Laws that treat people living with HIV or those at greatest risk with respect start with the way that we treat them ourselves: as equals. If we are going to stop the spread of HIV in our lifetime, then that is the change we need to spread.
Interpretation
We must treat individuals living with HIV as equals to create effective laws and inspire change in society.
In this quote, Shereen El Feki emphasizes the importance of treating people living with HIV and those at risk with respect and equality. She argues that genuine change in how society approaches HIV starts with the individual mindset and interactions, highlighting that mutual respect and equality are fundamental to stopping the spread of HIV and implementing effective laws.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for HIV awareness during World AIDS Day.
Some countries have good laws, laws which could stem the tide of HIV. The problem is that these laws are flouted. Because stigma gives unofficial license to treat people living with HIV or those at greatest risk unlike other citizens.
He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.
What, then, is the true Gospel of consistency? Change. Who is the really consistent man? The man who changes. Since change is the law of his being, he cannot be consistent if he stick in a rut.
If you don't like who you are and where you are, don't worry about it because you're not stuck either with who you are or where you are. You can grow. You can change. You can be more than you are.
Whether it's racism, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, xenophobia, religious intolerance or other bias - we demand to live in a country where we can be safe to be who we are, believe what we want and love whomever we want.
The only fight worth fighting is to give all children equal opportunities regardless of race or gender, to judge individuals on their qualities and not their backgrounds. The victory won't come when nobody feels able to voice racist abuse, but when nobody thinks of doing so in the first place.
We know what the birth of a revolution looks like: A student stands before a tank. A fruit seller sets himself on fire. A line of monks link arms in a human chain. Crowds surge, soldiers fire, gusts of rage pull down the monuments of tyrants, and maybe, sometimes, justice rises from the flames.
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