December 2015 – Page 13 – Scene Magazine – From the heart of LGBTQ+ Life

World AIDS Day poll: More than three quarters of gay men living with HIV experience stigma

Posted on 01/12/201501/12/2015 by Gary Hart

Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity releases a snapshot poll of gay men living with HIV in Britain.

The Poll coincides with the #StopStigma campaign that the charity is engaging in today, for World AIDS Day.

Of 412 men polled – average age range 25 – 64, and diagnosed in the last 20 years – 77 per cent had experienced stigma.

This was most prevalent:

♦ In the gay community itself, where nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) had experienced stigma;

♦ In online dating environments – 60 per cent; and

♦ When dating – 58 per cent.

74 per cent of men polled felt a level of self-stigma – stigma they impose on themselves – nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) felt shame, 56 per cent blamed themselves, while half said they felt guilty.

When asked, unprompted, what words they had heard people use when speaking about HIV, that they found particularly hurtful, the top four were:

♦ AIDS (19 per cent)

♦ Diseased (19 per cent)

♦ Unclean (16 per cent)

♦ Riddled (12 per cent)

91 per cent do not think the public knows the difference between HIV and AIDS. An up-to-date 21st century information campaign and universal testing – making HIV testing the norm in NHS settings – were among the top two efforts respondents felt would be most effective to stop stigma.

Shaun Griffin, Executive Director for External Affairs, THT, said: “We know there is a high prevalence if HIV in our community. Recent media coverage of the condition has reminded us that HIV stigma continues, and myths perpetuate.

“The fact that two-thirds of the men we polled said that stigma was strongest in the gay community really saddens me.

“Start the fightback today – join in with our message of solidarity on social media by taking a selfie with your red ribbon using the hashtag #StopStigma.

“The Stigma Index 2015 survey – the global study of the impact of stigma in people living with HIV – was launched today. The charity will use this to inform and results will strengthen our efforts to tackle the issue.”

London Theatre Director, Andrew Keates, who is living with HIV, said: “HIV positive men on effective medication, taken correctly pose no threat to anyone.

“HIV used to be a death sentence. It shouldn’t be a life sentence of stigma and tolerating ignorance.”

THT volunteers will be at Kings Cross station in London for 12 hours on December 1 with a 7ft x 7ft banner, pop up banners, red ribbons, and props urging the station’s 47,000 daily commuters to take a selfie wearing a red ribbon for stigma.

The charity hopes that people right across the country will take pictures with their red ribbon and tweet @THTorguk with #StopStigma to join the effort.

For a list of Regional World Aids Day events, click here:

REVIEW: Hairspray at the Theatre Royal, Brighton

Posted on 01/12/201527/12/2015 by Michael Hootman

Hairspray is a joyous candy-coloured confection which has a heart as big as its outsize heroine. It manages to combine a thrilling slickness of staging with something quite magically uplifting and the result might, quite possibly, be the most purely enjoyable show of the last few years.

Based on John Waters’ film it follows the fortunes of Tracy Turnblad (Freya Sutton), a ‘pleasantly plump’ teenager growing up in Baltimore in the early ‘60s. She lives with her mother Edna (Tony Maudsley), a woman of ‘indeterminate girth’ and her kindly father (Peter Duncan). Her greatest wish is to appear as one of the regular dancers on the Corny Collins Show but her weight, and unconventional looks, mean that the show’s producer, Velma Von Tussle (Claire Sweeney) is automatically set against her becoming one of the ’nicest kids in towns’. But this bar also extends to the black community – apart from the one day a month the Corny Collins Show has ‘Negro Day’. And if this isn’t enough to contend with Tracy’s hormones are stirred up by handsome would-be crooner Link Larkin (Ashley Gilmour).

Most of the songs are expert pastiches which pay homage to such classics as Leader of the Pack and River Deep, Mountain High. They practically fizz with energy and the outstanding cast makes every note count. The show has a handful of more soulful numbers, including the truly powerful ballad I Know Where I’ve Been, which is given a spine-tingling rendition by Brenda Edwards.

