HIV & Homophobia Work Against Each Other

Less than 1% of HIV/AIDS prevention spending targets gay and bisexual men worldwide.

Research by UNAIDS from 2006, the most recent data available, shows that only a tiny fraction of the $669 million (£352 million) spent globally on prevention services is aimed at men who have sex with men.

Craig McClure, executive director of International AIDS Society, said: “It’s very difficult to provide services to men who have sex with men in countries that don’t acknowledge they exist or criminalize them if they do exist,” according to Advocate.com.

The figures have alarmed experts, particularly due to the fact that, globally, rates of HIV infection amongst gay and bisexual men are rising at a greater rate than amongst the general population.

Read more at pinknews.co.uk.

AIDS Activist Resort to Novelties to Attract At Risk

Could the AIDS virus be stopped with gift cards?

Desperate for a way to stop the escalating spread of HIV among young gay men, public health officials are looking to novel strategies, such as enlisting local gay opinion leaders to urge their peers to practice safe sex.

Promising signs from such a project in North Carolina led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin rolling it out on a broader scale, to more than 200 community organizations. The budget is $1.5 million over a two-year period.

The idea is to give gift coupons to popular, influential men in the gay community and encourage them to talk up condom use, regular HIV testing and other responsible actions.

It may sound frivolous, but little else has proven effective for the men most affected by the epidemic.

Read more at blogs.healthcare.com.

Pakistani Faces Deportion from U.S. Immigration

According to sources, a Pakistani man with HIV is fighting deportation from the United States and seeking asylum.

The man, who wishes to be identified only by his initials, S.K., fears persecution based on his sexual orientation and HIV status if he is returned to his homeland.

Under Pakistani law, being gay is punishable by death. LGBT people are forced to live in secrecy and constant fear of exposure, a legal brief said.

An Immigration judge disputed the risk and denied S.K.’s application for asylum.

The judge held that S.K., who has HIV and was in a committed relationship with a man in Minnesota, could avoid persecution by hiding his sexual orientation, marrying a woman, and having children.

The Board of Immigration Appeals originally upheld the Immigration Judge’s decision and is now reviewing the case a second time.

AIDS Conference Calls for End to Discrimination

At the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City this week, there has been a great deal of discussion about violence and discrimination directed at homosexuals and lesbians, often based on the mistaken assumption that they are responsible for the disease. As VOA’s Greg Flakus reports from Mexico City, participants in the conference also see improvements in attitudes as a result of education and government actions to protect people from discrimination.

Public health officials and organizations working to diminish the impact of AIDS around the world agree that more tolerant societies have better programs to combat AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases. But, they say, discrimination against those whose sexual orientation differs from the norm, whether official, cultural or religious, often works against efforts to control the spread of the HIV virus that causes AIDS.

Read the rest at voanews.com, or read more on the AIDS conference here at gayagenda.com.

Mexico Speaks: Religion is Cause of Homophobia

Homophobia comes from ignorance and prejudices that come from religious beliefs. The gay population is not a population to blame for HIV. It is a sub-group that is suffering most the impact of HIV, according to Jorge Saavedra, the leader of Mexico’s National HIV/AIDS Program, CENSIDA, since 2003.

Jamie Lopez, 45, a lawyer and gay-rights activist in Mexico City, helped compile a book about 10 local gay couples: ‘We asked our friends to come forward to tell their story. Many were afraid to talk openly about it. One couple has three children they look after, but they cannot adopt them officially.’

‘The best way to change society is to make ourselves visible and demand our rights,’ Lopez said. ‘People want you to be in closet. We are a very conservative society. Religion has caused a lot of homophobia.’

Read more on this at mostersandcritics.com.

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