By Raphael Depallens, Swiss Aids Federation

The way we express ourselves, how we describe events, people, or their actions, says a lot about our understanding of these issues. Words are often a mirror of our thoughts, whether conscious or unconscious. This introduction helps me address the impact of words on the lives of people with HIV. Words can be emotionally charged and have the potential to act like Trojan horses of stigmatization.

To illustrate the importance of language, I suggest a stylistic exercise in three versions. The first reflects my perception, which I ultimately consider the "optimal" version; the second, titled "Ignorance & Media," represents what I still hear too often and what causes pain; and the third is strongly inspired by the medical discourse. Warning: Two of the three versions may be painful to read, but they are essential to demonstrate the critical issues of language on this topic and, therefore, its effects.

Optimal Version (Feels good!)
Since 2015, I have been living with HIV. I have integrated a lot of stigmatization and self-stigmatization, which has often prevented me from talking about it. My husband, whom I met five months after my diagnosis and who is serodifferent, was my first return to life. With an effective, simple, and well-tolerated treatment, I do not transmit HIV in any way.

Ignorance & Media (Feels painful!)
Since I was infected with AIDS in 2015, I have had great difficulty talking about it because I feel dirty and ashamed, but my husband, whom I met five months after discovering my illness and who is serodiscordant, was my elixir of life. Thanks to the medication, I am no longer dangerous.

Hypermedical Version (Annoying!)
In 2015, your viral load at the time of primary infection was several thousand copies, however, your CD4 count was intact. You probably experienced reactive depression after being diagnosed, your husband is an HIV-negative patient and has been an important support to you regarding mental health. Thanks to a combination of various molecules that block the replication and multiplication of HIV at certain points, you are a patient, a case that cannot infect others.

Finally, in the past, there was a fierce battle to get HIV to be named. Only in 1987, after seven long years of silence, did the Reagan administration in the USA openly talk about HIV and the epidemic. Thanks to the tireless efforts of people living with HIV and their allies, the virus was recognized and fought. Today, the fight has evolved in many ways, but silence remains a central theme. The weight of taboos, stigmatization, and consequently the words we choose, are crucial as they reflect our deepest thoughts.

It is absolutely necessary that this situation changes regarding language to fight the stigmatization of people living with HIV. It is also important to emphasize that it is just as, if not more, about prevention and early detection of HIV, as well as the ability to offer appropriate social and medical services.