#HIV testing Washington DC

[xpresscareurgent]

Why STD Testing Can Play A Crucial Role In Safeguarding Your Sexual Health

In today’s world, placing a premium on sexual health has become an important component of your overall well-being. This blog delves into the profound significance of STD testing, unraveling common concerns and dispelling misconceptions. We will also see why regular tests can play a pivotal role. Let’s take a closer look at the diverse spectrum of STDs and help you make informed decisions for the betterment of your sexual well-being.

[reasoningdaily]

Hip-hop has had a relationship with HIV/AIDS since Reagan created the crack epidemic in the 1980s. The genre, born out of necessity and fight, never shied away from depicting the continuous plight of Black Americans. Interwoven in the messages of gangsta rap from the East and West Coast was the grotesque characterization of the dope fiend, the crackhead, the sex worker — identities used to mischaracterize Black women and LGBTQ folks as harbingers of an invisible virus. Thankfully, Black women in hip-hop have addressed the misinformation in the only way they knew how: through the music. The same vehicle that their male peers used to dismiss them became the tool to mass distribute youth-centered, culturally relevant, and women-led information to the world. 

From Salt-N-Pepa’s 1992 hit “Let’s Talk About Aids” to TLC’s “Waterfalls” (1994) to Janet Jackson’s ‘Together Again” (1997), Black women in hip-hop made it their mission to prove that AIDS was an intersectional issue. Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes went as far to don a condom eye patch as a way to raise awareness about safe sex practices to young fans and listeners. While groups like Public Enemy embraced the misogynistic ideals about the virus in their 1990 hit “Meet the G That Killed Me,” Black women in music were using radio-friendly, mass-marketed songs to combat societal held beliefs and assumptions about it.

“As a Black gay man, my liberation is rooted in the liberation of Black women,” says Kahlib Barton-Garçon, a Texan who serves as the Chief Program Officer of True Colors United, a national organization that works to address youth homelessness. Prior to his tenure at True Colors United, he worked as a community health worker at Us Helping Us, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that provides services and programs to people living with HIV.

Unbothered spoke to Barton-Garçon about hip-hop’s relationship with HIV/AIDS, the involvement of Black women in early efforts to combat the epidemic, and ways hip-hop’s thinking around the virus have shifted today.

Unbothered: When we think about the 1990s, especially what it meant to be Black in the 1990s, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan in the 1970s and 1980s. Two administrations that introduced a series of legislations that contributed to mass incarceration and unsafe drug and health practices in the Black community. Could you summarize what was going on in the 1990s for us? 

Kahlib Barton: In the 1990s, Black communities were struggling with the brunt of the crack epidemic. A lot of us were navigating experiences of poverty, living in overpoliced communities and food deserts. In response, a bevy of poverty-centered programming focused towards Black and brown communities, especially Black communities arose. It was a lot of lip service to ensure the people who were continuously being elected would stay in those positions. 

What strikes me about those three time periods is the War On Drugs, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, and the 1994 crime bill. The hallmarks of the Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton administrations. The unspoken impact of these legislations, which significantly increased mass incarceration, created an imbalance of women to men in the Black community, coupled with the lack of programming for people to re-enter society after being incarcerated. Do you feel these impacts along with the societal norm of silence around HIV/AIDS created overwhelming conditions for Black Americans? Just the thought of going to get tested for HIV/AIDS was too much.

KB: Even trying to get folks to take the step and get tested was difficult. In the beginning, HIV/AIDS was shopped around as GRID (Gay Related Immune Deficiency), a gay disease, something that was not targeting Black communities. Back then, our community did not know how to talk about Black LGBTQ people. It was very taboo, especially since the majority of us were raised in the church. It was easier to say “No, those people don’t exist.” Therefore forcing a lot of older LGBTQ folks into the closet which did nothing but perpetuate the AIDS epidemic in the 1990s.

In the beginning of the 1990s, Public Enemy released ‘Meet the G That Killed Me,’ a song that reinforced stereotypes within the Black community that HIV/AIDS was a disease for sex workers and drug users. In 2010, Chuck D of Public Enemy described the song as the group’s response to the rampant transmission of disease, that at the time, they believed was “man-made.” Do you believe this song reflected the perception of HIV/AIDS in the Black community around the early 1990s?

KB: Obviously, it was telling of the times. Unfortunately, I do believe that we have [shifted.] There is a larger school of thought and shift in consciousness around HIV and the AIDS epidemic in the Black community. There are still a lot of people who resonate with that message, especially in the Black community, who believe HIV/AIDS is reserved for people who are more promiscuous than others, who assume these people are not careful and do not care about their health. That it’s their fault. That they are somehow lesser than you.

In 1992, Salt-N-Pepa were asked by journalist Peter Jennings to remix “Let’s Talk About Sex” to “Let’s Talk About AIDS” for his ABC News special. They were one of the first musicians to address the epidemic, combat misinformation, and inform their listeners about safe sex practices. At the time, sex education was predominantly abstinence-only. Discussions around birth control and contraceptives were minimal. A time where Black women, similarly to today, were criticized for openly talking about sex. How impactful was it for Salt-N-Pepa, Black women, to talk about HIV/AIDS on the national stage when so many of our voices were silenced in the national consciousness?

KB: The messaging of that time was a white gay man talking about HIV. When you see that as a Black person, especially a Black cisgender heterosexual who attends church on a regular basis, you believe those messages do not apply to you. Some efforts were made to reach out to our folks. The biggest way to reach Black women was to go to Black colleges and churches. Those efforts made sure initiatives were being held on college campuses around HIV that were not just focused on abstinence only, but condoms for people with penises, insertive condoms, and dental dams. That shifted the game. 

All those different conversations were not happening. The majority of education was targeted towards folks with pensises to be able to protect themselves, which unfortunately placed a lot of blame, responsibility, and shame on Black women. There was a lack of conversation about children who were born with HIV. There was a lack of conversation around medication and safety to make sure children did not acquire HIV in utero, a lot of the blame went towards the mother.

In 1995, Eazy-E’s death changed pop culture for Black cisgender heterosexual men, the passing of the gangsta rap legend hit home. Prior to his death, the majority of HIV/AIDS advocacy in the Black community was done by women and LGBTQ folks. Months after his passing, Heavy D, The Notorious B.I.G., Method Man, and Warren G performed at the Urban Aid for Life benefit concert in New York City. This concert was one of the first times we saw Black cisgender heterosexual men use the language of hip-hop as a vehicle for public health advocacy. 

KB: I will not assume those artists were asked prior to say something about the issue. Would they have gotten involved with Salt-N-Pepa? A lot of those artists were resistant. “Nah, I don’t wanna talk about that.” I assume it was not “gangsta” to talk about it. At that point, sexual health was not viewed as something that impacted their communities. Being gay is not hip-hop. We are just now getting to the point where the conversation is starting to shift. We are starting to see more gay rappers make their way in the game.

For so long, it was very clear that hip-hop was very homophobic. HIV being closely related to gay communities wasn’t a thing they wanted to talk about. Eazy-E’s death shifted the conversation, because rappers were interfacing and interacting with Eazy-E. A lot of folks, due to archaic and stigmatic beliefs of “Oh, you catch HIV from a hug or from giving someone a kiss,” had them thinking about their own life, their own morbidity, and if it could impact them since they were in the same social circles as Eazy-E.

I think it resonated with those individuals who were not living with HIV or were not personally impacted by this issue. It was great to see that shift happen, even after something tragic happens, folks may not feel inclined to speak up or get involved. It was great to see action coming from diverse Black communities. At this point, we see rappers talking about sexual health, even if it is not always forward thinking. We see more conversation. I think people are more aware that we can not talk about sex without talking about sexual health and safety.

