17c起草社区

IT鈥橲 a familiar story, but it鈥檚 one that still resonates widely: growing up gay in rural or remote areas can be an isolating and insular experience.

At the end of high school Paul Kidd was ready to move away from his small country town to a place where he wouldn鈥檛 have negative feelings about his sexuality.

[showads聽ad=MREC]鈥淲hen I left home my only understanding was that gay men were despised and were only spoken about in negative ways,鈥� he said.

鈥淎s I was recognising my own sexuality at the time, it was a hard thing to reconcile.鈥�

Kidd is a long-time HIV activist and currently a member of the Justice Working Group for the .

As the chair of the HIV Legal Working Group, he helped bring about the 鈥� the only law of its kind in Australia that specifically criminalised the intentional transmision of HIV. He has also worked towards raising awareness and battling stigma around the virus.

During his first years at university he was 鈥渂rought out鈥� of the closet before coming out to his friends, family and the broader community.

鈥淚t was quite funny, I was with friends on campus having coffee and one friend felt like he鈥檇 been deputised because he said 鈥楶aul, we all know that you鈥檙e gay and you don鈥檛 have to hide it鈥�,鈥� Kidd recalled.

鈥淚t was a bit of a shock when it happened, I was dumbstruck by it… people could see from the outside that I was juggling two lives.鈥�

Kidd came out at the beginning of the 1980s when he was living in NSW, before homosexuality was decriminalised in the state in 1984.

鈥淭here had been a great social revolution but there were still laws that hung over gay men,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 can remember wandering through the streets of Paddington with my boyfriend at the time, talking about the fact that homosexuality was going to be decriminalised the next day.

鈥淗e said 鈥榣et鈥檚 go home and do it one last time before it鈥檚 legal鈥�.鈥�

When Kidd came out, he wasn鈥檛 met with much negativity. However, being gay wasn鈥檛 the only struggle he faced.

Around the same time that law reform was moving through NSW, Kidd acquired HIV, although he wasn鈥檛 diagnosed until August 1991.

When HIV tests first came out he was dissuaded from taking one by his doctor, who was worried that the government would seize Kidd鈥檚 file and have him quarantined.

When he learned he was HIV-positive, the first person he told was his boyfriend at the time.

鈥淗e left me that day. He literally packed his bags and left,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t was a terrible moment, but I had an obligation to tell him.

鈥淓ven in 鈥�91 it was a terribly scary thing to confront… in retrospect I鈥檓 glad he left.鈥�

Kidd only told one or two more people over the following year, when people were being diagnosed at a rapid rate.

鈥淚 was living in inner-Sydney and people were dying every day,鈥� he recalled.

鈥淵ou鈥檇 pick up the Sydney 17c起草社区 [the former name of 17c起草社区] and there would be pages of obituaries, and every week I鈥檇 see someone I knew.鈥�

As Kidd grew more comfortable disclosing his status to other people, he became a more active part of the gay community united against HIV.

鈥淚 felt like I had an obligation to speak up as a HIV-positive person because we lived in a community united in anger against the virus,鈥� he said.

鈥淚n some ways it was the default position. Everyone was an activist on some level.鈥�

The culture around revealing one鈥檚 HIV status has changed in recent years, with initiatives like the Disclosure Project helping HIV-positive people share their experiences in an online community.

As an ENUF ambassador for Living Positive Victoria, Kidd has been working to reduce the stigma around HIV and the stigma that surrounds things like disclosure.

鈥淪ome of the stuff that鈥檚 been done in the last few years has helped the conversation shift from how you can protect your confidentiality to how you can safely disclose your status,鈥� he said.

鈥淪tigma goes very deep and people have deep-rooted ideas about what HIV is, but a lot has gotten easier.鈥�

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**This article was first published in the of the 17c起草社区, which is available now. To obtain a copy, to find out where you can grab one in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and select regional/coastal areas.聽

Read聽the December edition聽of the 17c起草社区 in digital format:

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