On 1 December we unite with our global community to mark World AIDS Day.
In 2025 the national theme is No one left behind.
World AIDS Day is a day for Australians to pause and:
- show our support for people living with HIV
- raise awareness about prevention, treatment and care
- eliminate stigma and discrimination around HIV
- remember and honour the people we have lost to HIV.
No-one left behind calls us to action as a community every day, not just on the first of December each year. How can we respond to the challenges experienced by our community members?
HIV and bleeding disorders
HIV is a significant part of our history and continues to be part of our community’s experience.
We are mindful that some of our bleeding disorders community members in Australia live with HIV, acquired through their treatment products in the early 1980s, before blood supply testing and HIV viral inactivation for manufactured blood products were introduced. We remember others who lost their lives to HIV and their partners, families, carers and other loved ones who grieve for them. Some people choose to wear a red ribbon on World AIDS Day as a way of showing their support.
The challenges for our community
People with bleeding disorders who live with HIV face the challenge of living with a socially stigmatised chronic health condition, and with an experience is unusual in the local HIV community – HIV acquired medically from treatment products, many heterosexual, and sometimes multiple members of the same family affected by HIV. They are often very private and may not tell many others about their HIV for fear of discrimination.
Community members grieving for loved ones who lost their life to HIV may wonder if their experiences and enduring pain are recognised. Those whose child with HIV was their only connection to the bleeding disorders community may be unsure if they still belong.
What can we do?
What kind of supportive environments can we create that enable:
- people with HIV to live free from stigma and discrimination?
- partners, families and carers to feel their HIV experience is acknowledged?
In 2025 it is a timely moment to consider how we can respond individually and as Foundations. What can we do to make sure that no one is left behind?
Some Foundations have shared their strategies in their general peer activities to support community members who may be affected by HIV.
At HFQ, we recognise how important it is to both appreciate how far we have come in terms of safe and effective treatments, whilst never forgetting the trauma and tragedy experienced by many in our community in the past.
We host monthly Men’s Support Lunches where the men have a safe space to share their common lived experiences and provide support to one another. We also installed a Memorial Plaque in 2024 to honour the members of our community who we have lost so they have somewhere peaceful and private to go and reflect and honour the memory of these members.
The Remembrance Service at the Australian Bleeding Disorders Conference is a special time to remember friends and family and the people we have cared for in the community who have passed away. HIV is a big part of that experience.
HFV is committed to respecting people’s privacy about HIV. Our men’s annual retreat is an example of a closed, safe space where men can connect and choose to open up about their journey.
‘Great to spend quality time with other guys dealing with similar issues. It can help to feel less alone. It helps to hear how others are managing and overcoming challenges,’ – HFV member
HFV isn’t an organisation exclusive to individuals with a bleeding disorder; we support families as a whole, and we recognise that their grief and loss may continue over time.
Read more
Visit www.worldaidsday.org.au for more information about World AIDS Day in Australia.
