World AIDS Day is a time for our community to come together to remember all those we have lost to AIDS and to recommit to ending the stigma that still surrounds HIV. LGBTQ people in the United States and around the world continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS, especially Black and Latinx members of the community. To end the HIV epidemic, we must uplift the voices of those who have been affected and take action to fight stigma in all aspects of our lives. While HIV and AIDS is not an illness that solely affects LGBTQ+ people, a portion of queer history is marked with the negligence and intolerance of leadership during the AIDS Epidemic.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States. Gay and bisexual men made up an estimated 2% of the U.S. population in 2013 but 55% of all people living with HIV in the United States. If this continues, 1 in 6 gay and bisexual men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. For Latino and Black men who have sex with men, the rates are in 1 in 4 and 1 in 2, respectively.
Transgender people have also been hit especially hard by the epidemic despite comprising a similarly small percentage of the U.S. population. One international analysis found that transgender women in certain communities have 49 times the odds of living with HIV than the general population.
Dealing with the potential consequences of bias and discrimination – job loss, homelessness, lack of healthcare insurance – often results in LGBTQ people engaging in behaviors that facilitate the spread of HIV. For example, in the face of persistent employment discrimination, many transgender women are left with few other options but to engage in survival sex work in order to meet their most basic needs. According to a 2015 survey of more than 27,000 transgender people, “The rate of HIV [diagnosis] was…five times higher among those who have participated in sex work at any point in their lifetime” than among those who have not
“HIV and the LGBTQ Community.” HRC, www.hrc.org/resources/hrc-issue-brief-hiv-aids-and-the-lgbt-community.
Moving forward we can all do better to support the eradication of HIV/AIDS as well as supporting those afflicted. For Example:
· Urge Congress and the White House officials to mount the strongest possible response to the epidemic in the form of fully funded public health programs, as well as common sense policy solutions such as comprehensive sex education and syringe/needle exchange.
· Support and fund educational programs for LGBTQ people and allies about the current realities of HIV as well as the effects of stigma on the very communities that are most in need.
· Mobilize alongside LGBTQ people to take action in support of ending the dual epidemics of HIV and HIV-related stigma.
· Advocate for the dignity, rights, and well-being of people living with and affected by HIV in all aspects of life and at every level of society.
The CDC has put together a multitude of resources that include toolkits on preparing messaging, creating promotional material, sharing resources, and continuing the momentum.
Link: https://www.cdc.gov/worldaidsday/index.html
