Niamh’s story

"Everyone living with HIV is a human being and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.“

“I was first diagnosed with HIV 13 years ago. Growing up, I was part of the Section 28 generation where nothing was taught about LGBT+ life or sex education. Even if you did receive sex education, it was extremely brief and from a cisgender heteronormative perspective. This was how we dealt with HIV back then – we just didn’t talk about it.

Traditionally, HIV was viewed as something that only affected gay men, this meant a lot of women were at risk of getting lost. In fact, women make up more than half of HIV diagnoses globally. When we ignore women in the HIV narrative, we fuel this stigma that women can’t be affected, and there’s nowhere for women with HIV to get support.

When I was first diagnosed, I grappled with my own stigma and worries about what people would think. I remember I really didn’t want to tell my mum because my dad, before he died, had a very strong idea that HIV was the worst thing to happen to someone. I didn’t want to disappoint anyone or worry them in any way. It was almost nine years into my diagnosis, before I told my mum. But her reaction was fantastic, she was extremely nonchalant about it all. She told me that Coronation Street had just run a story line about a young boy with HIV, so she knew it wasn’t a death sentence and that I couldn’t pass it on. All these things I was geared up to educate her on, and she already knew.

That’s the power of projects like this. When we share personal stories, whether it’s in Humans of Scotland or Coronation Street, we are spreading the message and normalising the condition. It’s phenomenal that we might start conversations that break down years of stigma and myths surrounding HIV. The propaganda in the 80s from many media outlets cast a long shadow on the treatment of people with HIV. This book, and the work that organisations like Terrence Higgins Trust do, is all part of the greater goal of changing people’s perceptions and lightening the load of people with HIV.

I go to the clinic twice a year, take one tablet a day and that’s it. I live a normal life. I’m so grateful to all the people who have come before me because I wouldn’t be here today without them. It’s so important to remember and honour them.

My goal is that anybody with an HIV diagnosis will discover this book and feel comforted by stories that are filled with hope. For the longest time, I didn’t think I needed peer support or anything like that, but to have that emotional and physical contact with somebody else who knows what you are going through is invaluable – I hope this sparks people to get the love and support they deserve, because it is out there.
Unless you’re living with HIV or work within the sector, you maybe don’t know what the three letters stand for. And that’s fine because I always say it’s the first one that really matters. H is for Human.

Everyone living with HIV is a human being and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Niamh’s story is part of the H is for Human series, in collaboration with the Terrence Higgins Trust, sharing stories of strength, courage and hope from four decades of HIV in Scotland.

For more information on Terrence Higgins Trust and to learn about the work they do, follow this link.

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