ENDING STIGMA

Despite all the advances in clinical care, we know that for people living with HIV life can be difficult because of the stigma associated with HIV.

HIV stigma is often based on outdated ideas and made worse by discrimination in other areas like gender, sexuality or race.

We know that in order to get us to zero new cases of HIV, zero preventable deaths and 100 per cent of people living well, we must fight stigma. We have to work together with people living with HIV, the voluntary sector, doctors and nurses, the Mayor of London, London Councils, NHS England (London) and public health experts.

In 2019, the Fast-Track Cities London Leadership Group set up a stigma working group to look at the current evidence on stigma, review existing work and draft an action plan. This stigma group had a range of people on it from the voluntary sector, statutory agencies, the NHS, local councils, academics and people living with HIV.

The stigma group described three key areas we need to focus on, addressing internal and external stigma at the same time. A joint focus on these areas will speed up London’s response to ending stigma.

In December 2019 the stigma group shared the draft action plan and asked for feedback. We heard from over 100 people and agencies about what London should do to end the stigma around HIV. You can find all the consultation materials and feedback on this page.

The three key areas we proposed to tackle together as a city are:

Internalised or self-stigma

In December 2025 we launched a new two-year pan-London programme to help reduce internalised stigma among people living with HIV. With £210k in funding, it builds on learning from our earlier empowerment programme work. It focuses on supporting people who face the greatest barriers to feeling safe, supported and confident following their diagnosis.

There are two complementary delivery partnerships of voluntary and community sector organisations with a wide range of expertise. It includes counselling and peer support, creative and faith-inclusive approaches, and community-led work to challenge stigma.

One-to-one and group-based support

One delivery partnership is led by Positively UK, working alongside Africa Advocacy Foundation, METRO Charity, Positive East, Terrence Higgins Trust and Spectra. Together, they will deliver a broad range of one-to-one and group-based support. This includes culturally grounded conversational cafés, HIV-specialist counselling, courses, creative workshops, faith-inclusive group work, and reflective practice for professionals.

Within this partnership, Phoenix Health Movement supports the co-production of multimedia resources and produces specialist video content. This includes work exploring internalised stigma and the experiences of people involved in sex work.

Community-led interventions

A second delivery partnership is led by Phoenix Health Movement, working with Aymara Social Enterprise and Red Ribbon Living Well. This partnership focuses on community-led stigma reduction through peer-led support groups, one-to-one interventions, group workshops, outreach activity, and training for community champions. It also delivers information sessions, community insight focus groups, and the co-production of short video resources designed to support reflection, conversation and confidence.

Lived experience and co-production

Across both delivery partnerships, the programme is rooted in lived experience and co-production. It recognises the intersecting impacts of racism, migration, faith-based stigma, homophobia, transphobia, neurodiversity, gender-based violence, and barriers to accessing mainstream mental health and substance-use support.

Learning from our experience

In 2021, we brought together a community of practice from the voluntary sector, to create a framework for an empowerment programme to tackle internalised stigma and launched a fund for the voluntary sector to deliver these programmes.

In March 2022, we launched six programmes to the tackle stigma associated with living with HIV.  You can also read the  Reflections from an empowerment programme graduate.

Stigma in the NHS and other public services

On the 1st April 2023 Fast-Track Cities London launched the HIV confident charter led by the National AIDS Trust working with Positively UK and NAM AIDSmap. The new anti-stigma charter partnership will work with the HIV sector to deliver an educational charter that will tackle stigma and discrimination in frontline public services in London, as well as reaching out to tackle stigma in society.

Alongside this we launched the HIV ambassador programme led by the Terrence Higgins Trust, which will work with the HIV confident charter. The HIV Ambassador programme, will bring together key organisations, community leaders, and influencers to mobilise and champion innovative strategies for HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support.

Stigma in society 

We commissioned the National AIDS Trust and BritainThinks to work with the HIV community to develop a public knowledge and attitudes survey. The survey results were published in July 2021. Read the national public knowledge and attitudes survey results and results for London on our website. The anti-stigma charter will look at ways of tackling stigma in society through online education and HIV ambassadorship.

You can read more about the stigma plans for London, following the consultation, here:

Updated stigma plans for London March 2020