[urbtnews]

2023 USCHA: A Love Letter to Black Women

2023 USCHA: A Love Letter to Black Women. The Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States (EHE) initiative was launched in 2019. The EHE aims to reduce new HIV infections by 90% by 2030. By implementing key HIV prevention and treatment strategies to achieve healthy equity with all communities while also addressing the epidemic. The EHE initiative encouraged jurisdictions to implement a whole-person approach to HIV prevention and care known as status neutrality. This person-centered approach addresses healthcare gaps and underserved support service needs of people living with or at risk of HIV. Earlier this week, the 2023 United States Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA) was held at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, DC. The theme for this year was "A Love Letter to Black Women." DOWNLOAD THE URBT NEWS APP Day 1: Wednesday, September 6, 2023 A Love Letter to Black Women The United States Conference on HIV/AIDS is a safe space for people highly impacted by HIV. The gathering values diversity, equality, and justice. Attendees can be themselves in all their fabulosity. PHOTO: COURTESY OF: NMAC Dress Code, Published August 31, 2023. 2023 USCHA celebrated and sent love to all the Black Women in our movement at the Opening Plenary.  The plenary was titled "Opening Plenary: A Love Letter to Black Women." USCHA shared stories, honored those we've lost, and highlighted current leaders on the frontlines. The Opening Plenary session also gave voice to the next generation. They are ready to take the lead in putting an end to the HIV epidemic. Sweet Honey In The Rock® The women of Sweet Honey In The Rock® gave a soulful performance. Founded by Bernice Johnson Reagon in 1973 at the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company, the group's name was derived from a song, based on Psalm 81:16, which tells of a land so rich that when rocks were cracked open, honey flowed from them Sweet Honey In The Rock® is an all-woman, African-American a cappella performance ensemble rooted in African American history and culture. The three-time Grammy Award–nominated troupe educates, entertains and empowers its audience and community through the dynamic vehicles of a cappella singing and American Sign Language interpretation for the Deaf and hard of hearing.   Sweet Honey’s audience and community comes from diverse backgrounds and cultures throughout the United States and around the world, and includes people of all ages, economic/education/social backgrounds, political persuasions, religious affiliations, sexual preferences and differing abilities.  Picture: Sweet Honey in the Rock - (From Left to Right) Christie Dashiell, Nitanju Bolade Casel, Carol Maillard, Barbara Hunt, Romeir Mendez, Aisha Kahill, Louise Robinson, and Rochelle Rice. PHOTO: COURTSESY OF: Sweet Honey In The Rock® . (Photo by Christopher Robinson) HIV/Aging Policy Bootcamp I attended the "HIV/Aging Policy Bootcamp: Building Skills for Equity and Inclusion" policy advocacy workshop after the Opening Plenary. This institute focused on the unique challenges that older adults living with or at risk of HIV face. In the United States, 50% of people living with HIV are 50 or older. This figure is expected to rise to 70% by 2030. Comorbidities, social isolation, financial insecurity, and stigma/discrimination are all more likely in older adults with HIV. Participants were educated on policy actions to promote equitable and inclusive care. This includes removing age limits on HIV testing guidelines and implementing the Older Americans Act to be more HIV-inclusive. The bootcamp also discussed advocacy for the LGBTQ+ and HIV Long-Term Care Bill of Rights. The HIV Long-Term Care Bill of Rights ensures access to safe, respectful long-term care services free of discrimination and stigma. Participants met in small groups to discuss policy advocacy strategies and community organizing efforts aimed at improving the quality of life for older adults living with or at risk of HIV. Comorbidities, social isolation, financial insecurity, and stigma/discrimination are all more likely in older adults with HIV. The workshop educated participants on policy actions that promote equitable and inclusive care. This includes eliminating age limits on HIV testing guidelines and making the Older Americans Act more HIV-inclusive. The boot camp also discussed advocacy for the LGBTQ+ and HIV Long Term Care Bill of Rights. The HIV Long Term Care Bill of Rights ensures access to safe, respectful long-term care services free of discrimination and stigma. Participants met in small groups to discuss policy advocacy strategies and community organizing efforts to improve the quality of life for older adults living with or at risk of HIV. U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) The workshop "Storytelling: What U=U Means to Four Women of Color" featured short videos. The videos depicted the interwoven stories of four women of color from diverse backgrounds, all long-term HIV survivors. The videos were created by the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) and the New England AIDS Education and Training Center (NEAETC) to educate healthcare professionals about the significance of U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) to people living with HIV. Each video demonstrated the importance of honest communication between providers and clients, as well as their strength, power, and resilience. The storytellers featured in the videos shared their experiences participating in the project. They also shared its impact on them during this highly interactive workshop. Participants discussed their reactions after watching the videos together. They discussed U=U with the storytellers, how providers could become more comfortable discussing it, and strategies to sustain these efforts. Discrimination Into Motivation The last workshop of the day was the "Turning Discrimination into Motivation" workshop. In this workshop, ... Welcome Reception The first day concluded with a Welcome Reception in the Marquis Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis. DOWNLOAD THE URBT NEWS APP Day 2: Thursday, September 7, 2023 All Up In Your Mind 2023 USCHA: A Love Letter to Black Women. The "All Up In Your Mind: Examining the Media's Impact on Sensationalizing Black Women" panel kicked off the second day of the 2023 USCA. This panel addressed issues such as sexual health, social media, and the sensationalization of Black women. The panelists talked about the effects of stereotyping, colorism, and misogyny on Black women as a result of a hypersexual media culture. Subtopics included patriarchy and pretty privilege, respectability politics and reclaiming our time, sexual health and self-care, and reclaiming our time. Proverbs 18:21 Proverbs 18:21 in the New International Version of the Holy Bible says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Many people face various forms of oppression and discrimination based on their gender, race, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, or other factors. Language is frequently used to reinforce oppression and discrimination. Over time, hearing language that perpetuates stigma, oppression, and discrimination has a negative impact on the health and overall quality of life of people living with HIV. The session "Proverbs 18:21 - Stigmatizing Language in Sacred Spaces" looked at why language matters in sacred spaces. It investigated methods that faith communities can use to reshape the language used in sermons, promotional materials, and dialogue - both in and out of the pulpit. Attendees also examined how racialized and stigmatizing language assigns negative labels, stereotypes, and judgments to specific groups of people. Furthermore, how such language can contribute to negative outcomes. She is Glorious Gilead Sciences presented the second day's plenary, "Gilead Plenary: In Her We Trust: She is Glorious - A Celebration of Black Womanhood." Gilead's mission is to discover, develop, and deliver novel therapeutics for patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. PICTURE: Raven, a 29-year-old mother, has spent most of her life raising awareness and educating others about what it means to live with HIV. PHOTO: COURTESY OF: Gilead Science Stories@Gilead, Published January 09, 2020. Throughout history, Black women have been at the forefront of social movements such as HIV, driving societal progress while frequently being overlooked. This plenary luncheon celebrated and honored Black women's exceptional leadership and ongoing contributions to their families, communities, and society. Their leadership was honored through stories and performances, their voices were amplified, and attendees were inspired by their legacy to help inspire a more inclusive future in which Black women are celebrated for their leadership and prioritized in our collective work to help end the HIV epidemic for everyone, everywhere. Intimate Partner Violence and HIV Care PICTURE: Beaten - November 25 is the international day against domestic violence. This photo was taken in Bonn, displaying the work of an artist. PHOTO: COURTESY OF: Unsplash, Published November 25, 2020 Accessing and navigating HIV care services may be difficult for people living with HIV (PLWH) who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). Traumas brought on by toxic relationships can influence their willingness to seek specialized care. This population must have access to comprehensive mental health services led by certified IPV counselors who understand the importance of HIV care and retention and are familiar with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) community. Cultural competence and understanding are required for effective therapeutic support in the field of mental health. Individuals will incorporate the importance of HIV care and medication adherence into their wellness strategy as they gain mental empowerment. The inclusion of this mental health modality is consistent with the principles of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States (EHE) initiative. The "The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on HIV Care Access" institute highlighted MarSell Wellness Center's trauma informed care (TIC) strategies for breaking down barriers that prevent this marginalized group from accessing much needed HIV care services. Related URBT News article: No Does Not Mean Go Fueling the Movement During the COVID pandemic, the HIV field experienced a significant shift. Many people's mental health suffered as a result of the constant challenge of team building as a result of high turnover rates, the addition of new members to the field, and balancing the need to sustain motivation. In the "Fueling the Movement: Shaping the Future of HIV Leadership" panel, presenters from the National Minority AIDS Council's (NMAC) Gay Men of Color Fellows and other seasoned advocates discuss how emotions such as frustration and anger can fuel positive change while shaping the future of HIV leadership. The Gay Men of Color Fellowship is built on a powerful social media campaign that is informed by its members. Fellows are trained in biomedical prevention and given social media packages to help them launch their "biomedical prevention influencer" status. The campaigns aim to raise awareness about PrEP, PEP, and TasP among men who have sex with other men. Fellows will also plan Facebook live events and create social media posts based on three themes: (1) biomedical prevention basics, (2) sex, desire, and pleasure, and (3) PrEP, PEP, and treatment adherence. Panelists worked together to navigate these complex topics, hoping to shed light on how to build up by combining an administrator's strategic mindset with an activist's heart. Race-Based Health Inequities The workshop "Using a Health Equity Lens to Access Race-Based Health Inequities" concluded Day 2. This workshop guided participants through a 12-step process for increasing a community organization's or clinic's capacity to apply a health equity lens to their work. It drew attention to the historical and contemporary impact of structural racism, as well as system-level issues at the root of current health disparities. Participants were given a 12-step process handout and engaged in discussions and individual planning for each step. The process includes a focus on data, providing guidance on community input, establishing priorities, addressing social determinants of health, and testing new models with data as a guide. This was a hands-on workshop for participants who are in positions to make operational decisions that will assist an organization in addressing health disparities. This workshop will strengthen an organization's ability to be truly representative of, trusted by, and responsive to the needs of people of color. Day 3: Friday, September 8, 2023 Living Positively Day 3 began with the presentation "Living Positively: Redefining HIV Care for the 50+ Community" following morning worship. It centered on Gilead's HIV Age Positively Initiative and the programs and services developed by national, state, and local organizations across the United States to improve the health and quality of life of people living with HIV who are 50 and older. The presentation highlighted the population's unique needs and challenges, such as stigma, ageism, and co-morbidities. PICTURE: By 2030, up to 70% of people with HIV will be over the age of 50. Gilead Science's "HIV Age Positively" aims to support programs focused on improving the quality of life and health for those who are aging. PHOTE: COURTESY OF: Gilead Sciences, HIV Age Positively. "The S Salon Desire, Pleasure & Intimacy: An Experience in Three Acts" plenary session by ViiV Healthcare was a dynamic live show with a supporting multimedia presentation centered on this year's USCHA conference theme of "A Love Letter to Black Women." It emphasized ViiV's commitment to Black women, the cultural and community initiatives they have launched in recent years aimed at Women of Color, and the significance of this work on a local/national/global scale. ??? performed during the session, which featured several keynote speakers from the community and the brand. In addition, a platform was provided for our community partners who are working with us to change the narrative around women and HIV, reframe risk, and recognize the leaders who are moving the work forward. Leveraging Media Advocacy I attended the "Leveraging Media Advocacy in the Fight Against HIV Stigma" session after ViiV's luncheon plenary. Since 2020, GLAAD has been tracking the State of HIV Stigma in the United States in collaboration with Gilead Sciences, asking key questions each year about Americans' attitudes and knowledge of HIV, as well as the stigma that exists around the virus and people living with HIV (PLWH). GLAAD, as a dynamic media force, tackles difficult issues in order to shape the narrative and spark dialogue that leads to cultural change. While the 2022 State of HIV Stigma Report shows some progress in reducing HIV stigma, there is still work to be done, as the majority of Americans still believe HIV stigma exists and report seeing fewer stories of people living with HIV in the media. According to the 2022 report, nearly 90% of Americans agree that there is still stigma surrounding HIV, and only 31% have seen stories about PLWH in the last year. According to GLAAD's 2022 Where We Are On TV (WWATV) Report, only eight characters on scripted series were living with HIV. PICTURE: The 2022 State of HIV Stigma report reveals progress toward easing HIV stigma, through increasing knowledge, comfort, and greater understanding that HIV can be treated to the point of being undetectable and therefore untransmittable (U=U) and the importance of PrEP for prevention. PHOTO: COURTESY OF: GLAAD. The 2022 State of HIV Stigma Study was conducted in February 2022 via an online survey of 2,536 U.S. adults aged 18 and up. CINT, the world's largest consumer network for digital survey-based research, sourced and aggregated the sample. The results from 2022 are compared to those from 2021 and 2020, assuming the same question was asked. The findings document progress against HIV stigma, HIV transmission and prevention, and HIV attitudes and knowledge among people living with HIV in the United States: - Knowledge of HIV is Stable. Half of Americans believe they are knowledgeable about the virus, and nearly 40% have some knowledge. Since 2020, the figures have remained stable. - Greater comfort interacting with people living with HIV (PLWH). Since 2020, the percentage of Americans who are comfortable interacting with HIV-positive people has steadily increased. - Increased understanding of PrEP benefits in preventing HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is one of the most effective HIV prevention strategies. Today, two out of every three Americans believe that there are medications available to protect against HIV infection. Keeping PrEP free or low coat is a long-term need in the fight to end HIV. - Growing understanding of U=U. There has been a steady decrease in key stigma measures, indicating that HIV affects only certain groups of people. Today, only 32% of Americans associate HIV with drug users, and 33% believe HIV primarily affects LGBTQ people. - There is not enough visibility of people living with HIV in media. Less than one-third of Americans say they've seen media stories about people living with HIV in the last year. This lack of visibility has the potential to perpetuate harmful stereotypes and stigma. Protecting Our Care The healthcare system in the United States is fragmented, dysfunctional, and undeniably expensive. Add stigma and discrimination to the list of burdens for people living with and at risk of HIV in this broken system. Public health programs must step up to fill the gaps in care. Recently, the courts and state legislatures have used health policy to attack the rights of LGBTQ+ people and women by restricting access to reproductive, gender-affirming, and preventive health care. Simultaneously, Congress is pushing austerity measures that threaten to reduce federal funding for public health programs that serve people living with or at risk of HIV. The workshop "Protecting Our Care: Political Attacks Against Healthcare and Public Health" provided a policy analysis of the healthcare landscape. It also explored the current political threats to funding public health programs across the country. The workshop examined complex threats to healthcare and safety net programs designed to keep people from falling through the cracks. Beyond Diversity It is important to have an HIV workforce that reflects the demographics and experiences of those most affected. This includes includes as Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities. However, how can organizations go beyond simply hiring diverse employees to foster environments in which employees from historically marginalized communities feel a sense of belonging and receive the support they require to succeed and grow as leaders? How can we work to avoid replicating the oppressive systems that our clients face with our own staff? Concrete, data-driven strategies that AIDS Service Organizations of all sizes can use to improve engagement, retention, and a sense of belonging among their BIPOC staff were discussed in this interactive "Beyond Diversity: A Data-Driven Approach to Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging" workshop. Let's Stop HIV Together HIV affects certain groups disproportionately more than others. Research shows that those same groups have a higher level of distrust of the government and the medical system. Government agencies and organizations that want to engage these populations must think outside the box. The national Let's Stop HIV Together (Together) campaign of the CDC employs evidence-based strategies to reduce HIV stigma. Read the full article

