Americans Are Becoming More Uncomfortable Interacting With Co-Workers Living With HIV, Report Shows
From Forbes online…
Every year, GLAAD–the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation–releases a report with the Gilead COMPASS Initiative detailing how Americans’ attitudes and awareness of HIV and HIV stigma have changed.
According to the 2023 report, 86% of Americans believe HIV stigma still exists. However, acceptance appears to be heading in the wrong direction as intolerance towards certain people living with HIV is worsening.
Roughly 41% of Americans said they would feel uncomfortable interacting with a barber or hair stylist living with HIV, up from 37% in 2022. Moreover, a significant portion of individuals said they would feel uncomfortable interacting with a teacher (33%) and co-worker (32%) who are HIV positive, an increase from 29% in 2022.
To find out more HIV stigma, visit the CDC’s Let’s Stop HIV Together information page.