Given how much misinformation and hysteria is in the air about COVID-19 precautions and risks, it’s not too surprising that Americans in general struggle with public health education. A new survey conducted by GLAAD in January 2021 suggests that a considerable number of Americans are uneducated when it comes to HIV, as covered by LGBTQ Nation. And not just ignorant—frankly, prejudiced.

The online survey, funded by Gilead Sciences, examined responses from more than 2,500 adults in the United States and focused on how participants viewed HIV. A disturbing number of non-LGBTQ+ participants admitted they would feel uncomfortable if a teacher, hairdresser, or physician in their life was living with HIV.

Medicine has really moved forward when it comes to treating HIV and AIDS, and even when it comes to preventing a person from contracting HIV via sexual intercourse. Sadly, many adults (apparently) don’t know this, as less than 70% of respondents said they realized medications exist to protect people from contracting the virus. Less than 50% of respondents realized people who live with HIV could not pass the virus on if they’re on effective treatment, like PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).

Though disappointing, perhaps this response isn’t surprising, given that less than half of participants described themselves as being knowledgeable about HIV. People who live in the midwest and south were most likely to report feeling uncomfortable around people living with HIV compared to people in the west and northeast, including the more than 50% of non-queer folks who said they would feel uncomfortable with a medical professional who lives with HIV. About one-third of respondents said they’d feel uncomfortable interacting with a teacher who lives with HIV. More than 40% said they’d be uncomfortable having a hairstylist or barber who lives with the virus.

As perhaps one of the only uplifting points of the 2021 State of HIV Stigma Study, more than 50% of non-LGBTQ respondents report seeing more stories about living with HIV in the media, which is an increase from GLAAD’s 2020 data. 

Per the press release, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis believes that HIV spreads in part due to “misinformation” and “lack of information” about the progress we’ve made in medicine and science. That progress truly makes HIV not only largely preventable but—assuming you have proper, consistent treatment—actually untransmittable, which is enormous. Sadly, stigma can lead to poorer outcomes for folks living with HIV, as shame and misinformation can lead to people avoiding testing, treatment, isolation, and estrangement based on status. 

The criminalization of HIV is a huge, huge issue, and one that is based on fear and outdated ideas about the virus. Criminalization also primarily impacts Black and Latinx communities, which is an example of how structural racism, public health, and policing intersect. Even the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) says that state laws criminalizing HIV exposure don’t align with current research. 

“People still see HIV and AIDS as a death sentence,” Tatiana Williams, Executive Director of Transinclusive Group, said in a statement per the press release, adding that it’s our responsibility to “normalize the conversation” about HIV and bring home to folks that HIV impacts everyone, not just specific communities or sub-groups.

Allyship can take a number of forms, and education is more than certainly one of them.