ONE HANDSHAKE DISPELLS
MYTH ABOUT HIV/ AIDS
G'day folks,
The rhetoric around HIV/AIDS was very different in the 1980s compared to today.
To some extent, it is understandable, as the disease was only first discovered in 1981, and throughout the first decade after discovery, the public wasn't aware of the ways the virus can be transmitted and so any patient who ended up contracting the life-threatening disease was instantly isolated from society and sentenced to a life of seclusion and prejudice.
One
seemingly minor event, a simple handshake, greatly influenced the conversation
around HIV/AIDS. In 1987, Princess Diana was on an official visit to one of the
hospitals in London. There, she met patients with AIDS and was photographed
shaking the hand of one of the patients without wearing gloves. This single
handshake of compassion and kindness from the Princess challenged the then
pervasive myth that HIV/AIDS could be transmitted through touch and
subsequently led to a shift in the public's perspective of the disease.
Clancy's comment: I'm sure Princess Diana had an extraordinary impact on many people.
I'm ...
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