Watch: HIV-positive man asks the public, ‘Will you touch me?’
By Will Stroude
A Finnish man has embarked on a campaign to break down the stigma surrounding HIV – and the results are touching in every sense of the word.
The video of the man, named Janne, standing in the street during Helsinki Pride has gone viral since being posted by Finnish broadcasting company Yle Kioski.
Standing silently next to a sign which simply read: “I am HIV-positive. Touch me!” Janne waited to see if anyone would approach him. While some initially seem hesitant, strangers ranging from young to old stopped what they were doing him to offer him a simple touch or a full-on hug, in largely silent gestures of support that leave him in tears by the video’s end.
Watch the heartwarming spectacle unfold below:
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