One of the many surprises of the show is that despite its cartoon aesthetic and having larger than life characters, it also gives them a depth which is occasionally quite moving. There’s a real chemistry between Duncan and Maudsley which makes you believe that despite the years, and Mrs Turnblad’s imposing figure, they’re a married couple whose affection for each other runs deep.

It ends happily – and because it’s such a generous show the happiness is even extended to its ‘evil’ characters. Its final number, the dance-tastic You Can’t Stop the Beat, sends the audience on its way with the requisite song in its collective heart.

Continues at the Theatre Royal, Brighton until Dec 12.

For more information, click here:

HIV: Take responsibility for your health and get tested

Posted on 01/12/201501/12/2015 by Contributor

I am living my life with HIV!

It’s more than 30 years since the first diagnosis of HIV (1984) and in 2015 we really are in a great place!

I am a gay man living with HIV since 2012 and would urge you to find out your status.

I had a serious health episode in January 2012 (when I was sero-converting) and had a health screening 3 months later, in April with a positive result for HIV.

This is no longer the 80s and in the UK, at least, we have free access to antiretroviral drugs which suppress the HIV viral load (level of virus present in the blood) and boost the immune system (CD4 count). The fact is that medication manages the virus and with time you do change your way of thinking about HIV…and most importantly life goes on!

HIV is no longer a death sentence but it is something you can live with and can manage.

Stigma still exists three decades later about HIV and stigma creates fear and stops people going and getting tested!

More people should get informed and educated about HIV as many remain unaware of the methods of HIV infection. Sure, you know about unsafe sex but can you think of six bodily fluids that can be exchanged between 2 people and spread infection? (1) blood 2) semen (cum) 3) pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum) 4) rectal fluids 5) vaginal fluids 6) breast milk)

In 2014, the government (Public Health England) released figures that 110,000 people are living with HIV and that approximately a quarter of those, 26,000, are yet to be diagnosed in the UK.

The real message in this piece is getting diagnosed is taking power back and all about taking sexual responsibility. Assuming someone is negative because you haven’t spoken about it, isn’t knowing someone’s status.

Equally, having an out of date test result isn’t reliable and doctors recommend regular HIV tests. The sooner you get tested and should you be diagnosed as HIV positive, the better your chances of staying healthy and living a normal life span.

Sure, it’s daunting but I am glad I got diagnosed early so I could treat my HIV and quickly bring it to an undetectable level (still present but less than 50 copies of the virus in each millilitre of my blood). This means that I am not infectious with an undetectable level of HIV. HIV is still present in my system but in such low levels that it is ‘undetectable’.

In fact, my HIV has helped me to re-evaluate my life and while I accept I made a mistake and had unprotected sex with a guy, I would say life does go on and I am living with my status and work full-time in the public sector.

I took control, found out my status and now make informed choices when I sleep with someone.

I am on meds and know my status and a lot about my health and take a very active interest in it. Thanks to medical advancements, I can expect to live a normal, healthy and long life.

People who know they are HIV positive and are successfully getting treated really are in a great place and I believe in reducing stigma and getting a test and finding out the facts – take control, get informed and get on with life!

KD Brighton

Undiagnosed HIV figures remain at alarming level

Posted on 01/12/201501/12/2015 by Gary Hart

New figures of undiagnosed HIV remain at an alarming high level as National HIV Testing Week starts.

National HIV Testing Week (NHTW): started on Saturday, November 21, and includes outdoor and tram advertising across Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Brighton, Newcastle, Sheffield and Bristol.

New figures released by Public Health England (PHE) reveal there are 18,100 people living with HIV in the UK who do not know they are HIV positive, compared to 18,219 last year – a drop of a mere 100.

6,151 people were newly diagnosed in the UK in 2014. This figure was 6,032 in 2013 and 6,353 in 2010 (7,893 in 2005), 75% of new diagnoses were in men, 25 per cent in women.

Figures released during NHTW show the national rates of undiagnosed HIV as:

♦ MSM 14 per cent of MSM living with HIV are undiagnosed

♦ Black African heterosexuals 16% in men and 12% in women

♦ All Heterosexuals 21% unaware of their diagnosis (1 in 5 PLHIV unaware of their status)

Shaun Griffin, Executive Director of External Affairs, THT, said: “The recent media maelstrom around HIV could have been really damaging for the 18,100 who have HIV and don’t know it. Such a damning portrayal perpetuates stigma and could actually deter people from accessing testing, treatment, and support.

