Drew Dalton, a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University Of Sunderland, releases a new podcast – the History of HIV – part of the Sunderland Talks podcast series.
THE History of HIV podcast aims to give a brief overview of the history of HIV and AIDS in the West, its origins and development, the social effects of it and how those living with the virus are able to live relatively normal lives thanks to the help and medications now available.
Drew has spent the last 15 plus years in campaigning and community work as both a paid staff member and volunteer, working alongside a wide range of adults and young people. He has set up two community organisations outside of his work: Thrive NE, an HIV organisation for those living with HIV in the North East of England, as well as LGBT History Project, which documents the often forgotten lives of LGBT people and which trains teachers in schools and colleges on the issues.
At the University of Sunderland, he has helped to introduce the first HIV policy for staff and is about to launch the first ever Charter Mark for businesses across the UK, which aims to tackle HIV-related stigma in places of employment. His research has highlighted the widespread stigma of HIV in the UK as well as the effects of government austerity measures on HIV organisations that are feeling the impact due to cuts in the sector.
Drew says: “HIV is a unique virus with a unique social history.
“This podcast aims to explore the emergence of the virus and the role of stigma in the early days, including the remarkable breakthroughs that we have seen in recent years which have radically changed people’s lives.
“HIV is no longer (in the West) deadly to most people, but it does have a stigma around it that still needs to be tackled and discussed if we are ever going to make further progress.”
To listen to the podcast, view: https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/study/explore/
The podcasts are also available to download or stream on iTunes and Spotify.
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