ÐÓ°ÉÐÔ°É

Alicia Anderson has never shied away from sharing her HIV diagnosis. Eighteen years ago, shortly after learning of her status, she confided in a young man who had shown interest in her. For Anderson, honesty was non-negotiable--anyone pursuing a relationship with her had to know the truth.

One day, after repeatedly trying to reach him by phone with no success, she decided to go to a location where she knew he would be. When she called again in his presence, she glanced at his phone--and what she saw stunned her.

"When I looked at his phone he saved my number as 'AIDS Girl'. That was the last day I spoke to him," she said.

Similarly, she still remembers a mean comment that was directed at her years ago.

"Someone in the medical field told me that if I should come to the house bleach would always have to be there and we couldn't eat out the same pot and the plate would have to wash separately," she told THE STAR.

Anderson was diagnosed with the virus in 2007 at the age of 24. She said she contracted HIV from one of three men who all claimed that they were negative once she informed them of her status.

"When I was 23, I met guy number one and I wasn't interested because he had a babymother. A year later we exchanged numbers again and we met up in the night, had some drinks and we ended up having unprotected sex. I ended up cutting him off because we did not date or anything because the only time he wanted to see me was when he needed me to open my legs," she said.

Over several months, she had sexual encounters with three men, all of whom, she later learnt, worked for the same company. As 2006 came to a close, she started experiencing troubling symptoms.

"I was literally used to men having hardcore sex with me so I remember I felt like my inside was coming out on my outside. In 2007, I was now speaking to the third guy and I noticed a big tear down there and it wouldn't heal so I ended up going to the doctor. The lump that was there was healed though. I ended up going to the gynae and some abnormalities were discovered on the pap smear but it was nothing to worry about," she said.

After ending her relationship with the third man, Anderson decided to get tested for HIV. To her relief, the results came back negative. But just weeks later, while undergoing a routine medical check for an insurance policy, her world was shattered.

"I remember the end of April I saw several missed calls on my phone from the insurance company and I didn't return them because I was wondering why my godfather who sold the policy didn't call me from his cell phone. One day I got a call from the medical place that they were trying to contact me and told me to come in the following day. I kept praying that it wasn't cancer," she said.

Instead, the devastating news she received was that she had tested positive for HIV. She spiralled into despair, confused about how her status had changed so drastically in such a short time - until she was educated about the "window period," a time shortly after infection when the virus may not show up on standard tests.

She later informed all three men about her diag-nosis.

"All three of them come back and said their test results were negative. The third guy is no longer in the land of living ... The other two are still alive but I am not in contact with them," she said.

Fast forward to 2025 and the 42-year-old says she has been working as a peer counsellor since her diagnosis and is using her experience with the virus to change lives. She also shares her journey through her book called HIV, My Journey through Grace. It is estimated that 32,000 persons are living with HIV and as many as 50 per cent are unaware of their status.

Anderson got married to a man she describes as her rock in 2015. Her partner does not have HIV. She believes that although there are numerous campaigns that promote safe sex, people are not applying what they hear.

"The music industry and so on is helping to push the whole promiscuous behaviour. There are also persons who are living with the virus and go around and messing up peoples' lives. It's hard work and no matter how you tell people to go and get tested and be careful, people are going to want what they want," she said.