This year on World AIDS Day, 1st December, G-A-Y and 56 Dean Street clinic are attempting to break last year’s World Record for the most number of HIV tests in a set time.
The aim is to raise awareness of the importance of knowing your status and how that knowledge could save your life. Plus, for every test carried out, G-A-Y will donate £10 to the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Cliff Joannou spoke to G-A-Y owner Jeremy Joseph…
You’re attempting the to break last year’s World Record! What were the biggest challenges to last year’s event?
I think the biggest challenge was getting over some people’s negativity in misunderstanding what the event was about. I think some people didn’t understand what we were doing, or thought testing in a bar was wrong. They didn’t know we’d been doing HIV testing in the bar for the past two years, or they didn’t understand the after care that was available. Some people thought it was like, ‘have a test and get out’! It wasn’t like that last year, and isn’t like that this year, either.
What does happen if someone gets a positive test that they didn’t expect?
56 Dean Street will still be open for anyone that requires further tests or aftercare, and we are working with them to provide that.
What’s the message this year?
The message is the same as last year. It’s the importance that people should be taking regular HIV tests, how knowing your status could save your life, and the promotion of safer sex. Its World AIDS Day and Terrence Higgins Trust are having their National HIV Testing Week, and they’re now extending it by one day to include our World Record Attempt.
So how do people take part?
People can just turn up on the day and fill out the form, which is the same form they get at 56 Dean Street, and all the necessary procedures will be in place as would be expected. QX will be printing the form so you can fill it out in advance if you like, and you simply turn up and have the test and it takes two minutes. It’s a little prick and within two minutes you have the result.
The one time you’re grateful for a little prick, I guess…
It depends on whether you’re a size queen or not.
You’re also donating £10 to the Elton John AIDS Foundation for every test done?
Yes. Every time someone has the test, G-A-Y donates £10 to charity, so what more could you do on WAD to know your status, to make sure money is donated to an amazing cause and you’re raising the profile of the importance of HIV testing. How much more can anyone do on W.A.D. by simply giving up two minutes of their time?
You won an award for last year’s event, too?
We did. It was from the British Medical Journal and we got nominated for two others. They were all health awards and the main thing about those was that because of the negativity to doing this at first, to get those awards proved a lot of the doubters wrong, and showed that we were doing something worthwhile.
Why is getting tested regularly so important?
There was a time when HIV was a death sentence and it’s not now, but key to that is getting tested. There are always a lot of new young people coming onto the gay scene and community and without satisfactory sexual education in school, its important to drive the message to them about having safer sex, and that should something happen it’s so important to know your status to get early treatment. There also needs to be more understanding among the community, too. The focus for this is W.A.D., but G-A-Y holds its fundraising events all year round because it’s a subject that needs addressing all the time.
Any future HIV testing awareness plans?Â
I’d like to take it up to G-A-Y Manchester, because we found out in Manchester they don’t have this two-minute testing. So, to have something like this on Old Compton Street, we are so, so lucky and people should take advantage of getting a free test to know something that could save their life. If you could have a test this quick to know about any other illness, you’d do it wouldn’t you?
• G-A-Y and 56 Dean Street are offering free and discreet two-minute HIV testing at G-A-Y Bar (Old Compton Street, Soho, W1D 5JX) on Saturday 1st December, midday-8pm.
£10 from every test will be donated to Elton John AIDS Foundation.
•The Terrence Higgins Trust ‘National HIV Testing Week’ runs 23rd November–1st December. www.tht.org.uk/thinkhiv
• Photos by www.chrisJepson.com
