Reading some of the coverage around the high court decision on PrEP felt like going back to the dark old days of the 1980s, where any and all coverage of gay and bi men was negative, scrutinising and alienating. In the two decades Stonewall has spent campaigning for lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality, we have seen bans lifted on openly gay and bi people serving in the military, protection from discrimination, same-sex adoption has been legalised and, most recently, same-sex marriage introduced.

But the fact that the Daily Mail still feels able to report the high court ruling like it did on Wednesday shows just how much more we need to do before LGBT people are fully accepted.

For the last few months the NHS has defended its decision to refuse free distribution of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a drug treatment that could save thousands of people from contracting HIV. The reasoning behind this? It boils down to a legal loophole. The NHS claims it is “legally” blocked from doing so and, in fact this is someone else’s problem, namely that of local authorities.

But on Tuesday a ruling from the high court in a case brought by the National Aids Trust determined that the NHS in actual fact faces no legal barriers to provide PrEP for free. This fantastic news was celebrated all over social media by groups who have campaigned hard to make the NHS understand their health and wellbeing is important.

But not everyone was celebrating. A few news outlets had a different take on this groundbreaking new tool in the fight against HIV infection. “Lifestyle drug” were the words chosen by the Daily Mail to describe PrEP on its front page. Contracting HIV is not a “lifestyle choice”. Nor is being gay or bi. But choosing to dredge up stereotypes from the past to ostracise a group of people who have been oppressed, mocked, and attacked by society like this in the past certainly was a choice the Daily Mail made.

Of course, not all potential users of PrEP are gay or bisexual men. Nor are all of those who contract HIV. However, men who have sex with men are the group it affects most. This was targeted vitriol, and it grouped us as “other” and in turn denigrated us and implied we have less right than others to have our health and wellbeing supported by the NHS.

Though many accept LGBT people for who they are, others still reject our right to be ourselves and love who we love

Now we have a situation where the NHS is appealing against the decision and continuing to refuse to take responsibility for this major public health issue. Even if it loses the appeal, it will only make PrEP available if it is proven “cost-effective” enough. That leaves a space wide open for journalists and other commentators to jump on top of those who might be affected by HIV and victim-blame them for being so.

While the NHS has approached this with a cost-cautious lens, early stage research has shown that in fact PrEP could save the NHS money in the long run by reducing infections and the cost of lifelong treatment for HIV. As we wait for this to be evaluated further, all we can hope is that more people understand PrEP for what it is and see the potential it has alongside condom use to fight HIV, rather than use this debate as an opportunity to sideline and reject gay and bi men.

We already live in a world where gay and bi men are often mocked, attacked, isolated and bullied for being who they are. Being labelled as careless and undeserving of HIV prevention is unacceptable, irresponsible and disgraceful behaviour that we should have left far behind with Benny Hill, shoulder pads and Bros.

The problem is that what seems retro is sadly still current. Though many accept LGBT people for who they are, many others still reject our right to be ourselves and love who we love. Each of us, LGBT people and our allies at work, in our families, communities and schools need to call out unacceptable attitudes like the ones displayed by the Daily Mail for what they are. None of us can afford to be a bystander when many still want to return to an era marked by prejudice and discrimination.

And the government has a role to play too, in this case by taking positive action to make PrEP available in the fight against HIV infection, and committing to mandatory sex and relationship education for schools that is inclusive of lesbian, gay, bi and trans people. This will of course include issues around HIV and HIV prevention.

Until these attitudes are genuinely a thing of the past, we’ll continue to work for a world where all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people are accepted without exception.