AIDS is an everyday experience. These dates represent milestones in the AIDS epidemic. Some dates are known globally; others commemorate individual experiences. AIDS Is Everyday is an ongoing art project produced in conjunction with Visual AIDS to help break down the silence, shame and stigma surrounding HIV.

Add a date about your history with HIV to our online calendar at poz.com/aidsiseveryday-submit. 

JANUARY

1 –  It is no longer a felony in California to knowingly expose or transmit HIV to a sexual partner. The new law signed by Governor Jerry Brown lowers the offense to a misdemeanor with a maximum of six months in jail. Previously, a person could face up to eight years in prison if found guilty. The law also changes the penalty for knowingly donating HIV-positive blood from a felony to a misdemeanor. (2018)

4 – The United States officially ends its 22-year ban on travel into the country by foreigners living with HIV. (2010)

Rudolf NureyevWikiMedia

6 – World-renowned ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev dies of AIDS-related complications. (1993)

7 – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports the first two cases of AIDS among females whose male partners had the disease, suggesting HIV could be transmitted via heterosexual sex. (1983)

15 – Director Ira Sachs’s FILM Last Address premieres at Sundance. It uses images of the exteriors of the houses, apartment buildings and lofts where artists such as Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe, Peter Hujar, Cookie Mueller and Klaus Nomi were living at the time of their death to mark the disappearance of a generation. (2010)

gloved dentist hand holding dental tools

Istock

18 – The CDC reports the possible transmission of HIV to a patient through a dental procedure performed by a dentist who is HIV positive. (1990)

FEBRUARY

3 – AmfAR announces the launch of Countdown to a Cure for AIDS, a $100 million research initiative aimed at finding a broadly applicable cure for HIV by 2020. (2014)

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Logo

4 – Piano virtuoso Liberace dies of AIDS-related complications. (1987)

7 – National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

14 – POZ Personals, a dating service for people living with HIV, launches on Valentine’s Day. (2005)

Keith Haring Sculpture

Keith Haring SculptureDreamstime.com

16 – Artist Keith Haring dies of AIDS-related complications. (1990) 

25 – Indiana state health officials announce an HIV outbreak linked to injection drug use in Scott County. By the end of the year, Indiana confirms 184 new cases of HIV linked to the outbreak. (2015)

26 – The Elton John AIDS Foundation hosts its 25th annual Academy Awards Viewing Party at West Hollywood Park in Los Angeles. The event raises $7 million for the global effort to end AIDS. (2017)