- Conference
- 2024 National LGBT+ Conference
- Date
- 17 July 2024
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Five years remain until we reach 2030, and the UK goals of zero HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) stigma and zero new cases remain both tantalisingly close and yet still so far away.
Last year in Liverpool, conference passed a motion – HIV has changed, but our employers don’t know this – that has kicked into action the Greater London region campaign entitled Unionising against HIV Stigma.
HIV stigma – negative attitudes and beliefs about people living with or affected by HIV – continues to blight the lives of thousands of people.
Conference notes that more than 100,000 people in the United Kingdom (UK) are living with HIV, and many of these are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) people.
Some 98% of people with diagnosed HIV in the UK are said to have an undetectable viral load. This means they are successfully treated with antiretrovirals, and the level of virus in their blood is so low that it cannot be measured at their regular checkups. This also means they are unable to pass the virus on to their partners through sexual contact, which is known as U=U – or Undetectable equals Untransmittable.
People with HIV are automatically covered by the protections accorded to disabled people under the Equality Act 2010, although many employers and workers are not aware of this.
Conference notes that as a result of the Unionising against HIV Stigma campaign, there has been three sessions on HIV awareness and the law in the Greater London region, and a fringe event at the 2024 national delegate conference, all with the aim of equipping activists and members with the tools to tackle HIV stigma.
UNISON can play an important role in helping to end a global epidemic that has claimed 38 million lives, and support people living with HIV to thrive inside and outside of the workplace. By adding our trade union strength to this campaign, we can help end new cases of HIV in the UK by 2030 and reduce stigma for people living with or affected by the virus.
Conference instructs the national LGBT+ committee to work with the national executive council and other parts of the union as appropriate to:
1)Encourage the adoption of the Unionising against HIV Stigma campaign across all regions of UNISON
2)Review UNISON’s guidance on HIV in the workplace with a view to publishing an updated version, to include best-practice use of language around HIV
3)Raise awareness of the protections people with HIV are entitled to under the Equality Act 2010 and the Data Protection Act 2018 (General Data Protection Regulation)
4)Raise awareness within UNISON that HIV stigma not only affects people living with the virus themselves, but also their friends and relatives, and other people they are closely associated with
5)Develop a toolkit for branches on how they can raise awareness around HIV stigma in the workplace, and ensure the employers they work with tackle related stigma and discrimination in all forms
6)Support the Terrence Higgins Trust’s 2030: HIV Time’s Up! campaign.