There’s still no cure for HIV. But it is getting easier to live with the virus that can cause AIDS. Nevertheless, the younger generation of people with HIV sometimes encounter ignorance and prejudice, especially in the workplace. The Netherlands is not always as progressive as it might seem, argues the Dutch HIV Association.

On the TV screen in an Amsterdam gay bar, disco diva Gloria Gaynor belts out “I Will Survive”. It’s Saturday evening, only a few more days to go until 1 December, World AIDS Day. Gradually the bar fills up with customers, many of them from other countries. Twenty-two year-old Alan from Hong Kong is on his first trip to Amsterdam. “I’m looking forward to a fun weekend. And if that involves sex, then it’ll be safe sex.”

For him, HIV is not really a topic of conversation. “I find it difficult to bring the subject up. Which is why I think it’s best to always have safe sex.” Other men also say they take precautions, unless they know more about their sexual partner’s background.

One mistake
But that is not always a smart choice. Figures recently published by HIV Monitoring show that the number of new cases of HIV in the Netherlands is once again on the rise. Ignorance and nonchalance play a part in this increase. HIV no longer automatically leads to a life-threatening illness. Even though many people with HIV do suffer from the side effects of the medicines that keep the virus in check and prevent it leading to AIDS.

Robin Irwin (27) has been HIV-positive for five years. He attributes his status to a moment when he let his guard down.

“I was having a really good time on a date and I decided to have sex without a condom, because I trusted the guy. That’s often the way it goes. In the heat of the moment, I didn’t raise the issue. That was my only mistake.”

Robin is now on medication. He takes his pills and, like the majority of people with HIV, he is able to lead a normal life. But according to Ronald Brands of the Dutch HIV Association, this is a fact of which employers are often not aware.

Keeping quiet
Officially, Dutch employers are not allowed to ask employees about their HIV status. Mr Brands thinks that people with HIV should think twice before voluntarily baring their souls in a job interview:

“People often think that here in the Netherlands we are so progressive that you should be able to talk openly about HIV. In their naivety, they assume that society is more forward-thinking than it actually is. When employers hear the term HIV their first thought is how much it will cost them in sick leave.”

Often the person conducting the interview is from an older generation, one that grew up with the nightmare scenario of HIV leading inevitably to AIDS and death. Ronald Brands advises job applicants to keep quiet about their HIV status. Even company doctors cannot always be trusted. “Unfortunately they don’t always stick to their oath of confidentiality,” he warns.

Testing the employer
The Dutch HIV Association launched a new website this week, aimed at dispelling the myths surrounding HIV and work. Positief Werkt [Positive Works] contains information for employees and employers alike. Robin, who is currently out of work, reckons the website is not for him. “I work on a project basis as a chemical lab analyst. When I go for a job, I always make a point of telling them I’m HIV positive.” He does so to test whether the employer is someone he wants to work for:

“If the interviewer starts asking all kinds of strange questions, then I know it’s not the kind of place where I want to work.”

I will survive
Robin is determined not to let his HIV status hold him back: not in his sex life and not in his work. For him, that’s how to live with HIV in 2010. He acknowledges that he sometimes has problems with the side effects of his medicine. “But I believe it’s important for me to always stay positive. In every sense of the word,” he laughs.

Robin will survive. Just like the other gay men in the Amsterdam bar where HIV was once a death sentence but now barely registers as a topic of conversation. They drink, flirt and dance to the soundtrack of Gloria Gaynor: “Did you think I’d crumble? Did you think I’d lay down and die? Oh no, not I … I will survive …”