People living with HIV who seek treatment for an agerelated illness, which is not related to their HIV, can sometimes feel short changed because their sexuality and positive status may become a priority in some health care settings.
If you are not happy with the quality of health care you receive, you have the right to complain. The contacts section of this booklet has a list of the Health Service Complaints Commissions in each state and territory.
Some people can’t disclose to their families for fear of loosing the only support they may have or from some being overly supportive and too protective.
Although you are not obliged to tell anyone your status, the law may require you to tell people under certain circumstances. In some states, you are legally required to tell any sexual partner, even if you intend to have safe sex. These laws vary from state to state so it’s best to check with your local Legal Aid Centre or AIDS council to seehow the laws in your particular state might impact on your decision, especially given that some cases of nondisclosure have ended up in court.
What can you do?
Tips for disclosing your HIV status:
- you can never take back disclosure, or control how people will react. If you think the person will have a bad reaction, leave it until you feel more confident that you can handle it, or don’t tell them
- be careful about disclosing to people who might gossip
- it might be helpful to rehearse what you want to tell people beforehand
- remind the person to keep it confidential, but accept that they will need to talk to others about it. Ask them to be careful who they tell or suggest other people who they could talk to for support
- positive people are often put in the position of being an educator. This can be onerous, but people who do not know much about HIV may expect you to inform them
- it can be hard to tell the children in our lives that we have HIV. Explain things in simple ways so that it’s easy for them to understand.
Ahead of Time: A practical guide to growing older with HIV
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