Why HIV education is so important

In this blog for HIV Testing Week, Alice Hoddinott, an Education and Wellbeing Specialist at Brook, talks about some of the challenges she faces when delivering HIV education sessions to young people in schools and why it’s such an important conversation to have.

When I go into schools and I talk to young people about STIs, they often have the same reaction. “Chlamydia? Gonorrhoea? Pubic Lice? Gross!” But when I mention HIV, one of two things happens. I’m either met with uneasy silence or calls of “Isn’t that what Freddie Mercury and Eazy E died of?” Well yes and no. They did have HIV but what killed them, and the thousands of other individuals who were diagnosed with HIV, was the HIV not being treated which then developed into AIDS and that caused a lot of complications for people’s health. Lack of treatment and support is what led to these deaths.

In the UK in 2025, people rarely receive AIDS diagnoses anymore because science has progressed so far that when people are diagnosed with HIV, it can be treated in a way that it never becomes AIDS. So why, after all these years and all these medical advancements, is HIV and AIDS still misunderstood? It’s simple, we don’t talk about it which means stigma and misinformation persist from generation to generation.

In the early 1980s, the first cases of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) were diagnosed. At the time, the virus had a high prevalence in men who had sex with men, and due to attitudes of the 80s, the illness was nicknamed “the gay disease”.

This mislabelling vilified LGBTQ+ communities and delayed proper understanding of how the virus was transmitted.

By the mid-80s, high-profile public health campaigns were launched to raise awareness, including the infamous “Don’t Die of Ignorance” campaign which featured imagery of tombstones and warnings of just how dangerous ignoring HIV and AIDS could be. Sadly, the campaigns only pushed those associated with the virus further into the shadows and caused mass fear.

For many LGBTQ+ people, the HIV and AIDS epidemic was a time of immense fear, loss, and resilience. Friends, partners, and entire communities were lost to AIDS-related illnesses, while survivors and activists fought tirelessly to care for the sick, advocate for medical research, and combat societal prejudice. The stigma they faced was severe, but their advocacy paved the way for how we treat and talk about this today.

Thanks to many years of research, an HIV diagnosis is no longer a death sentence.

In the mid-90s Antiretroviral therapy (ART) was introduced which changed HIV treatment forever. When taken consistently, ART suppresses the virus to undetectable levels, meaning it cannot be transmitted to others (“Undetectable = Untransmittable” or U=U).

Alongside ART, there’s also PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) an event-based medication, and PEP (Post Exposure Prophylaxis) an emergency medication that individuals can take to significantly reduce their risk of contracting HIV. These advances highlight why education is so important: Young people need to understand that HIV is a manageable condition, and that prevention is key to protecting themselves and their partners.

Despite progress, recent data from the National AIDS Trust shows approximately 4,040 new HIV diagnoses in the UK in 2022 alone. While most cases are among men who have sex with men, transmission between heterosexual men and women is on the rise and accounts for a significant number of new diagnoses. It’s important to reflect upon this, especially with young people, to dispel the myth that HIV and AIDS only affect the LGBTQ+ community.

Young people often grow up hearing outdated or inaccurate information about HIV, which is why they are still shocked to hear HIV can affect anyone and they are still fearful of the consequences of an HIV diagnosis. If we teach young people about the history of the epidemic, the realities of living with HIV today, and the medical advancements that have been made, we can increase understanding and empathy more widely.

It is also important to address the stigma that still disproportionately affects LGBTQ+ communities.

HIV and AIDS have long been used to discriminate against gay men and other marginalized groups, and we see this stigma in the large increase in hate crimes over the past few years. Educating young people about the diversity of those affected by HIV helps dismantle harmful stereotypes and ultimately keeps everyone safer.

While educating about the history and science of HIV and AIDS is important, it’s also important to have these conversations more broadly in Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). Teaching young people about contraception, the importance of discussing STI statuses with partners, and the value of regular testing helps empower them to make informed decisions, as well as teaching them communication skills, empathy, and respect.

By educating young people in UK schools about HIV and AIDS, we are ensuring that they know how to reduce stigma, support others, and protect their sexual health. The legacy of the epidemic in the 80s and 90s teaches us that ignorance only leads to fear and division, while education fosters understanding and compassion. This is HIV education is still so important today.