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HIV Activism in Greater Manchester
1981
The first cases of a mysterious illness in the USA that seems to be affecting gay men are reported in the British press.
1982
This collection of illnesses is named AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). The first AIDS-related deaths are reported in the UK, mainly in London.
1983
Mancunian Gay magazine publishes an article in its February edition titled ‘The New Threat to Our Lifestyle – Analysing the AID syndrome.’
1984
Local gay activists organise a public meeting above the Thompsons Arms pub to discuss the threat of AIDS to the city’s gay community.
1985
Manchester City Council appoints two Gay Men's Officers and two Lesbians' Officers and sets up an AIDS Working Party. HIV testing becomes available in the UK.
1985
Roger Youd, a 29-year-old man living with HIV is held against his will at the Monsall Hospital in North Manchester, as a public health risk. The story gains national attention and highlights discriminatory health legislation put in place by the government.
1985
Six gay men set up Manchester AIDSline, a voluntary-run helpline. They rent a small office on Portland Street and operate with a grant from the council.
1986
The virus which causes AIDS is named HIV (Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus).
1986
Body Positive North West is set up as part of Manchester AIDSline, offering a self-help group for people affected by HIV.
1986
Chief Constable James Anderton states that gay people are “swirling about in a human cesspit of their own making” at an event by Greater Manchester Police to discuss how to deal with AIDS.
1987
The UK Government launches its Don’t Die of Ignorance public health campaign, in response to rising cases of HIV/AIDS in the UK. Leaflets are delivered to every house in the country and a TV advert spreads fear and stigma.
1988
Over 20,000 people march through central Manchester to protest anti-gay legislation brought in by the Conservative government known as Section 28.
1990
The Black HIV and AIDS Forum (now BHA for Equality) is set up to combat health inequalities and provide support to black and minority ethnic communities in Manchester affected by HIV.
1990
Increased knowledge of HIV leads to a focus on sexual health campaigns to prevent transmission of the virus. MESMAC Manchester is formed to promote safer sex in the gay community.
1991
Activists from ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) organise a boycott in protest of Texaco’s policy of compulsory HIV tests for employees. In March, ACT UP Manchester picket Texaco petrol stations on Stockport Road and Wilmslow Road.
1991
A group of MESMAC volunteers starts what later becomes MASH (Manchester Action on Street Health), offering practical support and sexual health services to sex workers in the city.
1992
Manchester AIDSline continues expanding its offer and becomes George House Trust. Body Positive North West opens its own premises.
1993
ACT UP Manchester and George House Trust stage a protest against government cuts to HIV services during Health Secretary Virginia Bottomley’s visit to Manchester.
1994
Healthy Gay Manchester (HGM) is launched, offering a more direct and locally-focused approach to HIV prevention among gay and bisexual men. Over August bank holiday they distributed 24,000 packs of condoms and lube in the city.
1994
Estimates of the number of people living with HIV are produced. At the end of the year, 23,000 people are believed to be living with HIV in the UK.
1996
Major medical advances in treating AIDS are announced at the 11th World AIDS Conference in Vancouver. Effective treatments are proven to protect the immune systems of people with the HIV virus. Over the coming years, new AIDS diagnoses and AIDS-related deaths begin to fall dramatically.
2000
Healthy Gay Manchester merges with the Manchester Lesbian and Gay Switchboard to become the Lesbian and Gay Foundation (now LGBT Foundation).
2000
The Beacon of Hope sculpture is erected in Sackville Gardens to commemorate those who lost their lives to HIV and AIDS. It is the first permanent memorial of its kind in the UK.
2002
The Black HIV and AIDS Forum is relaunched as the Black Health Agency (now BHA for Equality).
2004
The Blue Room offers male sex workers in Manchester support with issues such as sexual health and substance misuse. Initially a project by Theatre in Prisons and Probation and the Lesbian and Gay Foundation it later becomes an arts and social change charity. It now operates as Our Room, supporting male, trans and non-binary sex workers.
2016
Researchers and activists launch Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U), now a global movement endorsed by the scientific community. U=U states that a person with undetectable levels of the HIV virus cannot pass on HIV to their sexual partners. The following year the British HIV Association (BHIVA) comes out in support of U=U.
2017
The PaSH (Passionate about Sexual Health) partnership launches, with BHA for Equality, George House Trust and the LGBT Foundation working together to deliver integrated HIV prevention, support and sexual health services across Greater Manchester.
2020
The UK government announces that PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) - a drug that prevents HIV transmission - will be made available on the NHS in England to people at high risk of getting the virus. The move follows years of activism and campaigning for access to PrEP.
2022
Greater Manchester exceeds the global 95‑95-95 targets set by UNAIDS. It is estimated that 95% of people living with HIV have been diagnosed, of whom 97% are on treatment and 97.3% of those on treatment are virally suppressed.
2025
During National HIV Testing Week in February, Sir Keir Starmer becomes the first serving prime minister to publicly take an HIV test.
