The Denver Principles

I read another interesting aritcle on the early day of HIV/AIDS and the people who have actively helped to bring about change. I have included a small portion of that article written by By Mark S. King here, as it impressed me.

It was 1983. Just a year prior, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome became the fearful nameplate for the murderer of gay friends and lovers. The virus that caused it, HIV, had only been identified a few months earlier. Amidst this atmosphere of unremitting grief and fear, a group of activists met in Denver as part of a gay and lesbian health conference. Among them, a dozen men with AIDS. They were about to do something that would change our response to AIDS -- and health care in general -- forever.

As the conference drew to a close, the activists asked to address the attendees. Rather than having a report presented about the state of the AIDS crisis, they wanted to speak for themselves. If the word "empowerment" hadn't yet been a part of the health care lexicon, it was about to be.

The group took turns reading a document to the conference they had just created themselves, during hours sitting in a hospitality suite of the hotel. It was their Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence rolled into one. It would be known as The Denver Principles, and it began like this:

"We condemn attempts to label us as 'victims,' which implies defeat, and we are only occasionally 'patients,' which implies passivity, helplessness, and dependence upon the care of others. We are 'people with AIDS.'"

A full copy of The Denver Priciples can be found here: http://www.actupny.org/documents/Denver.html

In the 27 years since these principles were first introduced, many of these principles have become common practices, and they have provided a foundation for progress in treating people with HIV/AIDS with respect and humanity. We have come so far, but there is still much to do….