[pashterlengkap]

Surprising study indicates trans women in gender-affirming care contract HIV less often

New research published in The Lancet HIV indicates that transgender women who receive gender-affirming medical care are less likely to contract and transmit HIV. This surprising finding is probably due to the health education trans women get while recieving such care. The study revealed that about one in 200 trans women in the U.S. contract the immunodeficiency virus each year. --- Related Stories Biden administration sues Tennessee over trans gender-affirming care ban The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state, saying that the law violates transgender people’s Equal Protection rights. --- Researchers, led by Dr. Andrea Wirtz of John Hopkins University, followed 1,312 HIV-negative trans women in-person and online in six U.S. cities including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Miami, New York City, and Washington, DC, and through a digital mode in 72 smaller eastern and southern U.S. cities. The ongoing study started in 2018 and included in-person or online health check-ups. As of May 2022, 15 individuals had tested positive for HIV infection. Of those women, seven had never taken pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and seven had previously been on PrEP but were no longer taking it. One participant declined to answer the question. The findings suggest a deficit of HIV education and access to medication. Nine women (or 0.33 percent of the total study group) died annually from circumstances including murder and suicide, overdose, cardiac arrest, another health condition, and unknown causes. None of the deaths were related to HIV. Study participants who sought gender-affirming and transition care were less likely to contract HIV or to die during the study. Researchers attributed this finding to the medical support that accompanies those services, which decreased women’s risks of HIV and death. More vulnerable women may be less likely or able to access gender-affirming care and the medical support that comes with it, the study said. Research also revealed Black women were more likely to contract HIV over the course of the study. Latinx trans women and trans women who had been arrested within the last 12 months also had a higher incidence of death. Risk factors that increased the likelihood of HIV and death included stimulant drug use, being in a relationship with a cisgender man, and living in the South. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as of 2019, 19 percent of new HIV diagnoses were among cisgender and trans women. An estimated 14% of trans women in the U.S. are now living with HIV. The Human Rights Campaign calculates that trans women are almost 49 times more likely to test positive for HIV than the general population. Researchers said the study was a chance, beyond their focus on HIV prevention, to address those indicated risk factors as part of a holistic approach to help vulnerable populations. They wrote, “A singular focus on HIV prevention is a missed opportunity to address other threats to the lives of people prioritized in HIV services and programming.” HIV diagnoses are one of the six indicators employed in the public health campaign entitled “Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States.  http://dlvr.it/SnDpvn

