Terrence Higgins Trust is a British charity that campaigns about and provides services relating to HIV and sexual health. In particular, the charity aims to end the transmission of HIV in the UK; to support and empower people living with HIV, to eradicate stigma and discrimination around HIV, and to promote good sexual health (including safe sex).
The Trust is generally considered the UK's leading HIV and AIDS charity,[5] and the largest in Europe.[6] It was also the lead organisation for Public Health England's HIV prevention partnership HIV Prevention England.[7]
History
Established in 1982, Terrence Higgins Trust was the first charity in the UK to be set up in response to HIV and AIDS.[8] It was initially named Terry Higgins Trust,[9] after Terry Higgins, who died aged 37 on 4 July 1982 at St Thomas' Hospital, London. He was among the first people in the UK known to have died from the AIDS virus, which was only identified the previous year.[citation needed]Princess Margaret was an early prominent patron, becoming the first member of the royal family to publicly associate themselves with a charity focusing on AIDS and sexual health.
Terry's close friends Martyn Butler, Tony Harris-Calvert and Terry's partner Rupert Whitaker along with other friends started the Trust to raise funds for research as a way of preventing suffering due to AIDS. Shortly, with the generation of a groundswell of support for the organisation at a meeting at Red Lion Square, Tony Whitehead and others joined the group and formally founded the organisation and saw it through registration as a charity to provide direct services to those affected by HIV.[citation needed]
The trust was named after Terry to personalise and humanise the issue of AIDS. It was formalised in August 1983 when it adopted a constitution and opened a bank account, and the name of the trust was changed (Terrence rather than Terry) to sound more formal. It incorporated as a limited company in November 1983 and gained charitable status in January 1984.
Since its inception 12 years ago, most of its fund-raising events have been hip and low-key affairs, from its first disco at the London club Heaven to gala screenings of Dracula and the comedy shows Hysteria and Filth...[10]
Hysteria 1 was a comedy benefit for Terrence Higgins Trust, produced by Stephen Fry.[11]
Hysteria 2, on 18 September 1989 at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, benefited Terrence Higgins Trust.[12] It was produced by Stephen Fry and broadcast on Channel 4, with a telethon.[11]
Hysteria 3, at the London Palladium on Sunday, 30 June 1991, benefited Terrence Higgins Trust.[13] Stephen Fry hosted, with Steven Wright, Hugh Laurie, Elton John, Ruby Wax, Rowan Atkinson, Eddie Izzard, Craig Ferguson, Lenny Henry, Julian Clary, Josie Lawrence, Jools Holland, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Ian McKellen, Edwin Starr, Clement Freud, Beverly Craven, Ben Elton, and Tony Slattery.[14][citation needed]
The charity received almost a million pounds in donations over the Christmas of 1991, with the proceeds of Queen's re-released chart-topper "Bohemian Rhapsody" going entirely to the charity, following the recent AIDS-related death of lead singer Freddie Mercury.[15] After being diagnosed as HIV positive in 1987, Mercury had been concerned that financial support should be available to those less fortunate than himself.
Lisa Power, former corporate head of policy at the Terrence Higgins Trust, denounced the views of Pope Benedict XVI on the use of condoms to prevent AIDS and said: "We deeply regret the continued misinformation around condoms, which remain the most effective way of preventing the spread of HIV."[16]
In August 2015 first-team players from Hull Kingston Rovers teamed up with 1980s band Erasure to record a charity version of the band's single "A Little Respect", with a third of the proceeds going to the trust.[17]
People
Activist Nick Partridge, who joined the Trust in 1985, was its chief executive until 2013.[5] Ian Green was the charity's Chief Executive from 2016 to 2023. Richard Angell became CEO on 1 March 2023.
Safe sex is sexual activity using methods or contraceptive devices to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. "Safe sex" is also sometimes referred to as safer sex or protected sex to indicate that some safe sex practices do not eliminate STI risks. It is also sometimes used colloquially to describe methods aimed at preventing pregnancy that may or may not also lower STI risks.
Terrence Lionel Seymour Higgins was among the first people known to die of an AIDS-related illness in the United Kingdom.
The Masturbate-a-thon is an event in which participants masturbate to raise money for charity and increase the public awareness and dispel the shame and taboos that exist about this form of sexual activity. From 1998 to 2003, the Masturbate-a-thon raised around $25,000 for women's health initiatives and HIV prevention, education and treatment organizations, and has contributed to debates about safer sex and alternative safe methods of sexual expression. The event awards several honors for those who raise the most money as well as for multiple orgasms and endurance.
CHAPS is a partnership of UK gay men's health promotion organisations. It is currently funded to operate in England and Wales by the Department of Health and is administered by Terrence Higgins Trust.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation(EJAF) is a nonprofit organization, established by musician Sir Elton John in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the United Kingdom to support innovative HIV prevention, education programs, direct care and support services to people living with or at risk of HIV. It has raised over $565 million to support HIV-related programs across ninety countries.
