To mark World AIDS Day on Friday 1st December, The University of Salford’s new Salford Proud network held a vigil for those affected by the HIV virus.
The vigil, led by Reverend Kim Wasey, was held in the University of Salford’s Student Union and was broadcast on Facebook live for students and staff to watch if they couldn’t attend.
You can watch the vigil here:
The Salford Proud network has been set up for LGBT staff and post graduate students at the university to come together in a safe environment. The network had a soft launch at Manchester Pride, and has been welcoming members into the first semester of the new academic year.
Join us from 12:30 today in University House to find out more about the new LGBT+ Network at @SalfordUni followed by this year’s vigil for World AIDS Day led by our Rev Kim Wasey from our Faith Centre #WAD2017 pic.twitter.com/mBKyzho9PX
— Salford Proud (@SalfordProud) December 1, 2017
Thirty six million people live with HIV worldwide, and there are over a million AIDS related deaths every year.
If exposed to HIV, many people will develop flu like illness within a couple of weeks. However, after this, there may be no symptoms whatsoever, sometimes for more than ten years.
Many young people still don’t know how simple it is to get tested for the virus, with some students from The University of Salford saying that they “weren’t too sure” about how they’d get treatment.
Actually you can now be tested for the virus with a simple finger prick blood test, or a saliva sample, with same day results, which explains the tag line of this year’s campaign… “Give HIV the Finger”.
The blood borne virus can be transmitted through sharing contaminated needles and unprotected sex, making it one of the most stigmatised viruses ever. However to mark World Aids Day, different campaigns were created worldwide to work to destroy this stigma through social media campaigns, television advertisements, or vigils, like the one held at the University of Salford.
Another vigil was held on Sackville Street in Manchester, where there were red ribbon collections and an AIDS memorial quilt was displayed as a centrepiece. You can find out more about this service here.
Last year’s vigil had the motto “Know your HIV status”, while this year’s them was “Hope” and was characterised by a more combative stance towards the virus, highlighted with the phrase “Give HIV the finger”.
A negative test will put your mind at rest, but a positive result, if found early, is not the death sentence it once was, which is why Giving HIV the Finger this December is so important to do.
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