“As National HIV Testing Week approaches we urge everyone to get tested. If we are going to reduce the number of people who have HIV, we need the number of people diagnosed to further increase. HIV treatment is now immediately available when diagnosed and once treatment is taken correctly, patients are classed as ‘undetectable’ and the virus can no longer be passed on. Testing is key to prevention.”

National HIV Testing Week Ambassador Dr Christian Jessen, said: “I am proud to be the National HIV Testing Week Ambassador. Testing for HIV is crucial for prevention.

“The fact that diagnoses have increased is encouraging in one sense. If you get tested and receive a positive diagnosis, you can now immediately go onto treatment, and if you are on medication you are classed as ‘undetectable’ and the virus cannot be passed on.

“Most concerning to me is the fact that nearly one in six people with HIV do not realise they have it, so they are putting their own health at risk and HIV could unknowingly be passed on.”

Undiagnosed infection is widely recognised as a key factor driving the UK’s HIV epidemic.

Heterosexual sex continues to be the main transmission route for people of black African and black Caribbean ethnicity – according to Public Health England 42 per cent of all new HIV diagnoses acquired heterosexually were among people of black African ethnicity.

The number of new people who are being diagnosed late is still unacceptably high:

♦ 40 per cent of people newly diagnosed in 2014 were diagnosed late (CD4 count below 350) – this equates to 1,975 people. This was 50 per cent in 2010 and 41 per cent in 2013.

♦ This is 65 per cent in people who inject drugs, 61 per cent in heterosexual men, and 58 per cent in black African people

HIV treatment lowers the amount of HIV in the body to undetectable levels. Global research, has found that HIV cannot be passed on when the virus is undetectable. In other words, if someone is on effective HIV treatment, it is extremely unlikely HIV will be passed on. It means that if everyone with HIV were on effective treatment, we could finally stop the spread of HIV. Until then, it is essential to use condoms to protect yourself from HIV.

Cary James, Head of Health Promotion, Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “The new figures show how important National HIV Testing Week is. If people with HIV go undiagnosed they are at risk of damaging their health and unknowingly passing on the virus.

“We need to take every opportunity to remind gay men to get tested at least once a year and more often if they are changing partners often or have been at risk.”

Simon Dowe, Chief Executive at The Sussex Beacon, added: “Even though we are seeing a decline in the number of undiagnosed infections, the rates of ongoing transmission remain high. Ensuring that people have access to HIV tests, PrEP and HIV medicines is essential in stopping the spread of the virus. Year on year we have seen an increase in the number of people living with HIV highlighting the need for effective prevention programmes to ensure that people most at risk of HIV receive the information and advice on how to stay negative”.

World Aids Day: A fairer future?

Posted on 01/12/201501/12/2015 by Gary Pargeter

World Aids Day (WAD) approaches and the lives of people with HIV have possibly a greater focus within our community.

WAD gives us a valuable opportunity to reflect on where we’ve come from, what the struggles have been, loss, the inequalities, our achievements and our hopes for the future.

Often I’m grateful to use this space to remind people, especially those who are fortunate to not have experienced the fearful, highly stigmatised and often seemingly hopeless days of HIV, of how hard our community was hit, and how it changed things forever. But this year has been an exceptional one, with our service seeing more people than ever who tell us of social and financial struggles, living below the poverty line, difficulty accessing statutory support services, inequalities, and fears for the future that surpass anything we’ve heard for years.

We’ve seen vivid examples of people living in real poverty, both those working and not, unable to afford to eat regularly or meet their bills and rent. We’ve seen others coming to our City, sleeping rough and struggling to find safe shelter.

There have been others whose self-esteem has been destroyed through rejection from people close as a result of disclosing their status. And, when talking to people in our community and wider, we’ve heard: “but everything’s alright now with HIV – what’s the problem?”

For those that are interested in listening, learning about the realities and helping – thank you!

