30% of gay & bisexual men believe you can get HIV from sharing a toothbrush
30% of gay & bisexual men believe you can get HIV from sharing a toothbrush
And 1 in 10 gay and bi men think you can get HIV from kissing
Gay people are still believing inaccurate myths about HIV
1 December 2016
by Joe Morgan
A new survey has revealed 30% of gay and bisexual British men believe you can get HIV from sharing a toothbrush.
And 1 in 10 believe it’s passed on through kissing.
Terrence Higgins Trust has surveyed over 2,000 adults including 118 gay and bi men are still believing inaccurate myths about HIV.
Ian Green, chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said:
‘We’ve come a long way since the AIDS crisis first emerged, when the nation was gripped by panic and fear.
‘Thankfully, we now know far more about how HIV is and is not transmitted, and medical advances now mean HIV doesn’t have to stand in the way of living a long and healthy life.
‘But it’s not over – while science has moved on, we can see today that inaccurate myths from the 1980s are still deeply entrenched in society, both in terms of how HIV is transmitted, and what it’s like to live with HIV.
‘Misunderstanding of the virus can fuel stigma and cause immense distress for people coming to terms with an HIV diagnosis. Much more needs to be done to bring the British public up to date with what HIV means in 2016.’
Other inaccurate myths people believe were:
- Only 29% of gay & bi men believe people on HIV treatment can have children without passing on the virus.
- Only 61% believe people with HIV can live into old age.
- Less than half (45%) of gay & bi men surveyed were aware people with HIV can have sex without passing on the virus
- 1 in 4 (24%) gay & bi men agreed there was currently an HIV epidemic in the UK. 68% disagreed.
How many myths do you believe?
Check out our list of the biggest inaccurate things people believe about HIV.