# HIV/AIDS in the United Kingdom

Part of a series on :
LGBTQ rights in the United Kingdom :
By location :
United Kingdom Scotland Northern Ireland :
Crown dependencies Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man :
Overseas Territories Anguilla Akrotiri and Dhekelia Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Turks and Caicos Islands :
Same-sex marriage by territory United Kingdom Scotland Northern Ireland Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man Akrotiri and Dhekelia Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands :
Policy aspects :
Sexual orientation
Adoption
Age of consent
Blood donation
Christian nation
Civil partnership
History of violence
HIV/AIDS
Military policy
Same-sex marriage :
Gender identity, sex and intersex
21st-century anti-trans movement
Transgender rights
Intersex rights
NHS Gender Identity Development Service
Gender Recognition Panel :
Legislation :
Criminality
Buggery Act 1533
Offences Against the Person Act 1828
Offences Against the Person Act 1861
Labouchere Amendment
Wolfenden report
Sexual Offences Act 1967
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980
Homosexual Offences Order 1982
Section 28
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
Sexual Offences Act 2003
Policing and Crime Act 2017
Alan Turing law
Merchant Shipping (Homosexual Conduct) Act 2017
Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) (Scotland) Act 2018 :
Protection and recognition
Public Order Act 1986
Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999
Adoption and Children Act 2002
Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
Civil Partnership Act 2004
Gender Recognition Act 2004
Equality Act 2006
Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007
Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008
Equality Act 2010
Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013
Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014
Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019
Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 :
Litigation
Corbett v Corbett (1969)
X v United Kingdom (1978)
Dudgeon v United Kingdom (1981)
R v Brown (1993)
Sutherland v United Kingdom (1994)
Smith and Grady v United Kingdom (1999)
Goodwin & I v United Kingdom (2002)
HJ and HT v Home Secretary (2010)
National AIDS Trust v NHS Service Commissioning Board (2016)
Bell v Tavistock (2021)
AB v CD and others (2021) :
Culture :
By city
Brighton
Cardiff
London
Liverpool
Leeds
Manchester :
Gay villages
Birmingham Gay Village
The Calls
Canal Street (Manchester)
Old Compton Street
Pride Quarter, Liverpool
Vauxhall :
Gay male
Polari
Saunas
Cruising :
Organisations :
LGBT advocacy and support
Stonewall
Hall–Carpenter Archives
Black Gay Men's Advisory Group
Akt
Naz and Matt Foundation
FFLAG
LGBT Foundation
LGBT Network
Outright Scotland
Switchboard (UK)
NUS LGBT
LGBT+ Liberal Democrats
LGBT+ Conservatives
LGBT+ Labour
Labour Campaign for Trans Rights
Mermaids
Press for Change
The Gender Trust :
Pride events
BiCon (UK)
Big Gay Out
Birmingham Pride
Bourne Free
Brighton Pride
Bristol Pride
Doncaster Pride
GFest – gayWise LGBT Arts Festival
Glasgay! Festival
Homotopia (Liverpool)
Leeds Pride
Leicester Pride
LGBT History Month
BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival
Manchester Pride
Mr Gay UK
Mr Gay Wales
Northern Pride
Nottinghamshire Pride
Pride Cymru
Pride Glasgow
Pride in Hull
Pride in Liverpool
Pride in London
Pride Scotia
Reading Pride
Swansea Pride
Worthing Pride :
Former groups
OutRage!
Campaign for Homosexual Equality
Homosexual Law Reform Society
Gay Liberation Front
Gay Rights Working Party
Order of Chaeronea :
History :
Topics
Timeline
List of politicians
First LGBT officeholders
Violence against LGBT people
HIV/AIDS crisis
Death penalty :
Timeline 342 MSM activity made illegal 1533 Death penalty introduced for MSM activity 1543 Buggery Act extended to Wales 1828 Offences Against the Person Act 1828 1835 James Pratt and John Smith executed 1861 Death penalty for buggery abolished 1885 Labouchere Amendment introduced 1889 Cleveland Street scandal 1895 Oscar Wilde found guilty of gross indecency 1912 The Cave of the Golden Calf opens 1921 Plans to make lesbian activity illegal defeated 1936 Mark Weston transitions 1952 John Nott-Bower begins crackdown 1954 Pitt-Rivers, Montagu, Wildeblood imprisoned 1954 Alan Turing commits suicide 1957 Wolfenden report released 1967 MSM activity made legal (England & Wales) 1972 First British Gay Pride Rally 1976 Jeremy Thorpe resigns as Liberal leader 1981 MSM activity made legal (Scotland) 1981 First case of AIDS reported in the UK 1982 MSM activity made legal (NI) 1983 Gay men barred from donating blood 1984 Chris Smith elected as first openly gay MP 1987 Operation Spanner begins 1988 Section 28 comes into force 1989 Stonewall UK forms 1994 Age of consent for MSM becomes 18 1997 Angela Eagle becomes first openly lesbian MP 1998 Bolton 7 found guilty 1998 Lord Alli becomes first openly gay Lord 1999 Admiral Duncan bombing 2000 Gay men allowed in HM Armed Forces 2001 Age of consent equalised to 16 2001 MSM activity involving multiple men legal 2002 Same sex couples granted equal rights to adopt 2003 Section 28 repealed 2004 Civil partnerships introduced 2004 Gender Recognition Act 2004 2006 Discrimination made illegal 2008 Equalised access to IVF for lesbian couples 2008 Incitement to homophobic hatred made a crime 2009 Public apology to Alan Turing 2010 Equality Act 2010 2011 Gay men allowed to donate blood (1 yr deferral) 2013 Nikki Sinclaire becomes first openly trans MEP 2013 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 2014 First same-sex marriages take place 2016 MSM activity not grounds for military discharge 2017 Turing law implemented 2017 Blood donation deferral 3 months (excl. NI) 2019 MPs legislate for gay marriage in NI 2020 Gay marriage legal across UK, incl. NI 2020 Blood donation deferral 3 months (incl. NI) 2021 Blood donation deferral equalised :
LGBTQ portal UK portal :
vte :
AIDS was first diagnosed in 1981. As of year-end 2018, 160,493 people have been diagnosed with HIV in the United Kingdom and an estimated 7,500 people are living undiagnosed with HIV. New diagnoses are highest in gay/bisexual men, with an estimated 51% of new diagnosis reporting male same-sex sexual activity as the probable route of infection. Between 2009 and 2018 there was a 32% reduction in new HIV diagnosis, attributed by Public Health England (PHE) to better surveillance and education. PHE has described an "outbreak" in Glasgow amongst people who inject drugs, and has campaigns targeting men who have sex with men in London and other major cities. London was the first city in the world to reach the World Health Organization target for HIV, set at 90% of those with HIV diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed on HAART and 90% of those on HAART undetectable. The UK as a whole later achieved the same target. Under the Equality Act 2010, it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on their HIV status in the UK.

