GLAAD RESPONDS TO U.S. SENATOR JD VANCE’S BASELESS ATTACKS ON HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS, PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV

GLAAD: “JD Vance’s inflammatory comments about HIV triple down on his truly revolting lies about this community and threaten public health in the most irresponsible way. Vance’s rhetoric is not grounded in science or statistical truth. It is a racist dog whistle to a bygone era that stigmatized people of color, immigrants, and people living with HIV. Facts still matter. Anyone can have and transmit HIV, but HIV is preventable with antiretroviral medication and treatable to the point of being undetectable, therefore untransmittable, the critical message of U=U. HIV is a fully manageable condition, and people living with HIV can lead long and fulfilling lives. Vance’s desperate disinformation campaign is shamefully spreading baseless, racist lies, fueling the stigma we need to break to end HIV.”

(New York, NY – September 13, 2024) – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to comments by U.S. Senator JD Vance directed at Haitian immigrants during a Sep.10 interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

During the interview, Vance inaccurately blamed Haitian immigrants in Springfield, OH, for a “skyrocketing” increase in HIV and TB. Public health officials say there is no evidence that HIV cases are skyrocketing in Springfield. Vance has spent several days spreading fear and disinformation about Springfield, comments amplified by his running mate, former President Donald Trump. During the presidential debate earlier in the evening, Trump responded in an exchange about immigration,”They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats.”  There is zero evidence of this happening, according to the Springfield city manager and police department.

In a statement, Bryan Heck, the city manager of Springfield, Ohio, expressed disappointment in the current narrative surrounding Springfield and its Haitian immigrant community:

“It is disappointing that some of the narrative surrounding our city has been skewed by misinformation circulating on social media and further amplified by political rhetoric in the current highly charged election cycle,” Heck said.

On Friday, September 13, at least four Springfield schools were forced to evacuate after receiving bomb threats, according to Springfield Police and reporting from Spectrum News 1 Ohio. The nature of the threats was undisclosed but arrived on the heels of the September 10 presidential debate.

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis responded:
“JD Vance’s inflammatory comments about HIV triple down on his truly revolting lies about this community and threaten public health in the most irresponsible way. Vance’s rhetoric is not grounded in science or statistical truth. It is a racist dog whistle to a bygone era that stigmatized people of color, immigrants, and people living with HIV. Facts still matter. Anyone can have and transmit HIV, but HIV is preventable with antiretroviral medication and treatable to the point of being undetectable, therefore untransmittable, the critical message of U=U. HIV is a fully manageable condition, and people living with HIV can lead long and fulfilling lives. Vance’s desperate disinformation campaign is shamefully spreading baseless, racist lies, fueling the stigma we need to break to end HIV.”

On September 12, 2024, GLAAD released the 5th Annual State of HIV Stigma Report—the only Report of its kind to track Americans’ knowledge, attitudes, and sentiments about HIV and HIV stigma.

Additional information on key findings and facts to include in reporting is below.

For the first time in five years, GLAAD’s State of HIV Stigma report found a statistically significant decline in HIV stigma in the U.S., with 85% of Americans saying they believe HIV stigma exists, down from 89% in 2020. Additionally, our Report found that the loss of HIV stories in entertainment media is a deafening silence, likely contributing to decreases in comfortability in interacting with a neighbor or co-worker living with HIV. GLAAD research also shows that seeing stories of people living with HIV drives up the comfortability of interacting with people living with HIV by as much as +15%. This is the power of accelerating acceptance and combating HIV stigma through visibility and representation in entertainment media.

Key Findings:

• There has been a significant reduction in the belief that stigma around HIV still exists over five years, from 89% in 2020 to 85% in 2024.
• Knowledge of HIV remains stable in the U.S. and in the Southern U.S. over the last five years, with nearly 90% of Americans reporting they know at least a little about HIV, with half of Americans feeling knowledgeable.
• Gen Z continues to be among the least knowledgeable generations about HIV.
• Only 37% of Gen Z adults are knowledgeable about HIV, on par with five years ago.
• The following areas have seen declines over the last five years of our tracking:
• We’ve seen a significant decrease in the belief that everyone should get tested for HIV, from 77% in 2020 to 67% in 2024. This decline is seen across all regions of the country.
• And we’ve seen a significant decrease in the belief that people living with HIV can live long, healthy lives, from 90% in 2020 to 85% in 2024. The Southern U.S. is the only region to see a significant decline here as well.
• GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV study showed only one LGBTQ character in primetime scripted broadcast, cable, or streaming programming living with HIV in the most recent television season, and is not expected to return.
• There has also been a significant decrease year over year in Americans seeing people living with HIV in TV or film, from 39% in 2023 to 35% in 2024.
• Seeing stories of people living with HIV increases comfortability with people living with HIV in various scenarios in life by up to +15%.