[pozmagazine]

Last year, 282 people in the District of Columbia tested positive for HIV, a whopping 79% decrease from the 1,374 cases diagnosed in 2007 and a 61% decline from the total 721 new cases in 2011. In other good news, the district saw improvements in the HIV care continuum in 2019, meaning that more people are learning their HIV status, getting connected to care, starting treatment and maintaining an undetectable viral load.

The 2019 data were released last week by the District of Columbia’s Department of Health (DC Health) in its annual surveillance report on HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and tuberculosis.

[manleycollins]

HIV Test Results at Walt Whitman Health Clinic

[daddysbarrp]

World AIDS Day

This World AIDS Day remember -

There is a whole queer generation missing because of inaction. People were dying in such high rates that it was a militant but commonplace thing to say - Don't bury me, throw my body on the steps of the FDA.

In my lifetime, the AIDS quilt was created, crafted, and displayed not just in Washington DC but around the country and at least somewhat around the world (if memory serves).

Originally, AIDS was called GRID and was seen as God's 'judgement' against gay people, which, along with then Pres Ronnie Reagan and his ghoul of a wife Nancy, was the reason it took so long to get a handle on it and come up with things like AZT found in Rent.

It's also the reason the Reagan's closeted gay friend and famous actor Rock Hudson died, because they refused to help him get into trial testing for something that could've saved his life.

Before AIDS, queerness wasn't normalized by any stretch but we were moving towards it.

The Golden Girls episode about AIDS was one that was a pattern of sitcom tv like the Golden Girls teaching people how to respond to queer people and 'our issues' back in the day. The same goes for the Designing Women episode "Killing All The Right People" which - I will remind you as an old queen - was a slogan being disseminated against gay men especially at the time (it was thought lesbians couldn't get AIDS and they were practically invisible to the media anyways) - and was one of the first times a show had addressed that it was okay to even touch people with HIV. In the episode, a queer man orphaned by his family asks the Designing Women to literally design his New Orleans styled funeral WHILE HE WAS STILL ALIVE BECAUSE NOBODY ELSE WAS GONNA DO IT. SIMPLY BECAUSE HE WAS GAY. Princess Diana was hated by the royal family for her outreach work period but specifically she was one of the few celebrities that would even touch HIV positive people. Her quote about "giving them a hug, God knows they need it" was in response to an educational push she made to teach people to have kindness or at least tolerance. World AIDS Day might seem like a thing of the past but when our bars are fire bombed, our online actions are silenced by algorithms, sex work is shunned or simplified, and the simple act of being gay could get you cut off from your partner in a Catholic run hospital or get you fired/kicked out of your apartment in some American states still (and beyond that, there are still states where having HIV makes you inhirable for work- it's a thing called transmission something or other - I can't remember the exact title) - World AIDS Day is not some holiday of the past.

It's very present. I'm nearly of the generation now removed from the generation we lost to AIDS. If you need more pop culture context, Angels in America is important. Rent. Pedro from the Real World. And the Band Played On the book. Normal Heart the play. Ellen Greene's interview for the Little Shop revival where she talks about attending funerals DAILY while working on Broadway. Friends would just disappear. Even Pose, as much as I hate Ryan Murphy, is an important tool in remembering the ballroom scene and AIDS. When were you last tested? When were your partners last tested? When did you last confront that reality that the AIDS scare is the reason gay men can't donate blood in America? What are you doing to honor those in your life today that should be honored, remembered, and fought for?

Also, I'm pretty emotional about the day, so excuse any facts I may have gotten a little wrong or not expounded on more. This post is getting longer than I intended with each rewrite.

[202247497caic223]

"By all rights, I shouldn't be here today. I should be dead – six foot under in a wooden box."

Sir Elton John just received the National Humanities Medal, mere months after being made a Companion of Honour by Charles III, due to his incredible effort in fighting against AIDS. But how exactly does he battle the deadly disease with such success?

In 1992, Elton established the Elton John AIDS Foundation, two years after his friend Ryan White died of the disease. He is further of the belief, that he himself should have contracted and died from it in the 1980s because of his Cocaine-addiction.

Ever since, his foundation has raised Millions of pounds, provided palliative care in Africa to support 800.000 people with AIDS to die with dignity, helped 300.000 children orphaned by AIDS, funds HIV testing for 20M people and links 250.000 to safe medication, and launches a new $10M LGBT fund to help gay men in Africa.

But most importantly, he fights the stigma surrounding the disease stressing that "All it takes is a bit more funding and a bit more understanding. All it takes is a dialogue". Because he believes that "the AIDS disease is caused by a virus, but the AIDS epidemic is not. The AIDS epidemic is fuelled by stigma, violence and indifference."

This extraordinary effort explains why he has been awarded seven honourable awards over the past 30 years, as well as, having been knighted by Queen Elisabeth in 1998. What an incredible and compassionate man!

Sources:

[spencers-renaissance]

storm-darkened or starry bright

Summary: Spencer contracts HIV. It all falls apart after that.

Tags: angst, illness, hurt!spencer, hurt/comfort, worried derek, depression, mutual pining, getting together, angst w a happy ending

TW: vomit, implied/referenced sex and addiction, disordered thinking, depression as a result of medical diagnosis

Pairing: Derek Morgan x Spencer Reid

Word Count: 6.5k

Masterlist // Read on AO3 // Bad Things Happen Bingo

(I've tagged my usual moreid taglist in this fic, but I won't be offended at all if this is too heavy for you!)

Title from "Where All My Books Go" - W.B. Yeats.

Originally inspired by J_Ballinger's Swift, Fierce & Obscene which is just a brilliant piece of art.

you said I could have anything I wanted, but I just couldn’t say it out loud — richard siken, litany in which certain things are crossed out

It starts with the flu.

He calls into work sick and he makes himself comfortable in bed, preparing to ride it out. It is the middle of January after all, and their last case saw them in Ann Arbor, shivering their way through each crime scene and a police station with abysmal heating.

His lymph nodes are swollen, and he’s running a moderate fever — 102 the last time he checked — and the cough he’s had for a couple of days is definitely getting nastier, but he uses the time to catch up on the documentaries he’s had stored on his DVR for the past couple of months. He tries to see it as a positive: he never gets time to rest like this. Warm soup, chamomile tea, and some Nyquil should be the end of it.

He makes the most of it. He gets better. He goes back to work, and life goes on.

“It’s not like you to get sick, Reid.”

Emily doesn’t mean anything by it, it’s about as innocuous as a comment can possibly be, but something about it makes his heart stop for a second. Because the thing is, she’s right. The last time he was actually sick was the anthrax poisoning three years ago, which can hardly be blamed on his body itself. He hasn’t been sick with a virus since he was a child — certainly not anything more than a mild winter cold.

His world turns upside down in the middle of a Tuesday, a couple of them gathered around Derek’s desk laughing about nothing in particular, the easy camaraderie of a close-knit team without a time-sensitive case on their minds.

Three and a half weeks ago: a night heady with alcohol in a gay bar in downtown DC, a charged encounter with a man just Spencer’s type, a whispered invitation back to his place, not making it past the bathroom…

He pales, suddenly feeling violently ill at the prospect of what’s happened, how badly he’s fucked up this time.

