Here are 10 things YOU can do to support Sophia Forum’s work:
For yourself
1. Read up on women and HIV on the Sophia Forum website.
2. If you are a woman living with HIV and would like to get involved in our work, advocacy network or other activities, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
3. Remember that HIV can affect anyone. Consider getting an HIV test or learning more about HIV prevention, and share your knowledge with people in your networks.
In your home, workplace and with your friends
4. Talk with ten friends, workplace colleagues or family members about HIV, to help us overcome negative beliefs, attitudes and practices towards HIV. Encourage them to support Sophia Forum and find out more about what we do and how they can get involved.
5. Challenge all forms of gender inequality, racism, transphobia and other forms of social, economic, political and legal injustice in relation to women, what happens to their bodies and their lives – these injustices are all inter-connected and exacerbate the effects of HIV.
6. Write or suggest an article in your in-house or community magazine about how HIV affects women in your sector, either in the UK or around the world – feel free to contact Sophia Forum to help with the background information for the article.
7. At work, encourage your HR team to conduct a policy review, if it hasn’t already done so, to confront both institutional strategies and individual behaviours that might increase HIV stigma and discrimination in the workplace, and ensure they provide full support for people living with HIV.
Across the UK
8. Ask for our help to invite a woman living with HIV to come and speak to your work colleagues, or to your faith or other community group.
9. Find out what your local HIV charity is doing to address women and HIV specifically. Put them in touch with Sophia Forum if they don’t know about us.
No time?
10. If you just have no free time but would like to help somehow, fundraising or donating money can facilitate in many different ways. We are always grateful for any donation, which all goes directly to supporting our work for women living with HIV. You can donate to us via PayPal here.