Whenever I tell people I wrote my PhD on 'theatre about AIDS' they at best ask me "Why?" with an air of confusion, at worst ask me "Why?" with an air of revulsion.
That, right there is the answer to the question of 'why'.
In a more detailed answer, we never ask people why they support other causes indeed we almost expect it with other illness related charities-try not donating to an office bake sale for Breast Cancer and you'll get odd looks. People don't expect you to have had Breast Cancer or other cancers even to donate to a cancer charity. Likewise when the Ice Bucket challenge took off, those who actually had direct experience of Motor Neurone Disease were a tiny minority, and still nobody asked 'but why?'. Outside of illness related charities we don't ask 'why' when we donate, you don't have to have been homeless to feel empathy and sympathy for someone who is, or to want to help prevent it happening. Likewise with political causes, those standing up for refugees are not refugees themselves, neither do most of them know any refugees. The answer to 'why' is because I'm human, because I care.
Admittedly my investment and campaigning on the subject of HIV/AIDS has been more than most. And in honest, answer to the question 'why?' when asked in a sincere way is, 'I don't know'. Why does any cause compel us to action? I recently heard AIDS activist Sarah Schulman speak and she recounted people joining ACT UP (the activist group formed in America to lobby the government for research and treatment) who seemingly had no connection to anyone affected. In the first instance she talked about feeling that these people must in some way have lost someone, know someone with AIDS. But actually in some cases it was as simple as seeing a television report and wanting to help. It's a similar story for me, I had no particular attachment or experience of AIDS but found myself in the sense of my research intrigued to write about how people responded through art, and in a personal sense to therefore continue to raise awareness and campaign for associated causes.
For me the motivation came from the sense of injustice that an illness is so stigmatised. And this in 2015 is actually the biggest issue in confronting HIV/AIDS. We saw only recently the press witch hunt for the 'mystery celebrity' with HIV, and following that the bile and judgement directed at Charlie Sheen. The fact that anyone should be forced to 'reveal' their illness is a repugnant one, and that someone should be judged and blamed for an illness is equally disgusting. The headlines and the comments of both professional "journalists" and the general public made it feel like the early 80s again, with the amount of ignorance and judgement towards people with HIV.
What Charlie Sheen did do however was open up the discussion again. It allowed those who are knowledgeable either through profession as Doctors, nurses and others working to support those with HIV, and those with personal experience living with the condition, to speak out and try to educate. So if all the bile and misinformation a couple of weeks ago led to conversations, education and maybe a few minds changed then something good came of it.
But it's not enough. This world AIDS day, while we still remember all those who have been lost, we also look to end the stigma and move things forward.
For World AIDS Day we need to encourage people to get tested, help those diagnosed to get the right treatment and support. And around all that for the rest of us, we need to end the stigma. Talk about HIV, talk about getting tested, talk to people with HIV. And educate those who make ignorant comments. The way to move forward with HIV is to talk about HIV.
For anyone looking for further information about HIV including advice on testing the Terrance Higgins trust can help: http://www.tht.org.uk
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