## Demographics

In 2017, 93,385 people (64,472 men and 28,877 women) living with diagnosed HIV infection received HIV care in the UK. 42,739 of those are gay or bisexual.
In 2017, the prevalence of HIV in the United Kingdom was estimated at 101,600 (credible interval 99,300 to 106,400) with 92% (credible interval 88 to 94%) diagnosed. Prevalence is highest in gay/bisexual men in London with an estimated 83 (credible interval 73 to 96) per 1000 gay and bisexual men aged 15 to 74 years. HIV prevalence in this group was higher in London compared with the rest of England (134/1,000 CrI 113 to 156 and 63/1,000 CrI 53 to 76, respectively). However, the 2017 statistics showed a tremendous decrease in the number of newly HIV infected gay men during 2015-17. The number of newly HIV infected gay men decreased by a third in just two years.
2995 people were newly diagnosed during 2021 An estimated 42% of diagnoses were late (likely to have been living with the virus for over three years). Late diagnosis is associated with a 10-fold increase in the chance of death during the first year after diagnosis. Risk groups have been identified by various organisations, including National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, National Health Service and the IMPACT trial for pre-exposure prophylaxis. They are:
Risk groups identified by UK health organisations :
| NHS for HIV | NICE for HIV testing | IMPACT for PrEP access |
| From a country with high rates of HIV | From a country with high rates of HIV | Heterosexual people at risk |
| People who share needles | People who inject drugs | Heterosexual people at risk |
| Heterosexual people at risk ||
| Heterosexual with black African ethnicity | N | N |
| Men who have sex with men |||
| Trans women who have sex with men | Trans women who have sex with men | Trans men and trans women |
| People who participate in chemsex | People who participate in chemsex | N |
| People diagnosed with any other STI | People diagnosed with any other STI | N |
| Sexual contact with any other risk group | Sexual contact with any other risk group | HIV-negative people with HIV-positive partners |

## Treatment and prognosis

HIV treatment is available free of charge in the UK and as a result 96% of diagnosed are receiving treatment and of those 94% have a suppressed viral load making them very unlikely to pass on the infection. In 2015, less than 1% of people living with a diagnosed HIV infection in the UK died (cause of death is uncertain and may not be HIV-related). All-cause mortality for ages 15–59 in people living with HIV was 5.7 per 1000 compared to 1.7 for the UK population as a whole. People newly diagnosed with HIV today can expect to have a normal life expectancy if they are diagnosed on time and on effective treatment.
In 2017, 39% adults seen for HIV care were 50 years of age or older. This is partly due to improvements to life expectancy for people living with HIV as well as increasing numbers of people acquiring HIV later in life.

