Homophobia in Black Communities Means More Young Men Get AIDS

[xchrom]

http://www.theatlantic.com/events/archive/2013/11/homophobia-in-black-communities-means-more-young-men-get-aids/281741/



The AIDS epidemic is a solvable problem. Ending AIDS is not just an aspiration. But despite recent advancements in diagnosis and treatment, explained Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease at a recent Atlantic forum, the rate of new infections has stopped decreasing, remaining at a plateau over the last decade.

Why? At least part of the cause is the stigma against homosexuality in the black community, Fauci and others agreed.

“We can’t forget that in this country, the risk [of HIV infection] for a young gay man, particularly a young African-American man—the risk is really huge,” Fauci said. “But there’s still discrimination and stigma.”

Fauci described how this problem has taken shape in Washington, D.C., where about half of the population is black. In predominantly white areas, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is very low, he said, but in predominantly black areas, “the rate is seven or eight percent. The disparity is not only of African Americans who are disenfranchised from health care, but also the difficulty of social acceptance in the African American community of a gay man of color.”

[LuvNewcastle]

1. Holy shit, this is horrible!

From the article:

"Yes, it’s as shocking as it sounds: Half of gay black men under the age of 24 may be infected with HIV."

Something's got to be done about this. A lot of those guys aren't getting tested, either, so they don't know they have AIDS and they're not being treated. I bet the percentage of straight black men with AIDS is high, too, since so many of them get caught up in the legal system and do time in prison. This is a national crisis! President Obama should be speaking about this. I don't know what we're going to have to do, but we have to get these guys tested and get them the treatment they need.