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Every year, HIV care and prevention charity the Terrence Higgins Trust, encourage people to take part in their It Starts With Me campaign.

It features real people sharing their stories and life experiences on HIV. It makes for a collection of information that’s not only emotive, but accessible. Reading about someone’s real, personal experience, is much easier to relate to than a clinical pamphlet.

One of the people contributing their story this year, is 30 year old flight attendent Steve. Here’s why he got involved;

“I always try and encourage my friends to get tested,” he said. “I get tested regularly, every couple of months. It’s just about having that peace of mind, and it’s really important that we all know our status and look after ourselves.”

“One guy I dated was living with HIV, and I didn’t really know much about the facts. I didn’t know what undetectable meant, and I thought it could be transmitted through simple casual contact. I want to help others understand that protecting ourselves and knowing the facts about HIV is important for all of us. I feel passionate and I feel I have a responsibility to share this information.”

The ultimate goal of the campaign, is to generally make people less afraid of HIV, by teaching them about it. That way, people are more likely to take themselves to get tested. A large part of not getting tested is fear that the results may not be what you wanted them to be. One in six people living with HIV in the UK do not know they have it, which means they’ll pass it on to others.

“We are grateful for the contributions of people like Steve in the efforts to stop HIV in the UK,” says Cary James from the Terrence Higgins Trust. “They help us a long way in motivating people to take control of their health when it comes to HIV. All of us can do something, however small. To stop HIV, it starts with each one of us.”

• To get involved or find out more, go to tht.org.uk/itstartswithme

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