MANCHESTER councillor. Paul Fairweather, took to the stage at the closing vigil of the Manchester's Pride celebrations and told thousands of stunned party-goers: 'I am HIV positive.'
Fairweather, who has campaigned for gay rights for years, made the announcement to a silent crowd who were paying tribute to those who have lost their lives to the virus.
The crowd immediately erupted into spontaneous applause.
Stigma
Coun Fairweather, who represents Harpurhey, told them: “We have to beat the stigma and the nonsense surrounding this.
“We can never put pressure on anybody to reveal their status – it's an incredibly individual, personal thing.
“And I cannot stand here tonight and talk about being HIV positive without [mentioning] the love and support of my family, friends and colleagues. Many of us have this love and support, but many of us don't.
“I and many other HIV positive gay men have experienced rejection and even hostility from within the gay community, as well as support.”
Coun Fairweather, who has represented Harpurhey for the past seven years, said later: “I made a planned and personal decision to make the announcement at the vigil and I have had an overwhelming response.
“I did it to challenge the stigma and the prejudice that still exists around this.
“I've luckily never experienced any prejudice. I have the full support from my friends and family, but not everyone is so lucky.
“I have heard stories from people who have come out and their friends and family have abandoned them and some people have even lost their jobs. So I did this to for them.”
The councillor is a high profile member of the city's LGBT organisation and has spoken at many events on gay and lesbian issues.
Overwhelming
“Since the speech I have received such fabulous feedback, it's been overwhelming,” he said. “I've had phone calls and texts from my friends and family, and even people I don't know.”
This years Pride Parade brought crowds of thousands out to cheer on the huge 100-float procession, which took two hours to travel through the heart of the city centre.
Manchester city council deputy leader councillor Val Stevens said: “Despite the progress made over the years in challenging homophobia there can still remain a stigma surrounding an individuals HIV status.
“The council commends Paul Fairweather in his decision to announce his HIV status at this Mondays candlelight vigil during the Manchester Pride celebrations.
“In doing so Coun Fairweather is helping to challenge negative perceptions and show, by example, that people who live with HIV can lead happy, healthy and productive lives."
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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
Hot Dog, Stateside (01/09/2009 at 14:49)
Deejay, Bury (01/09/2009 at 14:50)
Rasputin II, >Forward Manchester> (01/09/2009 at 14:58)
Audenshaw Bob (01/09/2009 at 15:02)
I was at the vigil and I didn't experience people with stigma and prejudice there. Maybe he should have announced it at a different event if he wanted to challenge perception.
I thught it odd when peopel cheered when he said he was HIV positive. I didn't cheer as it isn't something that is cheerful. I have two friends who are HIV positive and they haven't had prejudice and when they told me they had it I didn't cheer either.
Dean, Swinton (01/09/2009 at 15:47)
Chris R, Irlam (01/09/2009 at 16:06)
salfordrat (01/09/2009 at 16:08)
And that would be your choice Hot Dog. I must say I find it rather cold hearted to tell a man with a terminal illness to 'grow up and get real'. You will have noticed that many many thousands of people with terminal diseases do actually talk about it; cancer for example. Not only is sharing this with a caring group of people a way to help come to terms with your own impending death, but it also raises the profile which can often lead to more understanding (not in your case obviously) and more funding to look at ways to treat and ultimately, defeat the malady.
I think you should grow up and get real mate.
Sam Anderson (01/09/2009 at 16:12)
Cheesy Wotsit, Manchester (01/09/2009 at 16:16)
Jenny Tals (01/09/2009 at 16:23)
Audenshaw Bob (01/09/2009 at 16:32)
This is exactly what the councillor is talking about. People with no awareness of it and what it is.
Bejjy ex Salford now Malta, Malta (01/09/2009 at 16:59)
HIV is not a terminal illness so I think that its you that should grow up.
heathcardwell, city centre manchestr (01/09/2009 at 17:15)
I'd like to announce to the whole population of Greater Manchester that i am gay and h.i.v negative.
Esso Blue, Manchester (01/09/2009 at 17:34)
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus (a member of the retrovirus family) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
HIV infection in humans is considered pandemic by WHO. From 1981 to 2006, AIDS killed more than 25 million people.
