FRANÇAIS PRINT-READY PDF TABLE OF CONTENTS PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE RELATED LINKS Managing Your Health, 1999 edition Life After Diagnosis
Sexual partners and people you share needles with
Discussing your HIV status with someone you're having sex with is a very different issue from telling someone in order to receive support. It can be hard to decide whether and when to tell that person. Do you tell someone as soon as you meet him or her, or do you wait until you're going to have sex? Does it make a difference whether this is a one-night stand or an ongoing relationship? What if prostitution is how you make your living?
Some people say you should tell anyone you're having sex or shooting drugs with. Other people say you don't have to if you're practising safer sex and using needles safely. This is something you'll have to think about. Talking about it with other people who are HIV positive may help you make up your mind.
You might consider contacting people who you have had unsafe sex with, or anyone you've shared needles unsafely with, so that they can decide whether they want to be tested or not. Unless you were tested anonymously, if you've just recently
tested HIV positive you may be contacted by your local public health office and asked to give the names of recent sexual partners or people you've shared needles with. A counsellor at your nearest AIDS group can help you figure out who needs to know and may be able to give you suggestions about how to deal with the public health office.
There have been a couple of legal cases where people who knew they were HIV positive have been taken to court for infecting another person through unsafe sex. The law in this area keeps changing. Sometimes people are afraid to talk about their HIV status or safer sex because of how other people may react. This fear can make a lot of sense, especially if you're worried about rejection or violence.
No one should ever push you into sex that you don't want. If you need advice on how to get your partner(s) to have safer sex, or if you have fears about your relationship or safety, talk to someone at your nearest AIDS group. There are sections on sexually transmitted diseases and safer sex in Chapter 7. You can also get information on safer sex from your nearest AIDS group or public health office. You (or you and your partner[s]) may also want to talk about sex with a counsellor. Counsellors are available at most AIDS groups.
Remember, deciding who you're going to tell is up to you. | 
