05/10/2026
The Power of Assumptions: HIV has no look!
There was once a village known for being accepting. A few young people were openly diverse in their s*xual orientation, and for years nobody had a problem with them.
Then the village heard that someone from their community was living with HIV.
Immediately, suspicion fell on those young people.
Around the kava bowls, people talked:
“They are promiscuous.”
“They should have been more careful.”
“They should leave the village.”
Fear became gossip. Gossip became stigma. And eventually, the young people were asked to leave.
Years later, a young woman married one of the village rugby players. When she became pregnant, she tested for HIV.
She was positive.
Her husband was tested too. He was also living with HIV but had never known. His s*xual history later revealed that while travelling to play rugby, he had had multiple s*xual partners.
Suddenly, the village realised something painful:
They had judged the wrong people.
The problem was never someone’s s*xual orientation. The problem was assuming that HIV only happens to certain kinds of people.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
HIV has no “look.”
You cannot tell who has HIV by their s*xuality, gender, occupation, religion or reputation.
When we spend our time blaming people, we create stigma — and stigma can stop people from testing, talking openly about risk and seeking help.
HIV prevention begins when we stop asking, “Who brought HIV here?” and start asking, “How do we protect everyone?”
Know your status. Practise prevention. Get tested. Support treatment.
Fight HIV, not people.
