Ian Walker interviewed by Helena Cohen-Robertson in 2022

Ian Walker, born 1966 in Belfast, moved to Australia as a child. Diagnosed HIV-positive just before his 20th birthday, he navigated coming out as both gay and HIV-positive in the 1980s, confronting stigma from family, health professionals, and society. Initially working as an occupational therapist, he became active in HIV/AIDS advocacy through Perth Body Positive, People Living with HIV/AIDS WA (PLAWA), WA AIDS Council, and ACT UP. His activism included school and university HIV prevention work, terminal care for people with AIDS, and a landmark High Court case after Perth City Council blocked an HIV drop-in centre—this case helped establish HIV as a recognised disability in Australian law. Walker later moved to London (working at the London Lighthouse hospice), New York, and Sydney (senior management at ACON), returning to Perth to care for his mother. He reflects on changing social attitudes, the persistence of stigma in WA, and his own resilience and coping strategies, including delaying HIV treatment for 14 years.