HIV

NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NE- Most scientists believe that HIV originated in 1920 when the virus crossed species from chimpanzees to GLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT humans in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Data suggests that the current epidemic started in the late 1970s, and NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEby 1980, HIV could have already been spread to five continents. By 1980, HIV was spreading silently among GLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT gay male populations in the United State. Men who have sex with men were disproportionately impacted by HIV because the risk of transmission NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NE- is significantly higher through anal sex than through vaginal sex. By 1982, the disease was known by the name GLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT of Gay-Related Immune Deficiency. An anti-gay sentiment began to gain strength in America, and although NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEactivists were actively trying to bring attention to this medical crisis, they were constantly ignored. By 1987, activists fed up with the government GLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT inaction as HIV deaths were still rising founded the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power. Their activism NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEhad tremendous contributions in speeding the government’s response to the AIDS crisis and drawing public GLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT attention to the deadly impact of homophobic public health policies. Avram Finkelstein, one of the designers of the iconic ACT UP poster NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NE- “Silence=Death,” wrote in a guest post for the New York Public Library: “In 1981, my soul mate started showing GLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT signs of immunosuppression, before AIDS even had its name.” If it wasn’t for the work of activists such as Avram NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEFinkelstein, the virus could have taken the lives of even more people. GLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT NEGLECT

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“In 1981, my soul mate started showing signs of immunosuppression, before AIDS even had its name” - Avram Finkelstein

HIV virus entering a white blood cell

The neglect displayed by politicians and public health officials can be linked to the fact that the virus disproportionately affected gay men. The discrimination against sexual minorities and systemic homophobia that is embedded into our society cost the lives of many who contracted the virus, and they are often forgotten by history books.