“Spencer, are you okay?” Emily asks, suddenly noticing his appearance. “You look really pale… maybe you’re not ready to be back at work yet.”

Forcing himself out of his stupor, he manages to open his mouth without vomiting. “I don’t feel so good,” he says, and even to him his voice sounds weak and distant. Blood roars in his ears, and all he can think is what that blood could very well be tainted with.

Far away voices discuss something he doesn’t pay attention to before Derek’s placing his hand on his shoulder, drawing him back into the discussion. “I’m gonna drive you home, okay?” Emily isn’t standing at the desk anymore, but he doesn’t think to look around for her, just locks eyes with Derek: noticing his brows knit deeply in concern, worry clouding his dark, striking eyes.

He lets himself be led down to the garage. Later, he won’t remember any of the winding car journey home, Derek’s worried sideways glances, his attempts at making conversation, tucking him into bed, his hesitancy to leave and go back to work. He’ll just remember the weight of his realisation, the sinking acknowledgement of what this means.

What it makes him.

⭐️

The next day, he wakes up ravenously hungry. He doesn’t remember anything after the dreaded realisation, but he remembers that he came to it only minutes after eating lunch: meaning he’s gone over eighteen hours without food. Somehow, he manages to pick himself out of bed and stumble to the kitchen, pouring himself a bowl of cereal. He finishes it all and doesn’t taste a single bite.

He texts the group chat Penelope had made for the whole team last year, ignoring the dozens of anxious messages from his team already filling his phone. Won’t be in.

Almost on auto-pilot, he gets dressed, picks up his phone, wallet, and keys, and walks to his nearest metro station. He counts four stops, gets out of the carriage and walks up the stairs onto the street, weaving through exactly three streets until he finds himself staring at the sign for his Urgent Care clinic.

Words — not ashes, as some small part of him anticipates — manage to spill from his lips as he tells the doctor everything from the unprotected sex he vaguely recalls having on the night of Saturday the 12th of March to his brief flu-like symptoms to his sickly realisation yesterday. Vaguely, he thinks there’s some sort of sick humour in being able to recall exactly what day he had sex, but not the details of the sex itself. Alcohol and dilaudid are the only things that have ever been able to interfere with his memory.

He obediently opens his mouth for a saliva swab, lets the nurse prick his finger and collect a drop of his blood. He wonders if she knows what they’re testing him for. He wonders if she thinks he’s as dirty as he feels, if she’ll violently scrub her hands after smiling politely at him, if she’ll roll her eyes when she talks to the other nurses, lamenting his stupidity.

The sounds of the waiting room melt into the background as he waits for the test to be conducted, and judging by the tone of the nurse who gets his attention when it’s time to return to the doctor’s office, it’s not her first attempt.

He mutters a distracted apology as he gets up from his seat, but she just smiles sympathetically. It shouldn’t get his back up in the way it does.

“I’m afraid you have tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Dr Reid,” she tells him, her voice gentle but straight-forward. He’s at least glad she doesn’t try and soften the blow. It’s not a blow that deserves to be softened. “I know this is a shock, but—”

“It’s not a shock.”

“Sorry?”

“It’s not a shock,” he repeats insistently; impatiently. “I knew it was coming. It’s my own fault.”

“Playing blame games isn’t going to help anybody here, Dr Reid,” she says firmly, meeting his eye. “Whether you were expecting it or not, this would knock anyone off-kilter, and I’d be remiss not to acknowledge that.”

She waits for his reluctant nod before continuing. “The good news is that we’ve caught it early enough to contain the infection. Your CD4 levels are very good, and you do not meet AIDS criteria. I’ve referred you to Dr Frederiks at George Washington University Hospital. He’s an expert in Infectious Disease and specialises in HIV/AIDS treatment. He can see you tomorrow at ten o’clock.”

He arrives back at his apartment almost $300 out of pocket, having gained nothing but a positive HIV diagnosis. The FBI has brilliant healthcare insurance but Spencer ticked the ‘no’ box on the insurance form. He can’t risk anybody knowing about this.

He texts Hotch and tells him he has a doctor’s appointment in the morning and will let him know whether he’ll make it in for the afternoon. Then he lays on the sofa, and cries.

⭐️

“HIV is a chronic illness,” the doctor explains at four minutes past ten the next morning, “a latent infection. Not a death sentence. Medications have come leaps and bounds in the last ten years, and the regimes aren’t anywhere near as rigorous as they used to be. With your CD4 levels this good, your life really won’t be much different than it was a few weeks ago.”

Spencer’s never had much interest in medicine — after all, there’s a reason he’s not that kind of doctor — but he knows this much. He doesn’t tell the doctor that he’s wasting his time explaining the basics of the disease, just stares blankly at the point in between his eyes, staring at the small crease in his skin, the way it moves as he speaks.

“It’s likely that you’ll die of something else, Dr Reid, decades in the future. When managed correctly, HIV is rarely deadly.”

This seems irrelevant: it doesn’t matter to Spencer what he dies of. Whether his immune system gives in or he’s shot in the line of duty or drops dead in the street from an aneurysm he doesn’t see coming, he’ll be dead.

He still doesn’t say anything.

“For the first six months of infection, the risk of transmission to sexual partners is high,” he continues, unfazed by Spencer’s lack of response. “Are you in a relationship?”

“No.” It’s the first word he’s spoken since he entered this office. His voice breaks. He can’t have the person he wants: this feels like the nail in the coffin of a relationship dead on arrival.

A look of sympathy crosses Dr Frederik’s face. “In any casual encounters you may engage in, you’ll need to be extra careful. Do you have the contact details of the person you contracted this from?”

His voice is steadier this time. “No.”

“Do you have any suspicion that you were deliberately infected by them?”

“No,” he answers, because he doesn’t, but it occurs to him that he’ll never actually know. He doesn’t remember if they used a condom; if he even wanted to use one. (All he remembers is his muscles and the way he pretended he was Derek, the amused look on the other man’s face when he whispered his name like a prayer.)

“That’s fine,” the doctor smiles encouragingly. It feels patronising. “We’re going to start with a triple combination of medications: tenofovir and emtricitabine combined with dolutegravir. HIV is an adaptable virus and easily becomes resistant, so it’s best to attack it hard and fast as early as possible to give you your best chances at an undetectable viral load in the next year. Which, I might add, Dr Reid, is a completely reasonable goal. At that stage, you will not be all that infectious. You’ll have bloods drawn before you leave to estimate your baseline kidney and liver function as well as overall health. In three months, you’ll have another test, and in six months, we’ll assess how well the drugs are working for you.”

Spencer nods, his eyes not leaving the crease between Dr Frederik’s eyebrows.

“Make those appointments with my secretary on your way out, and contact me if you have any concerns.” He pushes a brown paper envelope across the desk. “Inside you’ll find a copy of your positive test result, your prescriptions, and a number of leaflets on the condition as a whole.”

He squashes the urge to push the envelope back across the desk and nods again.

“Pick up the medication before the end of today and start them either tonight or in the morning,” he advises, before standing up from behind the desk and walking towards the door.

Spencer follows obediently, nodding once more and forcing a grimace onto his face, before walking down the hallway towards the secretary, another stranger he has to share his secret with. Swallowing down the urge to either scream or vomit, he fiddles with the envelope in his hands and bites the bullet.

⭐️

He tells Hotch that he won’t be in that day, and he goes home and forces himself to get it together. He showers first, the hot water washing the grime of the last few days down the drain, but he can’t do anything about the lingering layer of shame clinging to his skin. For the first time since the realisation, he forces himself to look in the mirror. A thin, pallid man with bags under his eyes and the look of someone harbouring a secret looks back at him.

His hair has grown out a little in the last few months, actual curls visible around his face (memories flash across his mind of breathy gasps; a hand buried in his hair, pulling ever-so-gently but they’re gone before they’re even remotely tangible), and he lost a little bit of weight he couldn’t afford to lose during his symptomatic period.

But, as frustrating as it is, it’s not what he sees. Not really. He sees Spencer Reid, possessor of five degrees, soon to become six, expert analyst in the FBI, the man who listens to jazz when he studies and watches documentaries for fun and solves crossword puzzles on the metro.

