The stigma of a diagnosis is more responsible for people’s deaths, by keeping them from seeking support and treatment, than HIV itself, activists promoting testing for the virus have told Times of Malta. 

On Saturday, artist Emma Grima, in collaboration with the NGO Checkpoint Malta, lined up over 600 HIV self-testing kits and stuck them on the LOVE monument in St Julian’s. 

The installation was designed to pique the public’s curiosity in a bid to encourage more people to get tested for HIV as part of European Testing Week - a pan-European initiative that ramps up campaigning for public awareness of HIV and other sexually transmitted infection testing. 

Passers-by are free to pluck a box from the installation. Inside they will find a card and a sticker with information on how to get tested and how to find support. 

The tests themselves could not be left in the boxes, as they do not remain stable in high temperatures. The NGO kept the tests and will use them in its free monthly testing programme. 

Checkpoint Malta Secretary Jackie Roberts said that when it comes to testing, some are so paralysed by the fear of what a positive diagnosis of HIV would mean for them and how it can change their lives, that they put off doing it due to the stigma. 

“Just going to get tested is challenging the stigma. And that's what we have to get rid of. It's the stigma that's killing people, not HIV because we have antiretrovirals to treat it,” she said. 

“We have to persuade them that their life isn't going to change. They're not going to die, they will be able to go on to live a full and happy and long life with all kinds of possibilities, but they need to know their status they need to get treated.” 

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Early testing, she added, is crucial to getting people the treatment they need. Generally, when people stick to their treatment, the viral load eventually becomes undetectable in their bodies, which means it cannot be transmitted to others. 

“You're never cured of HIV, you still have to take antiretrovirals, but it means you cannot transmit HIV to sexual partners, whether you use a condom or not,” Roberts said. 

Amidst high transmission rates in the country, Roberts also said that Maltese Health Authorities must update their sexual health policies and also provide PrEP and PEP for free. 

PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a medication that can be taken to prevent getting HIV prior to an encounter while PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) can be taken to prevent infection after potentially having been exposed to the virus. 

“The hundreds of people that we test on our program, the majority of whom aren't on PrEP, say that they would take it if it was free. And that makes a huge difference to the transmission rates,” Roberts said. 

“And this is people taking responsibility for their own health and for public health. They're being denied the ability to do that because of cost.”

And while stigma can prevent people from seeking treatment, for those who already have a diagnosis, the situation can also be very isolating, with many still afraid to speak out about it. 

Artist Emma Grima said that the installation as well as the ‘We are positive’ campaign came about after a focus group with people living with HIV vocalised the depth of the loneliness that comes with it. 

“We realised that the most important thing is to humanise HIV and to build a community for the people people who live with it because as of yet, it is so stigmatised that there is no space where people can meet and come together,” she said. 

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Part of the reason Grima chose to build the installation around the LOVE monument is because of the role love has played in the history of people living with the virus and how the LGBTIQ community pulled its love together and took care of itself in the face of an utter lack of response from authorities, particularly during the 80s. 

Ultimately, Grima hopes the installation helps people start a conversation around HIV they might not have had otherwise. 

“I want to get people curious and talking and questioning and thinking that, yes, maybe they should go and get a test,” she said. 

During European Testing Week, which runs from May 20-27, Checkpoint Malta will be organising a testing session at the LGBTIQ+ HUB in Paola on Thursday, May 23, between 5 and 8 pm. Those interested in making an appointment can secure a booking by emailing testing@checkpoint.mt