AIDS crisis hero volunteers finally tell their story

Forty years after HIV / AIDS began to die, the story of an Australian volunteer who took care of him dying during a crisis is told in a moving new book co-authored by Macquarie University historian Robert Reynolds.

Jim Battiscombe discovered HIV positive in 1990 and spent the first two years of his diagnosis caring for his partner, Peter, who was diagnosed at the same time but soon developed full-blown AIDS.

Compassion and Care: Volunteers of the 1987 Victorian AIDS Council … With stormy eyes It captures the experience of volunteers who cared for AIDS patients in the 1980s and 1990s. Photo courtesy of: Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives

Professor Robert Reynolds, co-author of the new book In the Eye of the Storm, said Peter, who first registered the existence of HIV / AIDS with Jim during his vacation in San Francisco in 1983, was thin and desperate. He says he has become embarrassed. body.

“But Jim said,’Don’t be shy. I’ve never loved you anymore,'” says historian Reynolds, who is now the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Arts.

Jim’s story, which survived today, became a volunteer after Peter’s death, including reaching out to an isolated community of HIV-positive heterosexuals. It’s one of 12 stories told by Reynolds and his co-authors.

Suddenly there was a short decade of gay liberation before we returned to this situation of illness, illness, perversion, and death.

Twelve interviewees, as well as both HIV-positive and negative gay men, were women who stepped up when the country was caught in fear and ignorance of the disease and the gay men were struck by the brunt. And relatives of AIDS patients are included.

“The AIDS epidemic was very strong, because it caused existing shame about gay sexuality and many gay people would have felt grown up,” says Reynolds.

“Then there was a short decade of gay liberation before we suddenly returned to this context of illness, illness, perversion, and death … it was a perfect cultural medicine storm.”

The Eye of the Storm, Reynolds’ fourth book on gay life in Australia after World War II, is the first to dig deeper into HIV-AIDS.

“Mainly this book is a trendy social history from the perspective of volunteers,” says Reynolds.

Proudly: Sydney Gay Mardi Gras in 1981 was before HIV / AIDS landed in the community after just a decade of gay liberation. Photo courtesy of William Yang

“The problem is now very historic. It’s been 40 years in June since the New York Times first reported this strange pain affecting gay men.

“The aftereffects of AIDS are not unending, and there are still desperate problems in some parts of the world, but the years of those crises are definitely a thing of the past in Australia.”

Reynolds says it’s important to listen to volunteers. It provides readers with a basic experience of the epidemic, such as what it was like to care for those who died at home.

“It’s also about what it was like to find a way through volunteering to make it easier for you to live with HIV as an HIV-positive person. Also, the opportunity to talk to your family and get their story out. Also gave me. “

Permanent sadness

In 1986, Trevor Williams was at the bedside of a hospital in Melbourne for the last three weeks of his gay brother David’s life. As a result, I became a volunteer caregiver for HIV-positive patients. His first client was a married man who claimed his family was heterosexual. ..

Breaking the Barrier: Princess Diana talks to AIDS patients at a hospital in London in 1989 … Australia’s strong volunteer network has allowed AIDS patients to be cared for at home.

David was one of Australia’s early AIDS victims. The disease continued to kill more than 5,000 people in the year of the crisis, peaking in 1994, before the emergence of effective antiretroviral drugs drastically reduced the number of AIDS cases.

“Trever talked about his experience of holding hands with his brother in the hospital every day. He did some flashbacks during an interview about being in the ward. He loved his brother and he The sadness I was still feeling was conveyed, “says Reynolds.

“Trever had to read and approve the first draft of the chapter, but he died afterwards. On his behalf, we dedicated the chapter to his brother.”

The homosexual community was in a very good position to respond in some respects. They were already alive and dealing with being marginalized.

Reynolds says that when HIV / AIDS was found to be a difficult disease to spread, volunteers helped increase the number of people who could choose to die at home rather than in the hospital, as David Williams did. I will. Not only from the AIDS Council, but also from informal groups of friends and family.

“Volunteering came from the deep friendships and networks of the community,” says Reynolds.

“For the past decade or more before the outbreak of HIV-AIDS, community organizations, gay networks, and social life have been built for a long time, so the gay community itself is, in a sense, in a very good position to respond. Already alive. And are dealing with being estranged. “

Broader perception

Burnout was a major problem as volunteers dealt with repeated loss experiences and heavy care workloads.

Social History: Professor Robert Reynolds (pictured) says the story of volunteers reveals the basic experience of the epidemic.

“A few years later, some of them had to take a break because of the emotional sacrifice they had,” Reynolds says.

“On the other hand, many of them talked about the benefits of volunteering and the deep experience of those who accompanied them in the last few weeks.

“Some people talked about the sense of humor that developed as volunteers, but it was often very black and talked about how volunteers made each other stand out through their friendship.”

According to Reynolds, the contributions of HIV-AIDS volunteers who staffed needle exchanges and telephone helplines, provided educational resources, and participated in management committees are widely recognized within the gay community. No more than that.

“I wanted this book to put volunteer work in a wider public space,” he says.

“I hope the volunteers of that era have some sort of modest monument.

“For me, their story shows us the importance of relationships and the depth of these relationships in times of crisis.”

In the Eye of the Storm: Volunteers and Australia’s Response to the HIV / AIDS Crisis by Robert Reynolds, Shirleene Robinson and Paul Sendziuk are published by UNSW Press.

Professor Robert Reynolds Dean of the Faculty of Arts