HIV Advocates Urge Women To Make Fight Against HIV A Personal Commitment

HIV is still a huge issue for women. The numbers are still frightening - women still account for 20 percent of all new HIV infections while African-American women account for roughly two thirds of this population. Although the overall number of HIV infections is down, what’s alarming is that a staggering 84 percent of new female HIV infections are actually attributed to heterosexual sex. This is a statistic that everyone should be aware of and should know how to properly address.

This is also the very statistic that drives HIV Advocates to urge women to continue the fight against HIV. In fact, the group urges women to make the fight a part of their personal, individual commitment. Women should not only discuss these alarming facts among friends and family, they should also advocate governments to listen up and take notice.

Dr. Susan Blumenthal, amfAR Senior Policy and Medical Advisor, has said it: the key to reducing HIV infections among women is advocating for healthcare public policy changes. This means that unless people remain uninsured, unaware of the risks and unable to receive proper HIV care, then the figures will rise.

According to Dr. Blumenthal, among the public policy changes “are ensuring women are adequately represented in clinical trial research; developing prevention technologies specifically for women; doing interventions for women facing HIV as a result of violence; increasing access to women's reproductive healthcare; and advocating for Medicaid expansions.”

The challenge now is: how do you get involved in the fight? Simple: join HIV Advocates, a global initiative to share news, experiences, strategies as well as new tools that aim to energize human rights movements and communities fighting HIV/AIDS.

Join HIV Advocates today and be an ally in the fight against the disease.

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HIV Advocates Reiterates The Need To Get Tested

If there is one thing that people should never ever think of is that it is next to impossible for them to get infected with HIV. Truth is, even people in their 60’s still get infected.

Take the case of Jo Josh, a 66 year old woman who lives in Reigate and who has a 25 year old daughter. She is a woman living with HIV. The news first came as a shock to her and it took her years to learn how to deal with the reality of it all. Another case is that of Wales resident 58 year old Steve Craftman. He was diagnosed in 1987. In his own words, “I have done a lot of grieving.” He and his partner had to move to a tiny town just to escape the threats and abuse. A third example is 33 year old Lizzie Jordan. The mother of a 10 year old lost her partner, who also happened to be the father of her child, on the fourth day since he came home feeling unwell.

HIV truly does not choose its victims. Practically everyone is vulnerable to it, to its risks and even to the effects of living with it. People living with HIV oftentimes do not know that they carry the disease. They are also subjected to societal violence, stigma and abuse.

These are the issues and concerns that HIV Advocates want to bring people’s attention to. It is high time for everyone to get tested. Before you think that there is virtually no way for you to get infected, get tested!

Join HIV Advocates today and be an ally in the fight against the disease.

HIV Advocates, an initiative supported by Levi Strauss Foundation and powered by B-Change Foundation, encourages members of the LGBT community to speak up by exploring the power of social media. Through the HIV Advocates’ online channels, the LGBT community and other stakeholders can start conversations, spark the interest of the public, come up with various plans of action and continue with information dissemination to fight HIV and the stigma that comes with it.

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Human Rights of PLHIV being shelved again in India.

India’s HIV/AIDS Bill continues to be stalled, despite mounting pressure from public interest organizations to pass the six year pending HIV/AIDS Bill before the forthcoming August 5th Parliament session. Public interest organizations have voiced concern over the delay and have taken to the streets to demand the tabling of the bill.

Drafted by The Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit, ‘the Bill embodies principles of human rights and seeks to establish a humane and egalitarian legal regime to support India’s regime to support India’s prevention, treatment, care and support efforts vis-à-vis the epidemic’.

The Bill protects wide range of issues related to People Living with HIV (PLHIV), by addressing issues of stigma and discrimination, care and protection, treatment and ensuring their rights.

It specifically prohibits discrimination related to HIV/AIDS in both public and private spheres, requires specific and informed consent related to HIV testing, treatment and research, and upholds the right to confidentiality. Right to access comprehensive HIV related treatment prevention, care and support is included as are protection of risk reduction strategies targeted towards communities subject to criminal sanction, such as drug users and sex workers.

