As Elton John testified before Congress regarding HIV/AIDS, the HRC released a new booklet/guide that provides valuable information in a readable format. This comes at a time when so much focus within the LGBT community has been devoted to Marriage Equality, and life-threatening issues like AIDS have been pushed by too many into the shadows. In so many ways, the path to eradicating the spread of HIV is simple:
- Know your status and be tested regularly
- Seek treatment if you are positive
- Practice good communication with all sex partners
- Use tools available like condoms to protect yourself and others
These won’t make HIV/AIDS go away entirely, but get the disease more under control.
Some are heralding this new HRC effort:
“It’s time for our communities, one and all, to commit to knowing our HIV status, to seeking treatment when positive, and, if negative, to use the tools available to stay that way,” said Michael Kaplan, president and CEO of AIDS United. “Thank you HRC for helping to put HIV back in the community spotlight.”
Personally, I glad to see a greater focus on HIV/AIDS, but I’m afraid this guide is just more of the same stuff that has been around all along. Will it get read and will it affect behavior? That’s the really important thing. Don’t take me too harshly. The guide is well written and straight forward (pun intended). That’s a very good thing.
But no where does it talk about why people participate in unprotected sex. Nor does it help a person learn to negotiate and communicate with a potential sex partner (it just tells you to talk yo your sex partner… big help!).
I also think it is too vague in the section about PrEP. PrEP is a new preventing tool/strategy and may be useful to many. But it is expensive and even though the guide says many in surnames cover it, that may be misleading. Some do and some do not.
Many people know the facts about many things and then they still don’t always act in ways that protect themselves. This is in regards the HIV/AIDS and many other things. The solution isn’t to just keep saying the same stuff, but to find ways to help persons put that information to work in their lives.
Follow the link for more info. I encourage everyone to check out the guide! I also encourage everyone to do my four bullet points above.