HIV Status: Plagued by Prejudice & Stigma

HIV status: Plagued by prejudice and stigma

The Church Times Article

Below is a snippet from an article published by the Church Times, which references our members and that highlights the work we do at PositiveFaith.

The response of Black-majority churches has been mixed. The pastoral support worker for CAPS, Zimbabwean-born Abigail, helps people come to terms with their diagnoses. She says that some pastors mention HIV as part of teaching about marriage, or issues such as breast cancer or prostate cancer. But, she says, “I have gone to help people who have come off medication because the pastor has said, ‘You are healed,’ to educate them about HIV — that, once you have it, you have it. And if you don’t take your medication, you will relapse.”

Meanwhile, Abigail opted to tell no one at her church about her status. “When I got my diagnosis . . . I had a place to go and worship with others, without talking about HIV, without anything, just being in church, reading the Bible, and receiving bread and the blood of Jesus.”