Building political support for HIV and Sexual Health

In addition to our services, for nearly 30 years we have been campaigning to protect the rights of people living with HIV and the rights of people who are at risk of HIV and poor sexual health.

In the last year, THT’s Policy team had success in the following areas:

• We undertook an extensive programme of Parliamentary support across the countries of the UK, including work to educate the largest new intake of MPs to Westminster in a generation on HIV and sexual health. This culminated in a World AIDS Day reception hosted by the Lords Speaker which attracted more than 30 Parliamentarians in support of THT.
• We ran an award-winning Party Conferences roadshow which used 3D and interactive technology to inform local and national politicians about HIV and sexual health.
• We were a key partner in the establishment and development of Halve It, a sector-wide collaborative campaign to reduce undiagnosed and late diagnosed HIV.
• We presented groundbreaking and highly acclaimed research on HIV and Ageing at the Vienna World AIDS Conference, achieving international awareness of this growing issue.
• We published a survey of community views on home testing for HIV, in which the majority of respondents supported legalisation.
• We submitted extensive evidence to 31 Government consultations and to the Lords Select Committee on HIV on issues of concern to people with HIV and those at risk of poor sexual health, drawing on the views and needs of people who use THT's services.
• We worked with the Procurator Fiscal and the Scottish HIV community to lead reform of the management of prosecutions for HIV transmission there.
• We published ‘10 Things The Government Can Do’ for the Scottish Parliament.
• We worked with NHS Scotland and the HIV sector to define standards for HIV services.
  We undertook an extensive programme of lobbying on changes to the NHS and public health structures in England, including the attainment of outcome indicators measuring HIV diagnosis and Chlamydia screening.
• We were invited to serve on the new Sexual Health Forum for England.

In February our Policy Director Lisa Power received an MBE for services to sexual health and the lesbian, gay and transgender community.