DENVER PRINCIPLES

[Guest guest]

These were developed many years ago. A

declaration of principles that has as

much relevance today as then. Perhaps folks

in South Asia and elsewhere will take these

to heart and adopt them.

M.

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` THE DENVER PRINCIPLES

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`

` created by

` The Persons With AIDS Coalition

` at the Second National AIDS Forum

` in Denver

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We condemn attempts to label us as " victim, " which im- plies defeat, and

we are only occasionally " patients, " which implies passivity,

helplessness, and dependence upon the care of others.

We are " people with AIDS. "

We recommend that health care professionals:

1. Who are gay, come out, especially to their patients who have AIDS.

2. Always clearly identify and discuss the theory they favor as to the

cause of AIDS, since this bias affects the treatment and advice they give.

3. Get in touch with their feelings (fears, anxieties, hopes, etc.)

about AIDS, and not simply deal with AIDS intellectually.

4. Take a thorough personal inventory and identify and examine their own

agendas around AIDS.

5. Treat people with AIDS as whole people and address psychosocial

issues as well as biophysical ones.

6. Address the question of sexuality in people with AIDS specifically,

sensitively, and with information about gay male sexuality in general and

the sexuality of people with AIDS in particular.

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, separate us from our

loved ones, our com- munity, or our peers, since there is no evidence

that AIDS can be spread by casual social contact.

2. Do 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 AIDS 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, and we feel that people with AIDS have an

ethical responsibility to inform their potential sexual partners of their

health status.

People with AIDS have the right:

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 in any form, including sexual orientation, gender,

diagnosis, economic status, age, or race.

3. To full explanations of all medical procedures and risk, to choose or

refuse their treatment modalities, to refuse to participate in research

without jeopardizing their treatment, and to make informed decision about

their lives.

4. To privacy, to confidentiality of medical records, to human respect,

and to choose who their significant others are.

5. To live and die in dignity.