Their Story Their Voice
Their Story Their Voice
Princess Diana's Act of Kindness: Changing the Stigma of AIDS
This mini episode I am turning the spotlight on an iconic figure who redefined compassion in the public eye — Princess Diana.
As we approached the anniversary of her passing, I spent some time reflecting on her legacy and a particular act of kindness that still resonates deeply today. In this episode, we journey back to February 1989, and explore how a simple yet monumental gesture transcended borders and brought comfort and dignity to those suffering from the disease.
Show notes:
https://www.mildmay.org/post/honouring-diana-princess-of-wales-at-mildmay-hospital
https://www.mildmay.org/1980s-rebirth-of-mildmay
https://www.tht.org.uk/news/how-princess-diana-challenged-hiv-stigma-every-hug
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/31/we-were-so-scared-four-people-who-faced-the-horror-of-aids-in-the-80s
https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/why-the-hiv-epidemic-is-not-over
https://www.who.int/images/default-source/departments/hiv/who-hiv-timeline-1983-2023.png?sfvrsn=cc9e3082_5
Music by:
(Neffex - A year ago)
(Neffex - dont want to let myself go)
Hi, hi, hi. So this is a mini episode, just me, because I want to try something new. I realised that I always end an episode with, be kind to others, and most importantly, be kind to yourself. I realised my goal was always to feature a guest who had shown kindness and love in spite of any challenges they'd been through. So I want to, once a week, it will be very short, hopefully under 10 minutes max, I wanted to highlight iconic acts of kindness throughout history that have positively impacted society. The person I've chosen this week is Princess Diana. Her anniversary came up on the 31st of August, and I don't know why that made me start looking into things she'd done. Obviously, I know about Princess Diana. I live in the United Kingdom. Princess Diana, I realised, did all of these amazing, iconic acts of kindness during her lifetime because the more I read the more I realized how many things she did. However, I can only choose one and I've chosen this one because it just stood out to me and it just filled my heart with joy so I'm going to get to it. In February 1989, Princess Diana visited MildMay Mission Hospital in London, in East London, the hospital opened its doors to HIV and AIDS patients at the height of the epidemic. During this time that those infected with the virus faced intense stigma from their friends, from their family, pretty much from everyone. The UK government's response to the time, did not assist with the fear added to it because prior to what we now know as HIV and AIDS and now we obviously know it's infection that affects your immune system. So the government's response at the time, when we did not know this, was to call it gay related immune deficiency, which obviously did not help the misunderstanding that was going on during the 80s and the 90s. at the peak of the virus in the UK. You had 1, 531 people who died and globally, because I had to see what the World Health Organization reported, they reported that 42. 3 million people worldwide lost their lives to this virus. During her visit to the hospital, she did something extraordinary. In front of the cameras, and obviously everyone else who was there. And this was Princess Diana, so there were cameras there. This was being filmed, and then broadcast worldwide. And in front of the cameras, during her visit, she went round and shook hands with some of the patients and said, HIV does not make people dangerous to know. You can shake their hands and give them a hug. Heaven knows they need it. And the reason I thought this was such an iconic act of kindness was not only was it such a tremendous impact on this marginalised community at the time, to know that actually it's okay to know someone who has HIV or who has AIDS because it doesn't make them dangerous. You can shake their hands, you can give them a hug, you're not just going to catch it by looking at them. And actually imagine what they were going through. knowing that they had this infection, the chances are could possibly kill them and people staying away from them. It's just, here's someone that people around the world listen to say, it's okay to love them. It's okay to hug them. It's okay to shake their hands. So that's the reason I chose this one because It was an iconic act of kindness that, Her actions help to challenge the stigma and fear surrounding the disease and show the world that compassion is more powerful than prejudice. So, on that note, be kind to yourself and be kind to others. On that note, be kind to others, and most importantly, be kind to yourself. Sometimes the acts of kindness we do can have just the most profound effect on others. So, that's it. I'm just going to put them out there once a week with a different on that note, be kind to others, and most importantly, be kind to yourself.