Something inside him shifts as he’s reminded of his humanity in that moment. It’s the most okay he’s felt in the last forty-eight hours.

He’ll take it.

He goes back to work the next day with little fanfare, getting warm smiles and ‘glad you’re feeling better’s from the team before they’re plunged headfirst into a new case, as it so often goes. They fly to Vermont, and part of him is glad for the distraction: no more talking about his illness, no more self-pity — he’s forced to try and bridge the gap between Dr Spencer Reid, Before and Dr Spencer Reid, HIV Positive as quickly and seamlessly as possible.

He does what he’s good at: offers relevant, detailed facts, profiles the victims and the unsub, cites studies that help them get to the bottom of the case, and for a moment he allows himself to forget about the virus coursing through his blood and the feeling of shame he can’t quite shake no matter how clean he scrubs his skin.

They get to the hotel late that evening and Spencer takes his second dose of medication, individually popping each tablet from it’s sheet into his hand. The pharmacist he spoke to yesterday told him that from his next medication order they can put all three tablets into a blister packet for him, but for now he’s stuck punching through three different plastic packets every night. Derek asks him to join them at the bar for a drink, but Spencer turns him down. He’s barely been able to look him in the eye.

If, in some rare and far flung universe, Derek did want to date Spencer, he wouldn’t want to date HIV positive, ex-addict, reckless and unsafe Spencer.

He wouldn’t want to date a man so heartbroken and lovesick that he got black-out drunk and slept with someone — most likely without a condom — just because he bared a passing resemblance to Derek. Contracting the Human Immunodeficiency Virus in the process.

No.

Spencer spends the evening staring into the mirror instead, desperately trying to find the man he was four days ago under the burden of broken suffering he seems to have picked up along with the diagnosis, the positive test, the sympathetic doctors.

When he hears the others come up past midnight and pile into their hotel rooms, laughing and chattering among themselves, Spencer still hasn’t looked away.

The use of the case as a distraction only works until 11am the next day. He’d had trouble falling asleep, and he’s powering through the day fuelled by black coffee and raw determination alone, but those motivators — as effective as they can be — can’t stop his legs from shaking as he stares at the geo-profile, searching for what they’re missing.

It sucks, but he’s glad for the warning the shaking gives him. He finds a chair and sits down, which is likely the only thing that stops him from collapsing when black dots swim in his vision and he’s suddenly vomiting down his front.

“Reid!” Hotch cries, running from the other end of the police station to where he’s sitting, panic clear on his face. They’re the only two from their unit currently in the station, but Hotch quickly locates an officer and turns to him. “Call an ambulance.”

“No,” Spencer manages to protest, although it only makes him want to be sick again, “‘m fine, promise.”

“What��s going on? I thought the flu had passed? Healthy people don’t spontaneously vomit and almost pass out, Reid.”

Somehow, his addled brain manages to concoct a decent enough lie. “Keep thinking I’m better,” he mumbles, leaning forward to put his head between his legs as Hotch places a hand on his back, “and then I’m not.”

“You’re sure this is just the flu?” Hotch asks, concerned but at least appearing to believe him.

“Certain,” Spencer lies.

Hotch nods once before shaking his head at the officer on standby with a phone to call an ambulance. “Well, you can’t work the case like this,” he sighs. “We need to get you back to the hotel, okay? You can rest there. God, Reid, what did the doctor say?”

“Bad case of the flu. Gave me some strong Tamiflu and told me I’d be fine in a couple days.” He gasps the words out in between intense waves of nausea, clasping his hands together in an iron grip.

He absolutely can’t let Hotch catch on. In the nine years he’s worked at the FBI, he’s managed to conceal his sexuality below layers upon layers of closeting, and he’s not about to be forced out now. It started as a purely protectionist strategy — law enforcement in the early 2000s didn’t exactly have a stellar reputation when it came to tolerance — but then he just felt forced too deep, felt the web of lies spun too tightly around him to even begin to unpick them.

Terror seizes his heart at the idea of his team knowing who he really is: not because he expects homophobia or backlash, but because he’s not sure he’s ready to live that openly yet. He’s never been good with change, and this is no exception.

It doesn’t help that the whole team is all too aware of his past addiction. He dreads the thought of them thinking he’s using again and, worse, so irresponsibly that he managed to contract HIV.

Hotch gets a rookie officer to drive him back to the hotel, and she keeps sending him nervous glances, most likely worried he’ll stink up her immaculately kept squad car with his spontaneous vomiting. Both he and the car make the journey unscathed, although he knows he probably looks as green as he feels as he drags himself up the stairs — could there possibly be a worse time for an out of order elevator? — and somehow manages to make it to the bed before he collapses.

Unfortunately, his restful slumber doesn’t last long. He’s woken up not half an hour later with the intense need to be sick again, and he races to the toilet, where he spends the next two hours: intermittently slumped over it, being sick into it, and lying on the cold tiles next to it.

It feels like a punishment. If Spencer was a religious man he’d be certain God was smiting him for his sins, but instead he’s left instead pondering karma or fate or some other theory he doesn’t really buy into either. Logically, he knows it’s just a combination of guilt and regret — he made a mistake, he’s suffering the consequences; there’s no fate or religion or karma involved — but his delirious, out of sorts mind struggles to hold on to that.

Reason doesn’t make the nausea any less crippling, after all.

Eventually, he must manage to pass out on the bathroom floor, because he’s being shaken awake by a pair of gentle hands, and when he finally opens his eyes, it’s dark outside.

“Spence?”

Shit. Derek.

His eyes fly open and he fights to sit up, to make himself more presentable. The smell of vomit lingers in the air and he remembers that he didn’t even put the toilet seat down, let alone flush it. (At least he thought to change out of his vomit-covered shirt. Thank God for small mercies.) He blushes, and thinks he must look a pretty picture of red and green as he finally meets Derek’s eyes.

“God, Spence, how bad is this flu?” he asks worriedly, smoothing his hair with the palm of his hand. Despite himself, Spencer finds himself pressing back into the touch, relishing any contact he can get.

Then it hits him: he’s dirty. He can’t contaminate Derek like this.

“You should leave,” he asserts hurriedly as he pulls away, hating that desperation is so obvious in his voice. “I don’t want you to get sick.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve cleaned everything up, and I used gloves. I’ve been in contact with you the last couple of days, so if you were going to get me sick you would’ve already. I just want to be here for you.”

Spencer squeezes his eyes closed so tightly they hurt. He wants nothing more than to fold himself into Derek’s arms, let himself be comforted by the man he wants to spend the rest of his life with. But he can’t. There are so many reasons that he can’t.

“No,” he says, not opening his eyes, resenting the tear that slips out and spills down his cheek. “You can’t. I’m… I’m not safe to be around.”

He doesn’t really mean to say it, but it escapes anyway, and he opens his eyes just in time to see the confusion cross Derek’s face. “Not safe to…? Spencer, what—”

“I just… I need to be alone.”

“No, you don’t,” Derek says softly, bringing a hand to his hair again, and he knows that HIV isn’t transmitted through sweat or vomit but he’s dirty, and Derek is so so good, he can’t be responsible for tainting him. Derek doesn’t relent, though, not even when Spencer pulls away from his touch and shrinks in on himself, leaning against the toilet. “You need to allow yourself to be comforted. You need to let me help, Spencer.”

Suddenly, he feels incredibly tired: the energy seeping out of his body, and he’s boneless against the toilet, absent even of the effort to hold himself upright.

“Come on, let’s get you into bed.” He puts his arms around Spencer’s rolled up body and lifts him, holding him close to his chest as he carries him from the bathroom to the bed.

Spencer doesn’t just let him, he curls into his embrace, clinging to the material of his t-shirt like it’s his only grip on reality.

(Later, he’ll blame the fever, but deep down he knows that just once, he wanted to play pretend, and just once, he didn’t have the energy to stop himself.)

⭐️

The side effects take weeks to finally leave, his body having a hard time adjusting to not only a deadly virus in his bloodstream, but some of the strongest drugs on the market inhibiting his natural enzyme production. Eventually, though, he’s back at work properly, selling a story about a simultaneous gastro-intestinal virus making the flu exponentially worse.

He’s not really sure everyone believes him, but nobody questions it out loud, so he avoids everyone’s eyes and takes it as a win.

