Stigma Resources

Want to understand HIV stigma more, or get some tips for combatting it? Read on.

RSE HIV Education Resources: Fast Track Cymru is proud to launch an innovative set of cross-curricular HIV education resources, designed to support the delivery of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in Wales. Check out the RSE resources here.

You can help us promote our "Are you PrEPped?" awareness campaign by accessing the toolkit here.

If you’re not sure what HIV stigma is, Aidsmap have a good, straightforward written explanation here.

If you prefer to watch people with HIV and other experts talking about tackling stigma in Britain, Aidsmap also have a lively YouTube discussion from 2023 here.

Knowing the facts about HIV and passing them on is a key way to fight stigma. Fast Track Cymru has a basic, simple language leaflet about HIV in the 21st century in both English and Welsh which can be ordered in bulk from us or downloaded and printed (you’ll need a colour printer) from our website here.

Want practical advice about real life situations? Viiv Healthcare, who make HIV treatments, have resources about tackling stigma on their US website. These are aimed at a US audience but are well worth a look. We particularly recommend the information on how to tackle stigma and self-stigma which uses real life situations as examples and gives constructive advice on how to tackle them. See here.

Want more effective ideas that work about how to beat stigma? Start with the summary on p.29 of Tackling HIV Stigma (NAT, 2016) and then read the in-depth evidence for whatever strategies suit you/your organisation. The report is a comprehensive examination of what was known about HIV stigma and what does and doesn’t work in challenging it at that time, with lots of examples. See here.

If you’re a teacher, National AIDS Trust also has a page of teaching resources about HIV which includes a lesson plan on HIV stigma and how to tackle it.

If you, or someone you know, are living with HIV then Terrence Higgins Trust have a lot of resources for living well with HIV on their website. If you have HIV and are experiencing stigma, or worry about it a lot, a good place to talk (anonymously if you want) with other people with HIV about that and anything else in your life is their Community Forum exclusively for people living with HIV. It will help you connect with other voices that will understand where you’re coming from because they’ve been there too. See here.

There’s also a THT Helpline for allies to call and talk about how best to deal with a difficult situation on 0808 802 1221. And if you or a friend are experiencing HIV stigma in the workplace and it’s making your job difficult, you can find out your rights and the protection available here.

Engaging with some peer support is a good way of dealing with internalised self-stigma. Currently, apart from a group in Cardiff we don’t know of any independent peer support groups run by people living with HIV in Wales (though we’d love to hear from you if you’d like to set one up locally or already have) but online there’s the THT forum above. There’s also Positively UK at positivelyuk.org who have a wide range of services and who are working on a service commissioned by the Welsh Government on a National Peer Support Service.

On the back of the HIV Positive Voices survey and report, the AIDS Map also published data on people living with HIV in Wales, England and Scotland still feeling ashamed of their status. Discrimination and stigma continue to be pressing barriers that need to be overcome. See here.

For the policy experts and researchers among us – UNAIDS have collated the (in 2020 at least) comprehensive summary of all evidence globally about tackling HIV stigma in a variety of settings, and what various sectors can do about it. So many ideas! See here.

You can also check out our "Stop HIV Stigma" 2025 campaign. Check our Stakeholder Toolkit here and use our images and posts for social media to promote the campaign. You can read the impact and evaluation report of the 2024 campaign here.

And finally, if you live in Wales and want to help tackle HIV stigma here, ask to be put on our quarterly info bulletin list and follow us on socials. There’s many ways of getting involved with Fast Track or other organisations in Wales and across the UK – contact us at fasttrackcities@hiv.wales