Change-Maker in Women's History: Alison Gertz

Her name may not be extremely well-known but her legacy certainly will be. In fact, her story has probably influenced your understanding of HIV/AIDS, though you may not know it.

Alison was born into an affluent Manhattan family in 1966. She was beautiful, popular at her elite private high school, passionate about animals, and interested in studying art. She frequently went out to well-known clubs like Studio 54. It was in one of these clubs that in 1982, at age 16, she met a young man with whom she had a single sexual encounter. She didn’t know it at the time but this encounter would change the course of her life.

No one ever told Ali about the risk of STDs or emphasized the need to use a condom. In that era, HIV/AIDS was considered a "gay man's or heroine addict's disease" so why should a heterosexual young woman be informed?

So when Ali began to feel really sick after college, she never imagined that it was HIV. Sadly, society’s ignorance of the virus delayed her diagnosis—since Ali wasn’t considered a member of any high-risk group, her doctors didn’t think to test her for her the virus. It wasn’t until after several months of painful testing and misdiagnoses that she was finally tested. By that time in 1988, Ali had already developed AIDS.

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, Americans didn’t have the effective drug treatments and meaningful support therapies that are available today (there is still no cure, but these programs can help).  In fact, while HIV/AIDS was increasingly becoming a topic for discussion and activism, it was still unrecognized as an illness that affects all people, no matter their sexual orientation, race, or socioeconomic status. Instead of being destroyed by the devastating news, Ali decided to use what was left of her life to become an HIV activist.

As Ali told People in 1990, “When you're given an opportunity to see how precious life is, it gives you an incentive to make the most of it. The only thing that matters is what we do with the time we have." 

Ali decided to go public with her illness and use her “girl next door” image to raise awareness. She figured, “If I can get AIDS, then anyone can,” and she wanted to help young people become aware of the risks so they could avoid similar tragedies from happening to them. She also wanted to help the public overcome the shame and secrecy surrounding HIV/AIDS.

Ali toured the country, speaking at colleges and high schools where she shared her story about the consequences of unprotected sex and lack of knowledge. She also used the media to help her cause, appearing on People magazine’s cover, 20/20, and a film produced by the United Nations. She was featured as Esquire’s “Woman of the Year” and contributed to a TV movie about her life called Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story.

Ali was fortunate to have her friends and family fully supporting her. Her parents, Carol and Jerrold, founded the nonprofit Concerned Parents for AIDS Research, while her best friends founded Love Heals: The Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education.  Today, Love Heals empowers thousands of NYC youths by educating them about HIV/AIDS through guest speakers (some of whom are HIV-positive), educational videos, and self-esteem programs. With the help of her support group, Ali even persuaded schools to provide sex education curriculums that would cover STDs and contraception.

Though Ali’s health was weakening, she courageously continued her advocacy until her death in 1992 at the age of 26. If Ali were still alive, she would surely encourage young people to continue to take action on behalf of HIV/AIDS education because, unfortunately, there is still a lot of work left to be done.

A young people’s disease

Love Heals estimates that Americans age 13 to 24 are contracting HIV at a rate of 2 per hour (or 20,000 new infections each year). Meanwhile, 87% of young Americans surveyed report they do not believe they are at risk for HIV infection. To this day, many young people are not taught the difference between HIV and AIDS, or how exactly the virus can be transmitted.

Until There’s A Cure reveals that 74% of the 42 million people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the world live in sub-Saharan Africa and that by the year 2010, five countries (Ethiopia, Nigeria, China, India, and Russia) with 40% of the world's population will add 50 to 75 million infected people to the HIV-diseased global population. The international effects of HIV/AIDS are devastating, with 14 million AIDS orphans, a number projected to go up to 25 million by 2010.

HIV/AIDS is a young people’s disease: half of the 5 million new infections each year occur among youths aged 15 to 24. Alison Gertz attempted to open people’s eyes to the far-reaching effects of HIV/AIDS and she succeeded at influencing a generation in her short but inspiring life. You too can continue her legacy by taking action against HIV/AIDS! How? Find out about the disease and get tested. Then encourage your friends to do the same. Spread the word!

Written by Lauren Tetenbaum, DoSomething.org Intern

Sources:
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20118327,00.html
http://www.loveheals.org/
http://www.until.org/