The tone of the debate that Charlie Sheen's story has provoked serves to perpetuate a horrendous stigma, says Shaun Griffin.
London - Quite aside from the fact that outing somebody as HIV positive is unacceptable - or the fact that the dinosaur who effectively outed Charlie Sheen is a gay man who had previously engaged in charity work for us [the Terrence Higgins Trust] - was the bile-inducing blame insinuated in much of the reporting of this story.
There was little discussion in which the actor's sex life was not pointedly referenced, almost as if he deserved it. There have been numerous pieces in the newspapers and in the broadcast media centring on his reported “obsession” with porn stars and sex workers, with one prolific magazine reportedly poised to print an eight-page story outing his diagnosis, accusing him of sleeping with thousands of people, prior to the interview in which he went public with his diagnosis on Tuesday. Hysteria pervaded the coverage of this story, with much hand-wringing of how many people Sheen may have reportedly “infected with HIV”.
Read: I am HIV positive, reveals Sheen
Judgement of his lifestyle abounds, with further reports that several of Sheen's partners had contacted him to threaten lawsuits when they learned he was HIV positive.
The wild speculation here is just jaw-dropping, especially given the equally libellous accusation that he had kept his status hidden from multiple sexual partners.
On Tuesday, in fact, we learned that he had paid previous partners to keep quiet about his status. That our society is still having these discussions - despite the huge leaps forward we have made in understanding, treating and preventing HIV and Aids - is the actual scandal here.
The tone of the debate that Sheen's story has provoked serves to perpetuate a horrendous stigma, that somehow people living with HIV “deserve” their diagnosis. Dangerous myths continue to spread, such as that HIV can be transmitted through biting, spitting, drinking from the same glass or sitting on the same toilet seat. People who reveal their status on dating apps such as Grindr are sometimes abused and told they shouldn't be looking to hook up with other people.
Read: Sheen 'a monster' for HIV cover-up
As a charity, we have heard stories about biohazard signs being placed on documents and files of those with an HIV or Aids diagnosis as they pass through the health system. We've heard about people being declined dental treatment, or being listed as the last patient in the day over groundless and dangerous fears about transmission to other patients.
A woman from the black African community who felt so stigmatised because she was not breast-feeding due to her treatment stopped her drug regime and died unnecessarily of an Aids-related illness. After she had died, they found her drugs in the attic. These stories remind us that, for every HIV-positive celebrity pored over in the press, there are hundreds of people who suffer the consequences of dangerous, inflammatory and inaccurate reporting.
Sheen's story, when it broke in the international press, was labelled as a “panic in Hollywood”. Frankly, Charlie Sheen's health is none of our business. But as National HIV Testing Week approaches (it starts on November 21), and the latest figures reveal that there are still thousands of people living with HIV in England unaware they have it, let's use this hideous outing to encourage people to get tested.
Read: Sheen expects lawsuits over HIV status
If anything, this affair should remind and inform people that if you are diagnosed with HIV, treatment is immediately available, and once treatment is in place, patients are classed as “undetectable” and the virus can no longer be passed on.
Charlie Sheen said on Tuesday that by addressing his HIV-positive status publicly, he would be granted “release from this prison”. He was held to ransom by previous partners, and forced to reveal his status through media bullying. We should all be ashamed that we live in a world like this, and seek to do something to change it.
* Shaun Griffin is executive director of external affairs at the Terrence Higgins Trust, a British charity that campaigns on various issues related to Aids and HIV.
The Independent