“Can I bring my bottle of rum with me?”
Not a question I’m often asked – in work settings at least. But’s that’s what an older Caribbean man asked me, as we chatted outside a pop-up HIV testing event at Peckham Palms. He’d seen me filming and wondered what was going on.
As we got talking about HIV, he shared that he hadn’t tested in over twenty years, despite having many sexual partners. How he didn’t like hospitals. I told him about the reality of HIV today, how people with HIV can live long lives and not pass it on. Why testing was important.
But what really seemed to resonate with him was something else. It was me saying that testing for HIV was a way of us taking care of our health. That as Black people, it often seems like no one is looking out for us, so we need to take care of ourselves.
He paused. And rum in hand, went in for an HIV test.
I’ve been thinking about this conversation. How for him, hearing about risks or facts about HIV, weren’t the reasons he decided test. But thinking about looking after his own health in the context of how Black people are often let down by the system, was. We often talk about “person centred” care once someone enters the healthcare system. But are our community HIV prevention approaches truly person-centred?
We are all individuals
There isn’t one conversation that works for everyone. Individuals have different motivations, different concerns, different barriers. And these change throughout our lives. In having conversations about HIV prevention, we need to make sure we listen to the person in front of us. Take the time to understand what’s important to them and frame the conversation accordingly.
It’s an approach shared in the Risks to Reasons campaign, that reframes conversations about HIV prevention for women. It moves away from judgmental language of “risk” to empowering “reasons” for informed decisions about the options that are right for each woman.
What Skin Like Mine did
The conversation I had with this man at the event (and his subsequent negative HIV test) was part of Skin Like Mine, the interim HIV prevention programme by and for Black Londoners, funded by Do It London. This programme was developed following the Towards Equity Report. The report highlighted what many of us from Black communities have known for years. That systemic racism and intersecting forms of disadvantage continue to fuel the HIV inequities we face, including barriers to HIV prevention. We’re not hard to reach. We’ve been let down by the system.
But unlike so many reports that simply highlight the problem, the Towards Equity Report did things differently. It didn’t just explain the causes of the HIV inequities; it identified practical ways of addressing them. Skin Like Mine was one of the first opportunities to put some of these recommendations into practice over the four months of the interim programme.
Leadership by Black communities for Black communities in HIV prevention was key. Not tokenistic consultations. Six Black-led organisations (including mine – Phoenix Health Movement) came together through the One Voice Network to deliver Skin Like Mine each bringing different expertise, trusted relationships and deep roots within the communities we serve. Recognising that Black communities are in no way a monolith. And that trust is essential for effective HIV prevention.
We took HIV prevention directly into the community, with a combination of traditional outreach and novel ways to engage and inspire. We held events all across London, recognising the power of partnerships and offerings beyond just HIV testing, to encourage engagement and conversations. This included partnering with Poetic Unity, a Black poetry collective, for a spoken word event, combining unifying and healing poetry with an opportunity to learn about and access HIV prevention. And four pop-up Glam Squad events with Multicultural Marketing Consultancy (MMC) in spaces made for Black women. These brought together free beauty treatments, combined with relaxed health conversations and health checks, including HIV testing.
Why we did it this way
Combining HIV testing with other health checks at events, framed as an empowering way to look after our health, helped to dispel stigma and normalise testing. Each test gave us the invaluable opportunity to have conversations, building health literacy on HIV and prevention opportunities, including PrEP, and sign-posting for further support and information.
The Towards Equity Report highlighted the importance of cultural competency. We embraced that through Skin Like Mine. Clear, accurate and culturally relevant information was central. It challenges stigma, helps people know their rights and make informed decisions about the HIV prevention options that are right for them. This is particularly important for Black communities – we’ve faced disrespect, discrimination and disbelief for generations in healthcare systems. Arming ourselves with knowledge is a powerful way to fight back.
We recognised that different communities, and individuals within communities, want information in different ways. Through face-to-face conversations, printed resources, co-produced videos, content in different languages, radio interviews and social media, we harnessed as many opportunities as possible to share clear, accurate and culturally relevant HIV prevention information.
The content was co-produced with Black community members from diverse backgrounds, so it reflected the questions, concerns and experiences of the communities it was intended to reach.
The impact of Skin Like Mine
And it worked. Skin Like Mine is reshaping how HIV prevention is delivered in London by meeting people where they are – both physically and culturally. Over just four months, the programme hosted 18 pop-up events across all five London ICS regions, engaging more than 1,500 Black Londoners in spaces they already trust, from shopping centres and cinemas to churches and mosques. By bringing culturally competent, community-led conversations into everyday settings, the programme challenged the outdated narrative that Black communities are “hard to reach” — instead demonstrating that accessible, thoughtful design can break down barriers to engagement.
The impact has been significant. A total of 186 people were tested, including 34% who had never tested before, while awareness and confidence grew markedly: 83% of participants left knowing where to access HIV testing or PrEP, and 90% reported reduced stigma and greater comfort discussing HIV prevention. At the same time, the programme highlighted critical gaps, with only 28% and 15.6% of participants having heard of PrEP and PEP respectively prior to our events. By combining creative arts, community partnerships and practical innovation — such as integrating HIV testing alongside other health checks — Skin Like Mine is not only improving access, but empowering communities with the knowledge and confidence to take control of their sexual health. Read the report about the impact of our work here.
The work doesn’t stop here. We’ve just had the brilliant news that Skin Like Mine will continue beyond the interim programme for another year. Keep an eye out for Skin Like Mine events and activities, by and for Black Londoners, across the capital!