For those who do not – individualism, lack of empathy and belief in community are several things missing, I’d say. For those that doubt there remains a need for support there sometimes seems an insidious belief that many of us with HIV are doing little to help ourselves, but my experience is completely different. I see people reaching out, offering support to each other and deeply caring about their lives and those of others.

This all helps us cope, improve our own situation and build community, but there still remain the root causes of so much social and health inequality. We need to tell people who make the big decisions in our City that affect our lives what the important issues are, and how they affect us.

Whatever our political persuasion, or none, I’ve come to believe that unless we start doing this now, the boat will have sailed, our voices lost and that the important considerations and decisions that affect our futures will have been made without us. Don’t let inevitable good news stories or momentary sense of improved security cloud what will still very likely be an uncertain future.

For those of us that remember the early days of HIV and fought to have our voices heard, equality and rights upheld, let’s do this again, even if the issues have probably changed.

For those who are fortunate not to have experienced those days, join in now, improving the future for yourself and all of us depends on it.

In the early part of next year, Lunch Positive will be hosting some informal visits from the City Fairness Commission to talk to people with HIV. We’ll make it a space where you feel comfortable and confident to say what you think is important.

The Commission has been set up by the City’s Labour administration to hear views and ideas in residents own words on the challenges and inequalities you experience living in the City.

You will be able to talk anonymously and safely. The commission will use what they hear to recommend practical ways of making Brighton & Hove a fairer and more equal place to live. The Commission reports its findings in the summer. Be part of it, before it’s too late…

Gary Pargeter, is the Volunteer Project Manager at Lunch Positive; and is the LGBT Small Groups Representative at Community Works.

For more information about Lunch Positive, click here: www.lunchpositive.org

For more information about The Fairness Commission, (Brighton & Hove City Council), click here:

IGLTA Chair Award 2016: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Posted on 01/12/201524/12/2015 by Gary Hart

Global LGBT travel association to honour the South African human rights advocate during historic first LGBT travel conference in Africa.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu will receive the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association’s prestigious Chair Award for 2016.

The award recipient is chosen by the head of the IGLTA board of directors and presented to an individual or business that has made the world a more welcoming place for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender travellers.

IGLTA Board Chair Dan Melesurgo, said: “As we’re holding our convention on the African continent for the first time, I cannot think of a better award recipient than Archbishop Desmond Tutu.”

“He has been a global inspiration since the demise of apartheid, using his high profile to campaign for the oppressed and defend human rights. He is a true leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS, poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia.”

Tutu’s rise to international prominence began when he became the first black person to be appointed the Anglican Dean of Johannesburg in 1975 and emerged as one of the most eloquent voices of the South African anti-apartheid movement.

In 1984, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Although he retired as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1996, he remains a moral compass for the continent, speaking out against the anti-gay policies of other African countries.

Tutu has been widely quoted as saying: “I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this.”

The 2016 IGLTA Chair Award will be presented as part of the opening keynote session of IGLTA’s 33nd Annual Global Convention at the Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town on April 14, 2016, in cooperation with the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.

For more information about the Convention, click here:

Call us now

Month: December 2015

World AIDS Day poll: More than three quarters of gay men living with HIV experience stigma

Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity releases a snapshot poll of gay men living with HIV in Britain.

REVIEW: Hairspray at the Theatre Royal, Brighton

HIV: Take responsibility for your health and get tested

I am living my life with HIV!

Undiagnosed HIV figures remain at alarming level

New figures of undiagnosed HIV remain at an alarming high level as National HIV Testing Week starts.

World Aids Day: A fairer future?

World Aids Day (WAD) approaches and the lives of people with HIV have possibly a greater focus within our community.

IGLTA Chair Award 2016: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Global LGBT travel association to honour the South African human rights advocate during historic first LGBT travel conference in Africa.

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Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity releases a snapshot poll of gay men living with HIV in Britain.

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I am living my life with HIV!

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New figures of undiagnosed HIV remain at an alarming high level as National HIV Testing Week starts.

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World Aids Day (WAD) approaches and the lives of people with HIV have possibly a greater focus within our community.

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Global LGBT travel association to honour the South African human rights advocate during historic first LGBT travel conference in Africa.

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