                              

The HIV/AIDS Bill is a comprehensive document protecting and promoting the rights of PLHIV and those affected by HIV. It is only by protecting the vulnerable that we will begin to reverse the HIV epidemic. By upholding the right against discrimination, right to informed consent, and confidentiality and access to treatment, more people will be encouraged to come forward for testing, care and treatment. By protecting risk reduction strategies, and by disseminating important information we can help those who are marginalized to protect themselves and others against HIV.

The passing of the HIV/AIDS Bill will have wide ranging effects and will for the first time, offer legal protection for PLHIV and those affected by HIV in India. It has been thirty years since HIV was first discovered. Its high time for laws and policies to reflect and respond to these realities and uphold and protect the rights of all.  

Would you like to stay up to date on the latest HIV/AIDS information? Join HIV Advocates online for advocacy resources, news, and advice.

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“Pray the Gay Away” Encourages Stigma and Defeats HIV Advocacy

  

Being gay is not a choice, and those who are gay face significant stigma and discrimination around the globe. Organizations that offer false promises of “praying the gay away” and “curing” people of homosexuality are making appearances in many of these communities. One HIV Advocate, Maurice Tomlinson, hopes to educate others on the negative effects of these types of approaches.

Tomlinson struggled with his sexuality for many years. During his struggle, he joined a group that claimed it could “cure” him of his sexual attraction to men. After several months, Tomlinson came to accept that being gay is not a disease meant to be cured, and that these meeting were holding people back.

Instead of teaching men who have sex with men (MSM) to live safe, healthy lifestyles, groups like the one Tomlinson joined teach adult men to deny and hide their feelings. This in turn encourages uneducated, unsafe behavior. MSM who want to hide their behavior from friends and family are less likely to use condoms so that they have less evidence to hide.

Stigma surrounding people living with HIV also keeps MSM that are trying to hide their sexual orientation from getting tested. Many of these men fear that if they are seen at a clinic, they will then face discrimination in their communities and their orientation will be discovered.

What can we do? It’s important to educate others on the facts about HIV and homosexuality. It’s not a choice, and it’s not something to be cured. Instead, our communities should focus on teaching safe sex, healthy lifestyles, and should encourage others to get tested regularly. Policies that help keep discrimination and stigma at bay can help significantly with this process.

Do you want to get more involved? Join HIV Advocates online for advocacy resources, news, and advice.

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HIV Stigma- Know Your Legal Rights to Fight It

Let's face the truth. HIV stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS is a common occurrence, even in the more developed countries in the world. Advocacy 2.0 recommends that if you are HIV positive, you need to know what legal protections you have when battling HIV stigma.
Your workplace rights. Potential employers are not allowed to ask for your HIV status during the interview stage. If you are qualified for the job and an offer is made, your employer may then ask about your status, but the offer cannot then be withdrawn. You can’t be fired because of your HIV status either. Exceptions to this case are rare, so if it happens to you, that's discrimination.
Your health and medical rights. You do not need to declare your HIV status initially when seeking medical care. If you are HIV positive, health care professionals cannot refuse to treat you. Everyone, regardless of their HIV status, deserves equal treatment and medical attention, including health insurance.
 
Your housing rights. You have legal protections if your landlord harasses or evicts you because you are HIV positive. They also cannot deny a housing application because of your status. So long as you follow the tenant agreement and pay your rent on time, those living with HIV are legally equal to all other tenants.
 

While some of these rights apply everywhere, protection laws vary from country to country, and Advocacy 2.0 recommends that you check with an AIDS counsellor or local attorney to learn about your local laws. You can also find more valuable resources from our advocates and through coverage of the Advocacy2.0 Summit.
Being HIV positive does not mean you are an easy target. With information comes power to educate people around you, and to protect yourself. What HIV protection laws exist near you? What can be improved? Let us know in a comment or tweet!
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