In a photo from the 2014 A Day with HIV gallery, Robin Doss of Fort Worth shows off her new red ribbon tattoo
“Everyone is affected by HIV, but we can do something about it.”
That’s the message driving A Day with HIV, an anti-stigma campaign launched by Positively Aware Magazine.
The idea behind the awareness campaign, now in its sixth year, is to confront stigma by sharing the pictures and stories of people who are affected by HIV. By showing that people affected by HIV/AIDS are just like anybody else. Over the past five years, organizers say, “the power of these images—of people at work, families at play, friends and lovers caring for one another—demonstrates a collective resolve to say, ‘this is who we are and this is how we cope—and live.’”
This year, A Day with HIV is Tuesday, Sept. 22. People are encouraged to pick up a camera — a phone, a point-and-shoot, an expensive SLR or any other kind of camera — to capture a moment of their day to share it with the world. Then share that photo, along with a caption describing what is depicted in the photo along with the time and location where it was taken.
Share it by posting it on social media with the hashtag #adaywithhiv.
Email the photo and caption to photo@adaywithhiv.com
Upload it at ADayWithHIV.com.
Emailed and uploaded photos will be featured in an online gallery, and certain high-res images will be published in the November-December issue of Positively Aware. Four photos will be chosen to appear on four different covers of the magazine.
Be sure to include the info about who is in the photo, what they are doing, where the photo was taken and what time it was taken.
Grab your camera next Tuesday and snap a pic. It’s an easy way to help in the battle to erase the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. And erasing the stigma is a first step in erasing the disease.