## Pre-exposure prophylaxis

Access to pre-exposure prophylaxis ("PrEP"), using a drug which can prevent HIV infection, on the National Health Service is partially limited. It was available to high-risk individuals in England through the IMPACT trial, which had a cohort size of 26,000. This was made available following the PROUD trial, a randomised control trial and a high-court battle in 2016. Use of PrEP in London, both as part of a trial and from private purchases, was partially credited in a drop in diagnoses among men who have sex with men, after a five-year plateau in diagnoses.
In Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland PrEP is available free on the NHS from sexual health clinics for those deemed at high risk of acquisition.
Sexual health specialist Mags Portman was credited in making PrEP more accessible to gay and bisexual men in the UK. In October 2018, the Terrence Higgins Trust established the Mags Portman PrEP Access Fund to provide PrEP to those in England and Northern Ireland who cannot afford it. The fund has a maximum size of 1,000 users and was available until the end of 2020.

## Timeline

1979, June: a sample shows a UK transmission to a haemophiliac in the UK.
1981, 12 December: The Lancet publishes a case report of a 49-year-old man who had died in Brompton hospital due to an AIDS related illness in October - the first death in the UK. He was homosexual and a frequent visitor to the United States.
It was finally revealed in November 2021, by the ITV Tonight programme that this first patient was called John Eaddie, a 49 year old guest house proprietor from Harrogate - 40 years after the first mention of a case in a medical journal. Painstaking work from the ITV Tonight team matched a death certificate from 1981, which included the same details revealed in the Lancet - a 49 year old man, dying in the Royal Brompton Hospital of Pneumocystis Pneumonia.
1982, 4 July: Terry Higgins dies of an AIDS related illness - leading to the establishment of the Terrence Higgins Trust.
1983: Scottish AIDS Monitor founded to monitor and raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Scotland.
1983, 25 April: BBC broadcasts "Killer in the Village" as part of its Horizon series. The documentary describes the illnesses affecting patients and looks at theories and early research into AIDS. It includes interviews with Linda Laubenstein, Alvin Friedman-Kien, James W. Curran, Michael S. Gottlieb and Bobbi Campbell.
1985: 58 AIDS-related deaths had been recorded in Britain, according to the current affairs series TV Eye, broadcast in 1985. In October, a man with AIDS is detained under the Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1985, marking their first and only use.
1986, 24 March: BBC broadcasts "AIDS: A Strange and Deadly Virus" as part of its Horizon series. The documentary looks at early work to identify the virus and experimental use of AZT.
1987, 9 April: Diana, Princess of Wales, opens the Broderip Ward, a dedicated ward at Middlesex Hospital for the treatment of HIV patients, and notably shakes the hands of AIDS patients without wearing gloves.
1987: The UK Government launched "AIDS: Don't Die of Ignorance", a major public information campaign. A leaflet about AIDS was delivered to every household in the UK, which warned that it is impossible to tell who is infected with the virus.
1991, 24 November: Queen star Freddie Mercury dies of AIDS, just one day after he announced he had the condition.
1994: Scottish Voluntary HIV and AIDS Forum (HIV Scotland) set up in Edinburgh to make policy and advocacy changes and provide support for people living with HIV in Scotland.
1995: Project for HIV and Aids Care and Education (PHACE West) established to provide HIV support, advice and health services for the West of Scotland.
1996: Triple combination therapy (HAART) becomes standard treatment, reducing the death rate.
2003, March : The National AIDS Trust launched a campaign challenging HIV stigma.
2010, 8 April: The Equality Act 2010 qualifies anyone with HIV as disabled and so gives protection against discrimination.
2012: 1 October: Free HIV treatment in England extended to include non-resident overseas visitors.
2012, 23 November: First National HIV Testing Week.
2013, April: HIV Prevention England started a two-year campaign funded by the Department of Health communicating messages about HIV testing and condoms to Africans and MSM.
2015, April: First home testing kits become available, after being legalised in April 2014.
2015, 9 September: Results announced of PROUD study, testing the effectiveness of PrEP on reducing HIV infections in 544 participants.
2016: Results of PARTNER Study show that a person living with HIV, who is on treatment and whose virus is undetectable cannot pass the virus on to anyone else. The 'U=U' campaign and Terrence Higgins Trust's 'Can't Pass It On' campaigns followed shortly after. The PARTNER Study followed other research and studies, such as the Swiss Statement, which provided similar evidence of HIV not being able to be passed on under these stated circumstances.
2017, July: PrEP made available free on the NHS in Scotland.
2017, 3 August: NHS announced trial of PrEP for 10,000 people over three years.
2019, 1 January: NHS announced to increase IMPACT trial size to 26,000.
2019, 22 July: Independent HIV Commission to end new HIV transmissions in England by 2030 launches.
2020, March: UK government announces PrEP will be made freely available in England from April 2020 to anyone at risk.
2021, 1 December: the UK Ministry of Defence announces a commitment to ensuring being HIV+ no longer excludes anyone from joining the armed forces. Any candidates taking PrEP would be welcomed and serving armed forces personnel with HIV are recognised as fully fit.
2022: Accident and Emergency treatment will have opt out testing for blood bourne viruses, a pilot study identified 65 people with HIV not undergoing treatment. In 2023 it was decided to extend this to all hospital settings.