HIV primarily infects vital cells in the human immune system. cell numbers decline below a critical level, cell-mediated immunity is lost, and the body becomes progressively more susceptible to opportunistic infections. Eventually most HIV-infected individuals develop AIDS.
These individuals mostly die from opportunistic infections or malignancies associated with the progressive failure of the immune system
Without treatment, about 9 out of every 10 persons with HIV will progress to AIDS after 10–15 years. Many progress much sooner. Treatment with anti-retrovirals increases the life expectancy of people infected with HIV. Even after HIV has progressed to diagnosable AIDS, the average survival time with antiretroviral therapy (as of 2005) is estimated to be more than 5 years. Without antiretroviral therapy, death normally occurs within a year.
tameside mark, hyde (01/09/2009 at 18:13)
Simon, Didsbury (01/09/2009 at 18:25)
In terms of how long to live it depends on the person. I know of someone that has been HIV positiv for over 27 years and is still very much healthy. And others live only a few years to 10 plus years. With medical technology like it is today the sky is the limit in terms of survival of HIV positive people's lifespan. It is not the HIV that kills people but other illnesses that the body does not recover from due to the HIV.
You could live forever if you have HIV. Only if HIV turns into AIDS do you get in trouble. HIV means you have the virus in your body, but it may lie dormant for some time, or can be well-controlled. Once the virus starts taking over, it turns into full-fledged AIDS, which is a syndrome where your immune cells start decreasing rapidly. Recently published studies have shown that AIDS patients can live 20 or more years with sufficient treatment. So, not even AIDS has to be as much of a threat anymore as it used to.
My uncle was diagnosed with cancer in December and was dead two weeks later, so there are other conditions around that also deserve awareness.
Go to poz.com and learn a bit more about HIV/AIDS.
CityCntr (01/09/2009 at 18:37)
As for Jennys take an asprin comment, you realy are beneath contempt. It just shows how little people know about the illness, the pills that work have debilitating side effects and can cause seccondary illnesses themselves. Cancers and heart disease are just two side effects of these strong drugs.
Enigma, Trafford (01/09/2009 at 19:52)
salfordrat (01/09/2009 at 20:31)
This is exactly what the councillor is talking about. People with no awareness of it and what it is. -Audenshaw Bob
It is a fair point, but if you had read enough of my posts I am sure you would have figured out by now that I have enough common sense to know that. Often one has to simplify posts when replying to the idiotic types who post on here.
Joe Pub, Manchester (01/09/2009 at 21:56)
Could be right.
Esso Blue, Manchester (01/09/2009 at 22:48)
My view is that in the long run contacting HIV leads to death and Science is trying to eliminate it.
Audenshaw Bob (02/09/2009 at 07:01)
I know that people are still dying and it isn't as a result of HIV but when HIV turns into AIDS which Simon has described well. Where did I ever say that nobody dies from HIV/AIDS? I have two friends who has been HIV positive since about 1995 and they are still with us. I was at Christies yesterday so please don't patronise me about seeing people suffering.
It isn't a competition to see who knows the most people with HIV or how many we know who have died of AIDS. My friends admit that if they had used condoms that they wouldn't be in the situation that they are in, it was preventable but they don't like condoms. This is how it spreads. Who knows if they knowingly slept with other people without protection who may now be HIV.
Might I suggest you visit a village or hospital ward in Africa where 270,000 children die of AIDS each year and let's put some perspective on the global issue here which is far more serious than in the UK. Here people have a choice and are educated to wear condoms. They had a choice.
In Africa these children didn't have a choice as their parents were infected. These are the real victims of AIDS. Before you have a go this is the view echoed by my two friends who are HIV.
gladys rowbotham, Manchester (02/09/2009 at 07:25)
Audenshaw Bob (02/09/2009 at 08:31)
As for Esso blue saying it is a terminal illness wel a terminal illness isn't neccesarily an illness from which one dies but in the medical sphere a patient is considered to be terminally ill when the life expectancy is estimated to be six months or less.
My mother had a melignant melanoma that has recessed but doctors say will one day come back, could be next week, could be in ten years, but it will come back and probably will be her undoing. Is she terminally ill? No.
Theowolfe (02/09/2009 at 08:36)
It has become the reasoning and excuse for every evangelist of a pet project with the cry "we have to raise awareness."
I would like to raise awareness of the inexorable rise in the amount of people wanting to 'raise awareness.'