Rainbow Support Service

You do not need to go through this alone. There is help, and it is free. The Rainbow Support Service is a free service run by experts who specialise in LGBTIQ+ issues, and who will be with you throughout your journey. We are a click, a phone call, or an email away.

Take Some Time for Yourself

We are all different, and we all react differently.  You probably have lots of questions, and the diagnoses may have given you feelings of shock, anger, fear or sadness.  Like all emotions, your emotions are natural. 

 You do no need to try to manage on your own.  Having someone to talk to will be very helpful.  Your healthcare staff will give you most information you need about HIV, but there are organizations such as the Rainbow Support Service who will support you.   

 Your trusted friends and close people in your family can also help you.  If you are thinking about sharing your HIV diagnosis you can read some stories here. 

Sharing the News

The decision of whether to tell your friends about being HIV positive is your own, and nobody else’s.  There is no real trend amongst people who are living with HIV.  Some are very open about it whilst others decide to tell only very close friends and family members. 

 You may come across other people who are HIV-positive with whom it may be easy to discuss.  If you are thinking about telling someone, think about how to do so, how they might react and what questions they may have.  You can direct them to this website if you feel comfortable doing so.

Your Relationships

It is normal to think that an HIV diagnosis means that you will no longer have relationships or sex.  It is also natural to think that you will never find love. However none of these things are true.  Many people are living with HIV and have had sex, have found love and gotten married and had children (without passing on HIV).

Be prepared and find help in order to learn about ways to approach the subject.  You should think about how to talk about HIV when starting a relationship with someone who is HIV-Negative.  Think about how to tell them about HIV and especially if you have an undetectable viral load, how sex can still be safe. 

If you wished to avoid the subject for a while, just keep in mind that putting off having the conversation may make it uncomfortable to pick it back up after a while.

Remember that Undetectable = Untransmittable. Learn more about what that means by clicking the button below.

Your Employment

Just like anything else, the workforce in several sectors of the employment market includes workers who are living with HIV.  This does not mean that every employee has got to feel obliged to disclose their HIV status to employers and colleagues. 

What is important for you to know, is that legal protections exist to protect people with HIV.  These laws provide cover from the point of recruitment, on to the conditions of employment, treatment at work and career progression.  If a questionnaire is given where you are asked to disclose health information or disabilities, remember that you are not obliged to disclose your HIV status at any point of the process.

There is an important exception, when it comes to healthcare workers, where disclosing HIV status is important in order to safeguard the wellbeing of patients.  Speak to your union to understand what your rights are, but also your duties and legal responsibilities towards your patients and colleagues.

Get in touch with our partners at the General Workers Union should you wish to find out more about your rights and obligations at work.