In his first public speech since announcing that he is living with HIV in September, Wales rugby star Gareth Thomas spoke of the need to confront HIV stigma, at the 17th European AIDS Conference (EACS 2019) in Basel, Switzerland. He spoke at a symposium organised by Gilead Sciences on the conference's opening day.

He spoke of his shame and regret after learning of his HIV diagnosis, “and a horrible sense of isolation – the sense of shame grew every day”, he said, as he realised that he could not be honest with family, friends and colleagues.

“One day as I was walking on the cliffs near my home, I had a phone call from my parents saying they had a journalist on their doorstep asking them to make comment on the fact that I was living with HIV. The harm was the secret, so I decided to make a documentary about me living with HIV […] to help create an environment in which stigma would be broken, that people would be educated to make a decision based on current facts, an environment in which people would be free to talk about HIV.”

Thomas’ documentary, Gareth Thomas: HIV and Me was broadcast on BBC1 on 18 September 2019. Thomas revealed his HIV status online on 15 September, immediately before completing the 140-mile International Iron Man triathlon in Wales. Read more via AIDSmap