A dating website for people with HIV

by Jenni Horn

A charity has launched a dating site for people with HIV.

Nearly 250 people have already signed up for HacoMatch.com, which is open to both gay and heterosexual men and women looking for love.

The free website promises to be a safe place to meet other people who are HIV positive.

It is being run by the Gillingham-based charity Health Action Charity Organisation, which offers support to people from Medway and Swale who are diagnosed as HIV positive.

Director Tina Murphy said: "We set up the site as part of our project to reduce the rate of HIV infection in the area. Our charity was set up in 2003 to offer support to people from the African community with HIV, but the dating site is open to anyone who is HIV positive.

"We have had 247 people register. They are all ages, the youngest is in their 20s and the oldest is in their sixties And they are not just from the Medway area, we’ve had people from as far as London."

Over the past five years, 200 people in Medway have been diagnosed with HIV. The latest figures show there were 37 new diagnoses in 2011.

Ms Murphy added: "The feedback that we get from people in our support group is that it is difficult to get into a relationship.

"In the beginning, someone with HIV won’t tell the person they meet that they are HIV positive. As the relationship moves on, they will tell them and often then the person leaves them.

"We felt it was better to have a site where all people are HIV positive, because it eliminates those problems and helps to reduce onward transmission of HIV."

A 29-year-old Chatham man, who did not want to be named, explained why he had joined the site.

He said: "I was diagnosed four years ago. I have found it very difficult to meet people. In the past I have told someone I have HIV and it has ended the relationship. The dating site means I can meet people with the same status as me.

"All my friends are settled down now, they are all married with children, and I want to find a long-term partner too."