Disclosing Your Disclosure
HIV-positive people must repeatedly decide whether to disclose their HIV status. Whether it’s to a friend (old or new), potential lover, health care provider, coworker or family member, revealing that you are positive can raise some questions—no matter who you are or to whom you’re disclosing. POZ asks you—our HIV-positive readers—to dish to us about your disclosures and how they’ve affected your lives and the lives of those around you.
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Are you HIV positive?
8
Has disclosure gotten easier the more you’ve done it?
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How long after your HIV diagnosis did you first disclose your status to someone?
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Do you believe the manner in which you disclose influences how someone reacts?
❑ Yes
❑ No
❑ I told someone immediately ❑ Days ❑ Weeks ❑ Months ❑ Years ❑ I have yet to disclose my status to anyone (skip question 3) 3
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❑ Yes 10
To whom did you first disclose your status?
❑ My HIV doctor ❑ Lover/partner ❑ Mother ❑ Sibling ❑ Close friend
❑ My general practitioner ❑ Past lover/partner ❑ Father ❑ Other relative ❑ Other (please explain): __________
What factors influence your decision to disclose? (Check all that apply.)
❑ I believe the people around me deserve to know ❑ Keeping my HIV status a secret negatively affects my health ❑ Seeing people comfortable with my HIV status helps me
11
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6
7
❑ Never
13
What is your gender?
14
What is your sexual orientation?
15
What is your ethnicity? (Check all that apply.)
16
Highest level of education attained?
17
What is your ZIP code? ________________
❑ No
❑ We engaged in sexual activities that have a low risk of transmission
❑ I was afraid the other person would reject me if he/she knew I was HIV positive
❑ I didn’t want to be sexually inhibited by my HIV status
❑ Sometimes
What year were you born? _____
❑ No
If you have had unprotected sex without revealing your HIV status, why? (Check all that apply.)
❑ No
12
Have you ever had sex with someone without disclosing?
❑ Yes
❑ No
If someone negatively reacts at first to your disclosure, how often does that person eventually change his or her attitude?
❑ Always
Do you feel obligated to reveal your status to a potential sexual partner?
❑ Yes
❑ No
Do you believe there’s a measurable link between disclosing your status and improving your overall health and well-being?
❑ Yes
feel more comfortable with it
❑ It gives me a chance to educate others about HIV/AIDS ❑ I’m afraid people might learn my status from someone else ❑ I want to give people an opportunity to help me ❑ I worry about breaking the law and ending up in jail or prison ❑ I need emotional help/support ❑ I need financial help/support
❑ Yes
❑ Male ❑ Transgender ❑ Straight ❑ Bisexual
❑ Female ❑ Other
❑ Gay/lesbian ❑ Other
❑ American Indian or Alaska Native ❑ Arab or Middle Eastern ❑ Asian ❑ Black or African American ❑ Hispanic or Latino ❑ Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander ❑ White ❑ Other (please specify): ________________ ❑ Some high school ❑ High school graduate ❑ Some college or associate’s degree ❑ Bachelor’s degree or higher
Please fill out this confidential survey at poz.com/survey or mail it to: Smart + Strong, ATTN: POZ Survey #170, 462 Seventh Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10018-7424