Re: Family clash over AIDS victim kills 10

[Guest guest]

Can we all agree on ONE thing please?

People with AIDS are NOT victims.

Below is an article and a statement, and the statement is unfortunately still

very valid, soon 20 years later.

All the best

Calle Almedal

E-mail: almedalc@...

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A History of The People With AIDS Self-Empowerment Movement by Callan

and Dan

The Historic Denver Conference

In late spring of 1983, plans were being made to attend the Second National AIDS

Forum, sponsored by the Lesbian and Gay Health Education Foundation, PWAs from

all around the country gathered in a hospitality suite hastily arranged by

conference coordinators... Bobbi quickly took charge. He articulated an

ambitious political organization of PWA groups in all cities with large AIDS

populations and proposed that eventually these local groups might organize to

form a National Association of People With AIDS. New York's concerns about the

etiological debate were incorporated into recommendations reflecting

California's political and holistic concerns. With amazingly little friction, we

came to consensus and drafted what have become known as the " Denver Principles. "

Bobbi passed along Mark Feldman's semantic proposition that we should

insist on being called " People With AIDS. " Mark felt passionately that we should

reject the terms " patient " or " victim. " After some initial skepticism about the

importance of this point, the New York contingent agreed to join California in

insisting on " People With AIDS " or " PWA " as the label of choice. The hard work

done, we then decided to storm the closing session and present our demands. In

democratic fashion, we each declaimed one of the points until our whole list of

recommendations and responsibilities had been publicly uttered for the first

time. San Francisco had brought its banner, proclaiming " Fighting for Our

Lives. " There wasn't a dry eye in the house, as a Washington Blade account of

the event noted. Keynote speaker Ginny Apuzzo had to wait 10 minutes to permit

the audience to recompose itself before proceeding. The theme of the Second

National AIDS conference had been " Health Pioneering in the Eighties. " Ginny,

faced with the daunting task of following our emotionally devastating

presentation, opined that if those health care providers in attendance were the

health care pioneers, then those of us with AIDS were truly the trailblazers.

>

Recommendations for All People: We recommend that all people:

1) Support us in our struggle against those who would fire us from our jobs,

evict us from our homes, refuse to touch us or separate us from our loved ones,

our community or our peers, since available evidence does not support the view

that AIDS can be spread by casual, social contact.

2) Not scapegoat people with AIDS, blame us for the epidemic or generalize about

our lifestyles.

We recommend that people with AIDS:

1) Form caucuses to choose their own representatives, to deal with the media, to

choose their own agenda, and to plan their own strategies.

2) Be involved at every level of decision-making and specifically serve on the

boards of directors of provider organizations.

3) Be included in all AIDS forums with equal credibility as other participants,

to share their own experiences and knowledge.

4) Substitute low-risk sexual behaviors for those that could endanger themselves

or their partners. We feel that people with AIDS have an ethical responsibility

to inform their potential sexual partners of their health status.

Rights of People With AIDS

1) To as full and satisfying sexual and emotional lives as anyone else.

2) To quality medical treatment and quality social service provision without

discrimination of any form based on sexual orientation, gender, diagnosis,

economic status, or race.

3) To full explanations of all medical procedures and risks, to choose or refuse

their treatment modalities, to refuse to participate in research without

jeopardizing their treatment, and to make informed decisions about their lives.

4) To privacy, to confidentiality of medical records, to human respect, and to

choose who their significant others are.

5) To die and to LIVE in dignity.

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