September 29, 2017.
A petition, available online, has just been launched to demand a right to be forgotten for HIV-positive people, still too often victims of discrimination.
A petition to denounce discrimination against people with HIV
The petition has been online since Friday, October 29. The goal ? Denounce the discrimination and the obstacle course suffered by HIV-positive people in many situations of daily life. Entitled “ We are positive », The plea signed by Camille Genton, a young entrepreneur, has already collected around a hundred signatures, including those of Marisol Touraine (former Minister of Health).
The message is clear and reassuring for people living with HIV who often live in shame and rejection: “ Don’t be afraid, don’t be ashamed. A well-treated patient is not contaminating, his viral load becomes undetectable and studies show that his life expectancy is the same as a so-called healthy person “. Today in France, 150,000 people are HIV-positive and 7,000 become so each year.
Difficult and humiliating situations
To get a loan, some lie about their HIV status. Otherwise, even if the banks do not say it openly, very often the deadlines lengthen, insurance and health questionnaires accumulate. Camille Genton testifies: he himself is “outlaw” from a criminal point of view, but militates not to be reduced to the stage of sickness. He claims a right to be forgotten for himself and for all other HIV-positive people.
To travel it is not easier. Forty countries also prohibit entry to HIV-positive people. Among them, Russia and Australia, where visa applicants older than three months are forced to present a serological test to the consular services. In another register, the HIV-positive people are not welcome in some doctor’s offices (dentists, gynecologists).
Maylis Choné
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