GLAAD RELEASES FOURTH ANNUAL HIV STIGMA STUDY

STUDY SHOWS KNOWLEDGE AND GENERATION GAPS THAT PERPETUATE HIV STIGMA: ONLY 34% OF GEN-Z ADULTS ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT HIV COMPARED TO OVER 60% OF GEN-X; 37% OF AMERICANS INACCURATELY BELIEVE HIV MOSTLY IMPACTS LGBTQ PEOPLE 

MORE AMERICANS – 70% – ARE AWARE THAT MEDICATIONS EXIST TO PROTECT AGAINST CONTRACTING HIV – UP 6% SINCE 2021;

85% BELIEVE HIV PREVENTION SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS; 35% SAY THEY’VE SEEN STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV IN THE LAST YEAR, UP 4%

GLAAD: “This report shows an urgent need to accelerate bridging all the gaps – generational, knowledge, empathy and understanding – to end HIV stigma. As classrooms in states with rising HIV rates increasingly become anti-LGBTQ battlegrounds, accurate, lifesaving information about HIV must reach young people through news and entertainment, as well as through our own stories we share. GLAAD’s 2023 State of HIV Stigma Study is one chapter in a story that spans generations. Ending HIV should be every generation’s lasting achievement.”

(New York, NY – September 6, 2023) GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is releasing its fourth annual State of HIV Stigma Study, a national survey among U.S. adults measuring knowledge and attitudes about HIV.

Download the State of HIV Stigma Study HERE
Download graphics from the study HERE

This is the fourth year that GLAAD, in partnership with Gilead Sciences, Inc. and the Gilead COMPASS Initiative®, is releasing data tracking Americans’ attitudes about HIV and HIV stigma as well as their knowledge about HIV.

Results show an alarming generational knowledge gap. Gen Z, the youngest generation in population surveys, is the most diverse and most out LGBTQ generation in history. According to GLAAD’s study, Gen Z adults report feeling less knowledgeable about HIV than Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers.

The study shows continued progress in important areas of visibility and awareness, including rising knowledge that medications exist to prevent HIV and treat HIV to the point of undetectable and, therefore, untransmittable (U=U). 35% of Americans say they’ve seen stories about people living with HIV in the last year, up 4% from the previous year.  TV and movies are the biggest platforms for seeing stories about people living with HIV over other forms of media like advertisements, social media, and newspapers.

Quote from GLAAD President and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, on Instagram and here:
“This report shows an urgent need to accelerate bridging all the gaps – generational, knowledge, empathy and understanding – to end HIV stigma. As classrooms in states with rising HIV rates increasingly become anti-LGBTQ battlegrounds, accurate, lifesaving information about HIV must reach young people through news and entertainment, as well as through our own stories we share. GLAAD’s 2023 State of HIV Stigma Study is one chapter in a story that spans generations. Ending HIV should be every generation’s lasting achievement.”

Quote from Gilead Sciences Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Alex Kalomparis:
“The findings from GLAAD’s 2023 HIV Stigma Report, created with support from Gilead, illuminates an undeniable truth—an end to the decades-long HIV/AIDS epidemic is achievable in our lifetime when people in the United States have access to accurate scientific-based information regarding the prevention and treatment of HIV. Collectively, we must prioritize the current knowledge gap among Gen Z to correct misconceptions about HIV and reduce stigma. Gilead remains committed to cultivating relationships with community partners on the front line, particularly in the U.S. South, where HIV stigma and new diagnoses among people of color continue disproportionately impacting entire communities.”

GLAAD State of HIV Stigma Study findings:

• Only 3% of Americans say they are not aware of HIV.
• Nearly 90% of Americans believe there is still a stigma around HIV.
• Over 60% of Gen X’ers say they are knowledgeable about HIV, while only 34% of Gen Z adults say the same.
• 37% of Americans inaccurately believe HIV mostly impacts LGBTQ people, compared to 33% a year ago.
• 70% of Americans agree medications exist today that, when taken correctly, can protect someone from contracting HIV.
• 41% of Americans report feeling discomfort interacting with a barber or hairstylist living with HIV, an increase from the reported 37% who experienced discomfort in 2022.
• 33% of Americans report feeling discomfort interacting with a teacher living with HIV, an increase from the reported 29% who experienced discomfort in 2022.
• 32% of Americans report feeling discomfort interacting with a co-worker living with HIV, an increase from the reported 29% who experienced discomfort in 2022.
• 65% of Americans reportedly agree that everyone should be tested for HIV in their lifetime, a decrease from the reported 70% who agreed in 2022.
• 80% of Americans agree with criminalizing non-disclosure HIV status, which further stigmatizes people living with HIV. 35 states currently criminalize the behavior of people living with HIV under laws the CDC says are outdated and not reflective of science and understanding of HIV.
• 85% of Americans believe HIV prevention should be taught in schools.

Methodology:

The study was conducted in February 2023 using Cint for sampling and data collection, and included a national online survey of 2,533 Americans 18+ years old. Data were weighted to ensure results represent the adult 18+ U.S. population.

Facts about HIV:

• People living with HIV today, when on effective treatment, lead long and healthy lives and cannot transmit HIV. Treating HIV can suppress the virus to the point it is no longer detected. When HIV is undetected, it is untransmittable, the key message of the U=U campaign.
• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 40% of new HIV infections are transmitted by people who don’t know they have the virus.
• HIV.gov: in 2020 people aged 13 to 34 (GenZ and Millennials) accounted for more than half (57%) of new HIV diagnoses.
• Black Americans account for more HIV diagnoses (43%), people living with HIV (42%), and the most deaths among people with HIV (44%), more than any other racial and ethnic group in the U.S. Black Americans are just 12% of the U.S. population.
• The CDC reports that the U.S. South experiences the greatest rates of HIV and lags behind in providing quality HIV prevention services and care.
• Medications like PrEP protect people who do not have HIV from contracting HIV. The CDC states that PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% when taken as prescribed.

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About Gilead Sciences: Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people. The company is committed to advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19, and cancer. Gilead operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.