Do you want to play Russian Roulette with your life? (From Haringey Independent)

Do you want to play Russian Roulette with your life?

10:34am Friday 16th November 2007

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Having had a work meeting at the Terrence Higgins Trust recently, it brought home to me how much the issue of HIV and AIDS has dropped off the media’s radar as well as ours. In the mid-1980’s it frightened us, brought about major media campaigns and celebrities were constantly popping up and keeping us informed around facts on the disease. It also brought about some panicked, stereotyped and neurotic reactions, with people washing their hands after they had touched something that was supposedly ‘infected’ by people with HIV / AIDS. We have to admit that the panic and neuroticism has not gone away and we need to combat the prejudice that is targeted towards those with HIV / AIDS. More then ever, people suffering from HIV / AIDS need to be treated with the dignity and respect that we would give to any person and we should also realise that there is a greater behavioural danger now than there was in the mid 1980’s due to ignorance and a feeling that HIV / AIDS is a disease that ‘has gone away.’ It is not passé, it is here now!

Better medical regimes and a combination of drug therapies mean that the symptoms associated with AIDS can be suppressed and people can live pretty normal lives. The cocktail of drugs and the regimented intake of those does mean that individuals can and do live longer and suffer less of the symptoms that affected huge swathes of people a couple of decades ago who had contracted the disease.

Let us therefore not forget that HIV and AIDS have not disappeared and are with us within our local communities and will continue to be a part of us. This means that sexual habits need to take into account the constant threat, yet more and more people are contracting sexually transmitted diseases due to unprotected sex. Sexual Russian roulette still seems to be a major player in the mentality of young people and infection rates are rising once again in London and this goes for both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Even with drug users who inject, there is a tendency to forget the reality that they are more likely to contract a wide variety of nasty diseases including HIV / AIDS through their drug habits and we must be vigilant and aware of the constant threat of this disease. It has not gone away and for those who are infected with HIV or who suffer from AIDS, we must overcome our prejudices and treat them the same way we would like to be treated. However, it is imperative on all of us to be safe out there. Protection of your life comes from the way you act in society and the safety measures you take. So please do not forget to take out that bullet from the pistol chamber if you choose to play Russian roulette with your life; carry a condom and ensure that it used or else the hammer may fall on the barrel and the consequences are life changing for you and your loved ones. I for one believe we owe ourselves that protection at the very least.