HIV-positive victims of discrimination continue to experience loss of employment and housing, and they also report being denied access to social and medical services in many regions of the US and the world, specifically because of their HIV status.
Many HIV-positive people report recent experiences of rejection by spouses, family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, whole communities, and religious institutions.
[citation needed] HIV-positive people have turned to online HIV-dating websites in an attempt to pursue romantic/sexual relationships, but their right to do is dependent on them proactively protecting others from the virus.
Social structures are organized in a way that people living with HIV feel that they are unable to pursue "normal" intimate relationships unless they turn to alternative means.
Although the websites allow HIV-positive people to form relationships easier, they are needed only because HIV is still so heavily stigmatized, and participation in online dating continues to reinforce normative standards of conduct.
[citation needed] Most opponents of HIV exceptionalism believe that social stigma is no longer an important variable in testing and treating people living with HIV/AIDS.
Citing improvements in treatment regimes, a better understanding of the pandemic, and greater awareness about HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination, more public health professionals are arguing for an end to HIV exceptionalism.