Sheen, Stigma and the South

There will continue to be much commentary over Charlie Sheen’s interview with The Today Show’s Matt Laurer in which Sheen disclosed that he is HIV positive. Others will likely expand upon problematic elements of the interview. 

Charlie Sheen (r.) speaks to The Today Show's Matt Laurer on Nov. 17. 

I was drawn to a positive moment where Lauer named stigma as a barrier toward care for those living with HIV. 

“And when you say shame in that, the stigma that is attached to this diagnosis is one of the worst parts about it. People don't take action, they don't get help because of that stigma.”

You can watch this moment, and Sheen’s response in the first segment of the interview shortly after the seven-minute mark.

Stigma is a very real barrier to accessing medication and care for many HIV-positive North Carolinians. The stigma of both a HIV diagnosis and association with the gay community prevents people from not only getting tested, but also sharing their diagnosis with family and friends. In turn, this thwarts building the support system necessary to best manage the disease and its consequences.

This stigma has an even greater impact in the American South. Recent research from Duke University Law School shows that poverty rates, lack of education, and social stigma in the south have had the compounding effect of increasing death rates of those diagnosed with HIV and AIDS.

Our community know what works to end this epidemic. Comprehensive sex education in public schools, closing the coverage gap to make sure all North Carolinians have access to medical care and continuing to fully fund programs like the AIDS Drug Assistance Program can put our state on a positive path to end transmission of HIV in our lifetime.

In the meantime, we thank Charlie Sheen for sharing his story, as well as Matt Lauer for recognizing the impact stigma had in preventing Sheen and so many others from coming forward sooner.

Lee Storrow is Executive Director of the North Carolina AIDS Action Network.

NC AIDS Action Network will host a timely conversation on the impact of HIV/AIDS stigma in Durham this Thursday, Nov. 19. Email quinton@ncaan.org to RSVP and for more details.