people who are HIV Positive and have access to treatment can now be sure that they will remain healthy and that their partners are protected.
“But we must remain vigilant against prejudice, and we must fight for everyone to have access to effective treatment.
“Lloyd’s bravery represents the very best of Labour. This World Aids Day I will be proud to wear the red ribbon in solidarity and respect.”
Deborah Gold
Deborah Gold, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust) added:“Lloyd has the full support of NAT in telling the public that he is living with HIV. Although no one is obliged to be open about their status, and it isn’t always an easy decision, the same stigma that makes it hard to say you have HIV, is a stigma that is gradually eroded by people being open and proud.
“HIV, as Lloyd shows us, is no longer a death sentence and for most it no longer even significantly compromises their health. It is a manageable condition; illness and the risk of passing it on to others can be completely averted with simple daily medication.
“These simple messages can be a powerful antidote to HIV stigma, and by his action today, Lloyd has drawn attention to these facts and shown solidarity with the 101,000 people also living with HIV in the UK.
“As the first serving MP to be openly living with HIV Lloyd has taken a big step and we absolutely applaud him.”
“As ending HIV transmissions in the UK becomes a reality, we must support those living with the virus to thrive, and end the stigma they face”, says national sexual health HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust.
Today December 1, is World AIDS Day – the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust has revealed the extent to which people living with HIV are impacted by HIV discrimination.
According to the charity, half (50%) of people living with HIV have experienced discrimination because of their HIV status.
This comes despite the incredible medical progress that’s been made over the last 30 years, which now means that people with the virus can live as long and healthily as anybody else.
Effective treatment shrinks the amount of virus in the body to undetectable levels, which protects the immune system from damage and means HIV can’t be passed on to anyone else.
Despite this progress, and the fact that people diagnosed with HIV today can thrive, misinformation around HIV still causes stigma, which impacts many people living with HIV.
The THT polling, which looked at people living with HIV’s experience and fear of HIV discrimination found:
♦ Over half (54%) had experienced HIV discrimination in dating and relationships
♦ One third (34%) had experienced HIV discrimination while accessing health care services
♦ Almost one-third (30%) had experienced HIV discrimination at work
♦ More than one-quarter (27%) had experienced HIV discrimination from friends
♦ Almost one fifth (18%) had experienced HIV discrimination from family members
♦ One fifth (21%) had experienced HIV discrimination in their local community
When asked about fear of HIV discrimination, people living with HIV said that it had:
♦ made them feel anxious (61%)
♦ had an impact on their mental health (60%)
♦ had an impact on their self-worth (59%)
♦ made them feel unable to talk openly at work about living with HIV (59%)
♦ made them feel unable to talk openly with friends about living with HIV (53%)
♦ made them feel unable to talk openly with family about living with HIV (52%)
♦ made them feel unable to talk openly in dating about living with HIV (51%)
♦ made them feel alone (50%)
The polling of 1,350 people living with HIV was undertaken as part of the charity’s latest campaign, #ZeroHIV, that seeks to bring both HIV transmissions and HIV stigma down to zero in the UK.
In the same week leading up to World AIDS Day, Public Health England has just revealed that the UK has achieved its target of 90:90:90, a whole year ahead of when it aimed to do so (2020).
This means that 92% of people living with HIV in the UK are diagnosed; 98% of those people are on treatment; and 97% of those have an undetectable viral load, which means they can’t pass on HIV.
We are now getting increasingly close to ending all new cases of HIV in the UK, and hope to do so well ahead of the global target of 2030.
Ian Green
Ian Green, Chief Executive, Terrence Higgins Trust said:“Earlier this week we received the wonderful news that we are even closer to ending HIV here in the UK.
“To have achieved the 90:90:90 targets one-year ahead of the target truly demonstrates the UK’s position as a leader in the HIV sector, which is something we very much hope to continue.
“We now have the tools to end HIV transmission here in the UK – a combination of regular testing, PrEP, condoms and treatment as prevention – and it’s vital we continue to ensure people are aware of those tools, know how and are able to access them.
“However, as ending HIV transmissions in the UK becomes a reality, we must support those living with the virus to thrive, and end the stigma they face. We must not just focus our efforts on reaching zero transmissions, but also zero stigma.
“The results from our polling are extremely saddening, although perhaps not shocking, as work from the Stigma Index earlier this year demonstrated a similar sentiment.
“This World AIDS Day, as we mark 30 years since the first, we will remember the many loved ones we’ve lost.
“We will celebrate the progress we’ve made in their memory, and we will stand shoulder to shoulder and continue to work together with one another to hit zero HIV transmissions and zero HIV stigma for good.”
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