Gay Man's Guide to Safer Sex is a safer sex instructional documentary produced by Mike Esser and Tony Carne of Pride Video in association with the Terrence Higgins Trust in 1992. The film was directed by David Lewis and featured a soundtrack by John Balance and Peter Christopherson of Coil. The medical information included in the film is presented by Mike Youle, a British doctor specialising in HIV treatment. In 1997 a sequel was released, directed by Robert Falconer. Gay Man's Guide to Safer Sex '97 featured a radical recut of some of the original scenes asking the British Board of Film Classification to look again at what was permissible and becoming one of the first programmes to discuss the breakthrough of Triple Combination Therapy and the ramifications and personal experiences of living with HIV. The medical information and discussion was again led by Mike Youle. The 1997 film was released on retail video in the UK, Australia and USA and later on DVD. It is still in distribution on DVD.
AIDS was first diagnosed in 1981. As of year-end 2018, 160,493 people have been diagnosed with HIV in the United Kingdom and an estimated 7,500 people are living undiagnosed with HIV. New diagnoses are highest in gay/bisexual men, with an estimated 51% of new diagnosis reporting male same-sex sexual activity as the probable route of infection. Between 2009 and 2018 there was a 32% reduction in new HIV diagnosis, attributed by Public Health England (PHE) to better surveillance and education. PHE has described an "outbreak" in Glasgow amongst people who inject drugs, and has campaigns targeting men who have sex with men in London and other major cities. London was the first city in the world to reach the World Health Organization target for HIV, set at 90% of those with HIV diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed on HAART and 90% of those on HAART undetectable. The UK as a whole later achieved the same target. Under the Equality Act 2010, it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on their HIV status in the UK.
CRUSAID was a British charity that provided financial assistance during the AIDS epidemic to institutions and to people suffering from HIV/AIDS. In 1996, the charity had close to £11 million in assets
Switchboard is the second-oldest LGBT+ telephone helpline in the United Kingdom, launched the day after Edinburgh Befrienders.
The Catholic Church is a major provider of medical care to HIV/AIDS patients. Much of its work takes place in developing countries, although it has also had a presence in the global north. Its opposition to condoms, despite their effectiveness in preventing the spread of HIV, has invited criticism from public health officials and anti-AIDS activists.
The National AIDS Trust is a United Kingdom charity with the purpose to stand alongside and defend the rights of everyone living with, affected by or at risk of HIV. Its expertise, research and advocacy secure lasting change to the lives of people living with and at risk of HIV. The charity's key strategic goals are:
Rupert Edward David Whitaker is a British psychiatrist, immunologist, and patient advocate. He is one of Europe's longest-surviving people with HIV, having contracted the disease in 1981. Following the death of his partner, Terrence Higgins, from AIDS in 1982, he co-founded the Terrence Higgins Trust, a charity set up to provide services for people with HIV. In 2007, he founded the Tuke Institute, an international organisation researching the health-effectiveness of medical services.
Lisa Power MBE is a British sexual health and LGBT rights campaigner. She was a volunteer for Lesbian & Gay Switchboard and Secretary General of the International Lesbian and Gay Association. She co-founded the Pink Paper and Stonewall, later becoming Policy Director at the Terrence Higgins Trust. She was the first openly LGBT person to speak at the United Nations and continues to work and volunteer as an LGBT+ and sexual health activist in Wales with groups such as Fast Track Cymru and Pride Cymru.
Multiple sex partners (MSP) is the measure and incidence of engaging in sexual activities with two or more people within a specific time period. Sexual activity with MSP can happen simultaneously or serially. MSP includes sexual activity between people of a different gender or the same gender.
56 Dean Street, based in Dean Street in London's Soho district, is a sexual health clinic. Part of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It also has a second branch, Dean Street Express, located at 34 Dean Street, which offers a sexual disease testing service. As of 2017, the clinic was the largest HIV clinic in Europe. In addition to its specialism in HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, it also offers general sexual health care services, including contraception. The clinic also runs TransPlus - the UK’s first integrated NHS gender dysphoria, sexual health, and HIV service.
Margaret Denise Portman was a British medical doctor who specialised in sexual health. She was an advocate for pre-exposure prophylaxis medication (PrEP) to prevent new HIV cases.
Stephen Fry's 'Live From The Lighthouse' was a charity fundraiser hosted by Stephen Fry on World AIDS Day in 1998, which took over Channel 4 for an evening of comedy and music to raise money for the Terrence Higgins Trust. Hosted by Stephen Fry with Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, the night included performances from Elton John, Victoria Wood, Noel Gallagher, Boy George, All Saints, and many more.
Scottish AIDS Monitor (SAM) was a Scottish HIV and AIDS awareness organisation that was active between 1983 and 1996.
Project for HIV and AIDS Care and Education (PHACE) West was Scottish HIV and AIDS awareness organisation that was active in the West of Scotland between 1995 and 2006.
London Lighthouse was a centre for people with HIV/AIDS. It was the world's largest centre for people living with HIV when it opened, and helped pioneer a patient-centred approach in HIV care, and housed a residential unit, as well as day-care and drop-in centre facilities.
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