Time to end the AIDS stigma

It has been 32 years since the first case of AIDS was reported.

We’ve known about it for 32 years, and yet “AIDS,” a medical condition, is still a dirty word.

Former Indiana high school athlete Michael Johnson is in jail for having exposed at least five sexual partners to HIV. He did not tell them he was infected.

This is no doubt a crime. He knowingly put others’ lives at risk.

But we must look at the root of the problem — a persisting stigma toward AIDS.

Historically, Indiana has not been open to discussing sex. Though HIV/AIDS sex education is required in our schools, it exists in the framework of all Indiana sex education: don’t have sex until marriage.

A sentiment that isn’t very helpful for men like Johnson, who are legally barred in states like Indiana and Missouri from marrying the men they have sex with.

People have been hiding AIDS since the 1980s, in part due to its association with homosexuality.

One member of the Editorial Board noted that in a human sexuality class at IU not one student was willing to take a free HIV test.

There was no reason not to, she said, but even in 2013, HIV is still considered something to be ashamed of.

If Johnson had grown up with more open AIDS discussions, he perhaps would have sought out support groups to help him deal with his disease.

Counseling could have helped him learn how to address his condition with sexual partners.

While we cannot speak to Johnson’s intent in refusing to inform his sexual partners of his HIV-postive status, you have to take into consideration that it may have less to do with malicious intent and more to do with the overwhelming sense of secrecy in AIDS patients.

When Johnson won the Indiana High School Athletic Association wrestling title in 2010, he told the Indianapolis Star, “I had so many people rooting for me.”

It is doubtful that today’s society would have rooted for the same man with HIV.
Johnson’s actions shouldn’t be excused since he knowingly put at least five men at risk for an incurable disease.

But in order to prevent future secrecy in HIV/AIDS patients, we must be more aware of our biases.

We must end the stigma to ensure that Johnson and his victims get the physical and psychological help they need.

­— cjellert@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Caroline Ellert on Twitter @cjellert.