Nobody gets close enough to try, anyway. He pushes everyone away, holds them at arm's length no matter how much they kick and scream and claw their way closer to him. It surprises him how persistent Derek is, and for a moment he feels a sad flutter of hope in his stomach and he’s forced to stamp it down: Derek sees him as a brother, a friend, a colleague, not a potential romantic partner.

And it would be irrelevant, even if he did. Derek wouldn’t want him as any of those things if he knew what he was hiding. Ever since his lapse in judgement on the case in Vermont, he’s refused to spend any time alone with Derek, and he hates the hurt he sees in his eyes, hates that he can’t scream at him that this is for his own good. But he can’t know. Because Spencer is still ruled by his relentless selfish desires, and he can’t let Derek go, no matter how hard he tries to.

Kept at arm’s length at least means he’s still touching his shoulders.

He muddles through the next few months on his own, returning to his quiet apartment every night and eating a sad, lonely dinner on his sad, lonely sofa before punching his way through a blister pack, taking his tablets, and going to sleep. He turns down drinks invitations, declines phone calls, ignores text messages. He pretends he isn’t home when there are knocks at his door.

He takes showers that are too hot and cries on the metro, scrubs his fingernails and his face, and when he got a shallow knife wound on a case last month, wouldn’t let a single member of the team near him. Whispering his status, shame-faced, to the attending EMT.

This is it, he thinks one night, as he opens the microwave and takes out the mac-and-cheese ready meal he’d bought on the way home that night. He doesn’t even like mac-and-cheese. It was just the only thing left in the store at 8.30pm. This is my life now. Standing in my kitchen at 9.15pm, not being able to remember the last time I was actually happy.

(He does remember, really. It was Sunday the 13th of March, 9.37am: Derek had ruffled his hair and joked with him as they waited alone in the conference room to find out what was so urgent they were being called into work on the weekend for. Spencer could still feel the aftermath of his Saturday night tryst, and pretended for a brief few minutes that that encounter was with Derek, and those jokes were actually flirting. But then the case took over, then the flu symptoms, and then. Well.)

Before he can carry the mac-and-cheese into the living room, though, there’s a knock at the door. Everyone had mostly given up on turning up unannounced, so it catches him off-guard, and something in him, some vain flicker of hope, or maybe a masochistic desire to hurt even more, propels him forward until he’s opening it and coming face to face with Derek Morgan.

“Spencer,” he says urgently, and panic immediately grips Spencer as he wonders what could be so wrong that he’d need to show up out of the blue, but Derek must see it on his face. “Nothing’s happened, don’t worry, I just… I need to speak to you.”

A knot of something that Spencer can’t quite place tightens in his stomach as he stares at the myriad of emotions playing across Derek’s face, but he steps aside to let him in anyway. He closes the door behind them and feels a flash of embarrassment at the state of his apartment. It’s completely clean — his already rigorous attitude towards germ and cleanliness have only intensified in the last few months as paranoia plagued his mind relentlessly — but it’s barren of any joy, and it couldn’t be more obvious.

The furniture is drab and Spencer’s packed away all the photos and trinkets that used to litter the entire place because they just made him too sad to look at. The only life that remains is his books, and the sheet he’d hung to cover them up in a fit of rage a couple of weeks ago still hangs there limply. He hadn’t wanted to see his books: didn’t want the temptation of touching them and tainting them. What if he got a papercut on one of the pages and his virus-ridden blood spilled across the words he treasures so dearly?

He watches as Derek surveys the place with a sad expression on his face, before recollecting himself and turning back to Spencer.

“I know you’ve been pulling away from us, Spence,” he says, almost breathless as he takes a seat on the sofa. Spencer doesn’t know what to do with his body, so he settles on remaining where he is: stock still facing the couch, his hands buried deep in his trouser pockets. “We’ve watched you become a shell of who you used to be, and we’re all worried about you—”

“I don’t—”

“No, just let me speak. Everyone is worried, and I am too, but… I’m also… I’m hurt, Spencer. You’re pushing me away, turning me down every time I try to get close to you, and it’s painful because you’re my friend. You’re my best friend, and you mean the world to me.”

I wouldn’t if you knew my secret, he thinks miserably, but he doesn’t say anything.

“More than anything, though, it hurts… because I’m in love with you.”

Spencer stares. He’s hallucinating, he has to be.

“And I know — well, I don’t know because we’ve never talked about it — but I know you’re probably straight and even if you were interested in guys, too, who’s to say you’d be in love with me back? But I had to tell you because our relationship is heading south anyway, plummeting straight for the ground, and I figured it couldn’t hurt, I just… say something? Please?”

He doesn’t mean to say it.

“I’m HIV positive.”

It’s Derek’s turn to stare. Spencer can’t meet his eyes, and suddenly feeling like he needs to Get Out, he rushes to the kitchen and picks up his rapidly cooling mac-and-cheese. He gets a fork out and faces the countertop, away from Derek, as he starts to shovel unsatisfying bites into his not-hungry stomach.

It can’t even be a full minute later that he hears footsteps behind him. “You have AIDS?”

He sets the mac-and-cheese back on the counter. “No,” he answers, not turning around. “I tested positive for HIV; I don’t meet AIDS criteria. My CD4 levels are apparently very good, and the medication I’m taking is proving effective in controlling and managing the virus. I don’t have side effects anymore, and I don’t feel any different than I did before I contracted it.”

There’s a beat of silence. “And this is why you’ve been pulling away from us?”

Spencer hesitates before nodding shamefully, his eyes burning a hole in his dinner. “I didn’t know how to tell anyone, and I—” He’s cut off by a heaving sob. It catches him by surprise, but suddenly he’s choking on emotion: everything he’s been through, everything he’s been dealing with alone for so long a burden he no longer knows how to carry.

“Oh, baby,” Derek breathes, rushing forward and turning Spencer until his face is pressed into his neck and their arms are wrapped around one another. The nickname only furthers his emotion, falling apart completely in such a way that makes him unsure he’ll ever be put back together again. “I’m so sorry.”

He lets Spencer cry it out until his sobs recede and his tears slow, and he feels confident enough to pull away and meet Derek’s eye properly again. It feels like a reconnection; a reconciliation of sorts, and his breath catches at the emotion on his face. He’d expected a meddle of sympathy and disgust, but all he finds is compassion and love, tinged by a sadness Spencer supposes probably comes from watching the man you’ve just professed to love fall apart like that.

Oh wait. Derek just told him—

“You love me?” His voice comes out quieter and shyer than he’d hoped, and not nearly as incredulous as he’d intended, but Derek softens anyway.

“Yes,” he says emphatically. “So much. And if you think you telling me this is going to change how I feel even a bit, then you’re dead wrong, Spencer.”

It’s suddenly too much to think that everything he’d feared happening for the last few months was wrong, and he’s gasping for breath again, sinking to the ground to bury his face in his hands.

“Spence?” Derek asks worriedly, following him to the floor. “Oh, God, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“No… please, you’ve done nothing wrong.” He takes a deep breath, trying to recenter himself, ground himself in the reality that’s unfolding before him, no matter how different it might look than that of his anticipation. “You know, the man. Um, the man I… contracted this from. I slept with him because he looked like you.”

He looks up and meets Derek’s eyes again, searching for anything in them to confirm that he was thinking all the thoughts Spencer feared and coming up empty. “I was so heartsick that I got blind-drunk and slept with a complete stranger because it was the closest to you I ever thought I’d get and then I was just so scared of what everyone would say when I found out. I know logically that HIV doesn’t make someone dangerous or unclean, but I just couldn’t shake this feeling of shame, you know? I was constantly panicked that I’d pass it to one of you. Besides, I’m not even out to the team, and I know the implications of a disease like this: gay or an IV drugs user — I didn’t know how to deal with the fact that I was both. I’m clean, and I’ve stayed clean, I just…”

“Hey, I get it,” Derek says gently, reaching out a hand and cupping Spencer’s cheek gently. “I think if I was in the same boat I probably would’ve reacted in exactly the same way. You can’t be blamed for bowing to a social stigma this heavy, Spence. I’m just sorry I didn’t realise what was going on sooner. And even sorrier, for that matter, that I didn’t tell you I was in love with you before this even had a chance to happen.”

