By Christine Hawes
“Rejection is my redirection.”
Tonie Scott now lives by that phrase. It helps describe her evolution in the last seven years, since she was diagnosed with HIV. It helps convey how she’s changed in that time from a woman desperate to be accepted, into a woman leading others toward confidence and away from stigma.
“I’ve begun to see HIV as a blessing,” says Scott, 50, a mother of four. “It has taught me self-love and self-acceptance. I just really want to encourage others, and just give others hope. And inspire mainly women to step up and stop hiding.”
Her message is important: for decades, women have accounted for 18 to 20 percent of new HIV cases annually. HIV’s persistent affect on women is why Illinois HIV Care Connect has made Women and HIV a top priority with a campaign that started in October.
Read the rest of Tonie’s story at the MainStream.