- Conference
- 2025 National LGBT+ Conference
- Date
- 1 August 2025
- Decision
- Carried
Over 100,000 people in the UK are living with HIV. With just under five years remaining until 2030, the UK’s ambitious goal of achieving zero new HIV cases is within sight.
Encouragingly, 98 percent of people diagnosed with HIV in the UK have an undetectable viral load due to effective antiretroviral treatment, meaning they cannot transmit the virus through sexual contact, a fact encapsulated by the U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) message.
Despite significant progress, much more remains to be done to eradicate HIV stigma which continues to adversely affect thousands of individuals across the UK and disproportionately, in some areas, young people.
The 2023 statistics from England showed that:
1)Those who were first diagnosed late in 2022 were found to be 10 times more likely to die within a year of their diagnosis, compared to those who were diagnosed promptly.
2)People aged between 15 and 24 years were the only age group to have an increased proportion of late diagnoses from 2022 (28%) to 2023 (31%).
3)Treatment coverage was lowest among people aged 15 to 24 years.
4)One in three young people with HIV had drug resistance patterns that could make them ineligible for injectable long-acting treatment with cabotegravir and rilpivirine.
5)Only 91% of people aged between 15 and 24 years were virally suppressed, with the proportion suppressed increasing with age.
There is, then, a higher rate of late diagnosis and lower treatment coverage across young people living with HIV. Conference acknowledges that stigma acts as a major barrier to HIV testing and treatment, compounded by widespread misinformation regarding the virus and its medical advancements. Many people are unaware that individuals living with HIV are legally protected under the disability protected characteristic of the Equality Act 2010. A lack of awareness among employers and workers regarding these protections highlights an urgent need for education and advocacy.
UNISON is uniquely positioned to play a transformative role in supporting the global fight against HIV, advocating for the rights of people living with the virus, and achieving zero new HIV cases by 2030.
Conference acknowledges and commends the vital work already undertaken by the Greater London region to combat HIV-related stigma, we must urgently expand this campaign across all UNISON regions and nations, especially in rural and under-resourced areas where stigma is compounded by isolation and lack of peer support.
Conference calls on the National LGBT+ Committee to:
a)Support the expansion of the Unionising against HIV Stigma Campaign with a focus on areas lacking local HIV support services.
b)Work with the National Young Members Forum (and the Young LGBT+ Network) to raise awareness about how the virus disproportionately affects young people.
c)Encourage branches to promote the adoption of NAT’s HIV Confident Charter and advocate for the implementation of UNISON’s HIV in the Workplace Model Policy with employers.
d)Engage with Labour Link to raise concerns about the ongoing cuts to NHS organisations which are responsible for vital HIV testing and treatment services.