What's behd the higher rat of fectn among gay men? Dr. David bunks myths and explas why some groups are and areas are more affected by HIV/AIDS than others.
Contents:
- NATNAL GAY MEN’S HIV/AIDS AWARENS DAY 2021
- HIV AND ALL GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
- DISCRIMATN AND HOMOPHOBIA FUEL THE HIV EPIMIC GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
- WHY ARE GAY MEN MORE AT RISK FOR HIV?
- HIV/AIDS AND EDUTN: LSONS OM THE 1980S AND THE GAY MALE COMMUNY THE UNED STAT
- HIV IS A STORY FIRST WRTEN ON THE BODI OF GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
- AIDS AND THE GAY MUNY: THE DOCTOR'S ROLE UNSELLG
- HIV-RELATED STIGMA WH MUNI OF GAY MEN: A LERATURE REVIEW
NATNAL GAY MEN’S HIV/AIDS AWARENS DAY 2021
The HIV epimic ntu to disproportnately impact gay and bisexual men, transgenr women, youth 13-24 and muni of lor. * aids in the gay community *
September 27 is Natnal Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awarens Day (NGMHAAD), a day to regnize the disproportnate impact of HIV on Gay, Bisexual, and other men who have sex wh men (MSM), and to raise awarens about the importance of expandg accs to HIV ttg, preventn, screeng, and treatment servic.
HIV AND ALL GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
The high percentage of gay and bisexual men who are livg wh HIV means that, as a group, they have a greater risk of beg exposed to HIV; browse lks here. * aids in the gay community *
Gay and Bisexual Men face multiple HIV preventn challeng, such as racism, discrimatn, homophobia, and stigma, that put them at higher risk for HIV and prevent them om accsg qualy health re that allows them to be aware of their stat and take steps to improve their health. In addn to racial dispari, many Gay and Bisexual Men experience challeng achievg and matag viral supprsn due to disproportnate levels of homelsns, stigma, and a lack of mental health and culturally petent re that may prevent them om accsg treatment and necsary meditns.
DISCRIMATN AND HOMOPHOBIA FUEL THE HIV EPIMIC GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
Gay and bisexual men are more severely affected by HIV than any other group the Uned Stat (US). * aids in the gay community *
More recently, wh the game-changg breakthroughs the bmedil arena, attentn has shifted to the bmedil preventn strategi, which clu preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for gay, bisexual, and other MSM (Grant et al., 2010) and vagal microbicis for women (Abdool et al., 2010).
WHY ARE GAY MEN MORE AT RISK FOR HIV?
Perpetuatn of the HIV epimic gay and bisexual men is not directed solely by person-level behavrs but is fluenced by a range of ntextual factors, rooted cultural, historil and polil stctur this untry. * aids in the gay community *
Dpe clear evince for the social termants of HIV transmissn and the beneficial effects of stctural terventns (Adimora & Auerbach, 2010), there have been limed efforts targetg the social equali, which place gay and bisexual men at greater risk for the acquisn of HIV disease.
Sce discrimatn based on sexual inty is cril to the ias beg put forth, and sce the HIV preventn needs of gay and bisexual men differ wily om those of non-gay or bisexual MSM (Halkis, 2010b), the foc of this issue of the newsletter is on gay and bisexual men, and not MSM general.
HIV/AIDS AND EDUTN: LSONS OM THE 1980S AND THE GAY MALE COMMUNY THE UNED STAT
* aids in the gay community *
Opprsive social stctur and equali affectg gay and bisexual men have been implited perpetuatg not only the HIV epimic but also rat of anal ncer, Hepatis B, human papillomavis (HPV) and lymphogranuloma vernrm (LGV) fectns, syphilis, gonorrhea and Hepatis C (Wolski & Fenton, 2011). Exposure to and experienc of homophobia have been implited substance abe, risky sexual behavrs, negative body image, suici attempts, creased strs and limed social support among gay and bisexual men (Halkis, Fischgnd, & Parsons, 2005; Mayer, Bradford, Makadon, Stall, & Goldhammer, 2008; Wolski, Stall, Valdiserri, 2008). G., immigrants) who grow up wh people like themselv and who receive the support of their fai, gay and bisexual youth equently have more plited and often abive fay dynamics (D’Augelli, Hershberger, & Pilkgton, 1998; Pilkgton & D’Augelli, 1995).
HIV IS A STORY FIRST WRTEN ON THE BODI OF GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
TV drama It’s a S looked back at a dark era for the gay muny. Here, some of those who remember tell of the real-life agony – and the hope * aids in the gay community *
(2009) monstrated that gay and bisexual men wh histori of childhood sexual abe were more likely to report both unprotected anal terurse, to rive fewer benefs om participatn preventn programs, and to be at an overall greater risk for HIV fectn. Posive attus toward one’s sexual inty have been shown to be protective agast risky sexual behavrs (Rosar, Hunter, Maguen, Gwadz, & Smh, 2001), while elevated rat of ternalized homophobia have been lked to exacerbated sexual risk takg and other health risks. (2008) monstrated that among 465 HIV-posive men, ternalized homophobia was associated wh unprotected receptive anal terurse wh partners who were HIV-negative or of unknown HIV stat and was also associated wh poorer adherence to antiretroviral therapy.
AIDS AND THE GAY MUNY: THE DOCTOR'S ROLE UNSELLG
Knowledge is power: If we learned anythg the gay male muny durg the early days of the HIV/AIDS epimic the Uned Stat, was that. No one knew what had h , and people were dyg huge numbers all around . The muny lost iends, lleagu, and timate partners. Inially mislabeled gay-related immune ficiency (GRID), valuable time was lost rpondg to the crisis bee most felt safe the belief that they were not at risk. Sce early victims were predomantly gay men, the stigma attached to homosexualy the medil, erng, law enforcement and eccliastil stutns beme a barrier to unrstandg, preventn, and treatment. * aids in the gay community *
For gay and bisexual men of lor, the effects of sexual orientatn discrimatn on HIV risk may be nfound and exacerbated by other powerful stctural factors, cludg racism, lack of accs to enomic means, and poverty (Williams, Wyatt, Rell, Peterson, & Asuan-O’Brien, 2004).
HIV-RELATED STIGMA WH MUNI OF GAY MEN: A LERATURE REVIEW
HIV and the syndrome , AIDS, began spreadg the Uned Stat the early 1980s. By the late 1980s had bee a public health crisis. Inially the U.S. ernment did ltle to addrs the epimic, due part to misnceptns that the disease only affected gay men. Activists me together to mand a rponse om the ernment and the ternatnal muny. By the mid-1990s, HIV/AIDS numbers were on the cle Ameri. Today, lns of people around the world are livg wh HIV and tens of thoands of people die of AIDS-related illns every year. * aids in the gay community *
Yet is a likely hypothis that those who have accs to and navigate environments where there are high levels of gay prence are also likely to be exposed to HIV preventn msagg through publitns and advertisements, as well as through teractns wh other gay men social venu. For those young gay men of lor who are socenomilly disadvantaged, accs to gayrelated health rourc may be more limed bee their neighborhoods of rince tend to be outsi the exclive cy center, where many gay cultural, health, and social tablishments tend to be loted (Halkis, Moeller, & Sinolfi, 2009a, 2009b).
Taken together, the extant lerature suggts that the perpetuatn of the HIV epimic gay and bisexual men is not directed solely by person-level behavrs but is fluenced by a range of ntextual factors, rooted cultural, historil, and polil stctur this untry.