Dec. 1, 2015, marked the 27th annual observance of World AIDS Day. This year’s theme was, “The Time to Act is Now.” The globally recognized day of action was started by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1988 — a period most will remember as one of the scariest times to receive a positive HIV diagnosis. Two decades ago, being told you were HIV positive was a death sentence. In 2015, though there is still a significant amount of stigma surrounding the virus, medical advancements have made it possible for those with access to care to live relatively healthy, long lives.
A few weeks ago, I was shocked, as many of you were, to hear actor Charlie Sheen reveal to millions he is indeed HIV positive. On social media, the reactions ranged from empathy to criticism as several people responded that his fate was a well “deserved” payment for a lifestyle peppered with sex, drugs and bad behavior. For me personally, Sheen’s admission caused me to reflect. Even with all the media coverage that has been devoted to the topic of safe sex, millions of people worldwide are dying every day of this disease. HIV has no “look” — victims include monogamous heterosexual housewives, infants, and yes, even rich white men engaged to porn stars.
According to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), despite representing only 12 percent of the total U.S. population, Black people accounted for 44 percent of all new HIV infections among adults and adolescents. The sub-groups most affected were gay and bisexual men and MSM (men who have sex with men). Black women also accounted for 29 percent of new cases, 87 percent of whom contracted the virus through heterosexual contact. This rate is 20 times that of white women and five times that of Hispanic/Latino women.
The most common barriers to prevention, according to this CDC study, are lack of awareness of status, poverty (which inhibits access to proper care and education) and stigma tied to negative perceptions about HIV testing.
When I was a sophomore in college, I attended a free HIV testing event hosted by one of the sororities on campus. I was shocked to show up and see the sparse turn out. Just sometime before this event at a Black Student Association meeting, a representative from our campus health center came to give a talk on STI/STD prevention. In this meeting he shared that just 29 percent of Black students at my school were using condoms when they had sex. Now, I don’t know how these stats were gathered, but I was shook nonetheless. Only 29 percent? Surely we’re smarter than that, I thought. I decided to take an informal poll and learned that several of my close friends were having condomless sex, and some of them had never been to see a health professional to be screened for STDs/STIs. At the sorority event, I signed my name on the nearly empty sign-in sheet and waited my turn to go behind the curtain and do my 20 minute Ora-Quick test. As I waited, I asked a few of my classmates who were lingering outside in the hallway if they were going to join me. “Nah I’m cool,” one person responded. The others answered similarly. Perhaps the whole thing was too extreme or intrusive for them; I’m not sure, but that scene has replayed in my head several times since then.
Another prevention barrier in the Black community, according to the CDC, is homophobia.
Two years ago, I sat in a room with some of my colleagues and a few representatives from Brothers United, a local nonprofit that offers education and health care resources to the entire community, particularly those who identify as LGBTQ. We were in the midst of planning our annual Community Health and Wellness Fair and the topic of HIV testing came up. I had never heard of the term MSM, and as it was explained to us, I became aware of how such a simple thing as labels would have a direct correlation to prevention. To put it plainly, there are men in our communities who, because they do not identify as gay or bisexual, will not seek treatment following unprotected sex with another man, so as to avoid being possibly labeled as “down low” or any of the many hurtful epithets used to describe men who engage in this type of sex. As I am no expert, I will simply say this — among consenting adults, it is less about who you are doing it with and more about how you are doing it.
In the ’90s TLC, Salt N Pepa, A Tribe Called Quest and others used their musical platforms to make sure we all knew about keeping a colorful bunch of prophylactics on deck in case we found ourselves in an intimate situation. Today, in addition to using condoms, men and women at risk for HIV can speak to their doctors about getting prescribed Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP, an extremely effective (albeit expensive in some cases) medication taken once daily that prevents an HIV-negative person from contracting the virus from a partner who is carrying the disease.
A negative HIV test result is required prior to beginning a PrEp regimen, and patients are required to be re-tested every three months while on the medication.
By far, the most effective tool in eradicating the spread of HIV starts with making the choice to become aware. As we step into the giving season, I urge each of you reading this to give yourself the gift of knowledge. Visit the Damien Center or Brothers United (contact info is below) and take an HIV test. Tell a friend and urge them to pass the word along. As the old adage goes, “the life you save may be your own.”
For more information on Brothers United, visit brothersunitedinc.org or call (317) 931-0292. For more information on the Damien Center, visit damien.org or call (317) 632-0123 ext. 287.
