Breaking the Silence: Six Community Projects Tackle HIV Stigma
In a powerful initiative, ViiV Healthcare Australia's Positive Action Community Grants are funding six remarkable community-led projects across Australia, each with a bold mission: to confront HIV stigma head-on. These projects are not just about raising awareness; they're about empowering individuals and communities, and creating a lasting impact.
The Impact of Stigma
Despite the incredible advancements in HIV prevention and treatment, people living with HIV in Australia continue to face stigma. This stigma has real-world consequences, affecting access to healthcare, mental well-being, and overall quality of life. But here's where it gets controversial: even with a potential cure on the horizon, the battle against stigma persists.
Community-Led Solutions: A Powerful Approach
The grants, awarded in 2025, provide a significant boost of $200,000 to organizations working with diverse communities, including multicultural groups, women, and First Nations people. These communities have often been underrepresented in HIV responses, but these projects aim to change that. By utilizing storytelling, peer support, and cultural connections, each initiative reaches out to those who might otherwise be left out of the conversation.
A Vision for the Future
Ann Maccarrone, Community Engagement and Partnerships Manager at ViiV Healthcare Australia, highlights the Government's Ninth National Strategy, which aims to virtually eliminate HIV transmission in Australia. However, she emphasizes that stigma remains a barrier, predicting poorer outcomes for those affected. Community-led solutions, she argues, are key to addressing these barriers, providing education, visibility, and improved quality of life for all people living with HIV.
Meet the Recipients: Leading the Change
The recipients of the 2025 Positive Action Community Grant program are not just grant recipients; they're change-makers. Selected for their ongoing commitment to addressing knowledge gaps and enhancing relationships between healthcare providers and people living with HIV, these projects are a testament to the power of community-led initiatives.
Living Positive Victoria: Amplifying Multicultural Voices
Living Positive Victoria is a community advocate, fighting for the rights and well-being of all HIV-positive individuals in Victoria. Their project involves redesigning the Positive Speakers Bureau, ensuring that multicultural speakers feel safe, empowered, and supported. CEO Richard Keane emphasizes the need to keep pace with the increasing number of multicultural individuals sharing their stories.
NAPWHA & Positive Women Victoria: Making Women Visible
The National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA), in collaboration with Positive Women Victoria, is developing 'Women & HIV Today', a national audio-visual education tool for healthcare providers. Project Lead Heather Ellis highlights the late diagnoses and inadequate services many women face, and how this project aims to reduce stigma and improve care by providing clinicians with a practical tool grounded in women's experiences.
Positive Life NSW: Stories Over Food
Positive Life NSW's 'Kitchen Table Stories' brings people from Latin American, Asian, and African communities together over food and conversation. CEO Jane Costello believes in the power of community-driven responses, stating that by coming together in familiar ways, participants build trust, share knowledge, and strengthen peer connections.
TasCAHRD: Support Through Digital Chat
Tasmania's Council on AIDS, Hepatitis and Related Diseases (TasCAHRD) is launching 'The Red Ribbon Chat', an AI-powered digital service providing reliable, stigma-free HIV information. CEO Cameron Brown emphasizes the importance of meeting people where they are, breaking down stigma, and empowering the community with the right tools.
Thorne Harbour Health: First Nations Voices Lead the Way
Thorne Harbour Health's 'Mob+' initiative expands culturally safe peer support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with HIV. Stephen Borg, Manager of the Positive Living Centre, believes that equitable outcomes require First Nations voices to be at the heart of the response, grounded in trust, connection, and self-determination.
WA AIDS Council: Challenging Stigma Through Storytelling
WA AIDS Council's 'Positively Speaking' uses filmed monologues and portraits to challenge stigma in educational and community settings. CEO Dr. Daniel Vujcich believes that stigma thrives in silence, and these powerful stories help people see the humanity and strength behind the virus.
A Future Vision: A Stigma-Free World
Christopher Johnston, Country Medical Director at ViiV Healthcare Australia, praises these projects for reflecting the diversity, strength, and determination of the HIV community. He emphasizes the importance of amplifying lived experiences and supporting community-led ideas, moving closer to a future where HIV transmission is virtually eliminated, stigma is dismantled, and every person living with HIV can thrive, with no one left behind.
The Positive Action Community Grants continue to build this future, where stigma is a thing of the past, and every individual living with HIV can lead a fulfilling life.