Spencer smiles a little at that. “Hey, I didn’t tell you either. I don’t blame you at all. Neither of us were out and confessing something like that is no small feat.”

“I suppose so.”

Spencer shifts a little in his position on the floor, the raging storm of emotion that he’s been drowning under for the past four and a half months quieting for the very first time. He breathes deeply for a few seconds before working up the courage to ask the question he really wants the answer to. “I know you said that this doesn’t change the way you feel—”

“And it doesn’t.”

“Yeah,” Spencer nods, because suddenly he gets that. He isn’t sure what took so long. “But does it make you not want to be in a relationship with me?”

“Spencer, no.” Derek’s voice is urgent as he makes intense eye contact with him, raising a gentle finger to his chin. “It doesn’t change a single. thing. I don’t know much about HIV, I’ll admit, but I do know that these days you can get to a point where it doesn’t transmit to partners. And we can be really safe about it. I’ll do all the research to make you comfortable, but Spencer, even if it did mean that we could never have sex, I’d still want you. I want you so badly, pretty boy.”

He can hardly believe his ears. “Really?”

“Really.” He swipes his thumb across his cheek, catching a falling tear. “I’m hopelessly, desperately in love with you, Spencer. I have been for years. You can ask, Penelope: she’s been putting up with my pining like a saint, but I’m not sure she could’ve taken it much longer.”

“I’ve been in love with you for years, too.” Another tear falls as the prospect of what’s about to happen really sinks in.

“Can I?” Derek murmurs, as he inches closer ever so slowly.

“Please,” Spencer whispers, barely finishing the word before their lips are colliding and a flurry of butterflies break out in his stomach as his chest glows with the warmth of a kiss he’s long been aching for. Derek’s hands find his waist, his jaw, his cheek, his hair, exploring his body ever so softly as he kisses him with the same inquisitive gentleness, managing to take him apart with just his lips and his hands.

“God,” he whispers as he finally pulls away, pressing his forehead to Spencer’s as he struggles to hide his wide grin. “I can’t tell you how long I’ve dreamed of that. I’m gonna be like a teenage girl tonight, running my fingers across my lips as I remember every minute of it.”

Spencer giggles at that. “Well you can rest easy in the knowledge that I’ll be doing the same.” He pulls away slightly and looks down for a second before looking back up into Derek’s earnest gaze. “I’ve never been kissed like that before.”

“I’ll kiss you like that every day for as long as you’ll have me.” He doesn’t hesitate to lean back in, connecting their lips again as they melt into one another’s touches, and it makes Spencer laugh later that the most intimate and passionate encounter of his life so far happened on the kitchen floor.

They pull apart as soon as it heats up a little bit, and pain flashes across both of their expressions at the thought of why.

“There’s this thing called PrEP,” Spencer says, still a little ashamed of his situation, that Derek has to be protected against him before they can take this any further. “It’s medication that you take before and after sex with a HIV positive person that blocks the virus from entering your bloodstream if you were to somehow contract it. And we can wear condoms. And once I reach an undetectable viral load, it means the virus is untransmittable, and you won’t contract it even if we’re unprotected.”

Derek blinks. “Wow, that’s… that’s better than I thought.”

“Really? You’re still okay with all this?”

He softens. “Pretty boy, I am so okay with all this, and I’m sorry that you spent so long thinking otherwise. We have time to figure all this out, but what matters is that right now, I have you next to me, and we love each other. Don’t you think?”

“Yeah.” He smiles, and leans forward to kiss Derek chastely. “I do.”

“Now, how about we bin that disgusting mac-and-cheese and order some Chinese?” he suggests, matching Spencer’s smile. “We could eat it in bed and watch one of those documentaries you’re always talking about.”

Spencer laughs fondly. “You want our first date to be eating takeaway and watching a science documentary in bed?”

“Well it sounds perfect to me.”

“Yeah, it sounds pretty perfect to me, too,” Spencer whispers, the happiness in his chest feeling warm and inviting, begging him to bask in the moment for as long as he can.

They’ll work out the specifics later — they’ll get Derek started on PrEP and attend Spencer’s appointments to measure his viral load, they’ll have important and serious conversations about the risks to both of them, they’ll work out what their relationship means for work, how they’ll begin to repair the damage the last few months have done to Spencer’s mental health — but right now, none of that matters.

All that does is: the buffet of Chinese food Derek lays out on a blanket on Spencer’s bed, the documentary about bees playing on the TV, and the thrilled little glances thrown each other’s way, the stolen kisses and casual touches, the love palpable in the air around them. And later, when the food is eaten, and the documentary is playing the credits: Spencer’s tired head resting on Derek’s loving chest, and the syncing of their heartbeats as they fall asleep to the sound of each other.

This shouldn't have to be said but please do not use fanfiction as sex education and PLEASE practice safe sex. As far as I know, all the information included in this fic is correct, but I have no personal experience with HIV/AIDS, and this is very much written from an outsider's perspective - albeit a thoroughly researched one.

taglist: @criminalmindsvibez @suburban--gothic @strippersenseii @takeyourleap-of-faith @negativefouriq @makaylajadewrites @iamrenstark @livrere-blue @hotchseyebrows @jellejareau @reidology @i-like-buttons @spencerspecifics @bau-gremlin @hotchedyke @tobias-hankel @goobzoop @marsjareau @garcias-bitch @oliverbrnch @im-autistic-not-stupid (taglist form)

[thestrippershateyou]

Radfems: “I think sex work should be illegal! That will stop rape and sex trafficking!”

What ACTUALLY happens when sex work is illegal:

Alaska

“One of [the police officers] put his hand up my skirt and ripped my underwear off. He slammed me down on the car, he injured me. Um, left me with some broken fingertips, broken toes, fractured cheekbone... I was bleeding, I had my skirt ripped... people were just mortified because they'd seen a teenage girl get assaulted by a police officer..”.— study respondent

Baltimore

“Prior to the DOJ investigation, an internal investigation by the BCPD found an officer receiving sex from a sex worker in exchange for money and immunity from arrest. The case was closed without any attempt to gather more evidence, interview the police officer, or prosecute the officer. Cases were opened for the same officer a second and third time for the same offense. The witness for the third case died before she could be interviewed, and only then did the BCPD review the officer's phone records and discover that he had sent sexually explicit messages to a number of female sex workers. The officer was allowed to retire. The DOJ found similar cases involving other officers.”

Chicago

“I was solicited by a police officer who said that if I had sex with him he wouldn't arrest me. So I did. Then afterwards he cuffed me and pressed charges anyway.“

“I was going to meet a new john, it turned out to be a sting set up by the cops. He got violent with me, handcuffed me and then raped me. He cleaned me up for the police station and I got sentenced to four months in jail for prostitution.”

“I keep being arrested in Rogers Park just for standing still. They keep taking me in for prostitution even though I'm not doing anything at all. It's the same white cop doing it too.”

“When being held in protective custody [because they said I was a victim of human trafficking] they started withholding my sheets, then towels, then pillows, then food because they said I wasn't telling them everything I could—when in fact I was.”

(Claiming non trafficking victims are actually trafficking victims as justification for abusing them - Hey, radfems, the police are stealing your tactics!)

“Twenty four percent of street-based sex workers had been raped by a police officer. Twenty percent had experienced other sexual assault from police officers. Women doing survival sex and women in drug houses experienced a lot of violence from police. Thirty percent of exotic dancers who had been raped were raped by police, and twenty percent of the sexual violence they experienced was committed by police. Twenty five percent of escorts had been robbed by a police officer. Eighteen percent of escorts had been forced to masturbate a police officer.”

Las Vegas

“One respondent was given the choice between arrest and doing something "disgusting". She wouldn't tell the researcher what she was asked to do, but she told the other police officers at the station about it and they laughed at her.

A respondent was asked by an officer to show her breasts in order to avoid arrest. Another respondent had charges dropped because of police misconduct; the officer who arrested her had her perform oral sex on him.”

Miami

“One respondent was arrested because she refused to have sex with the officers who arrested her. Another was asked by an officer for sex, but she was afraid it was a set up and said no.”

New Orleans

“Survey respondents said that police profiled transgender people as sex workers and subjected them to verbal abuse and sexual misconduct, including demands for sex in exchange for leniency. Police were arresting people for solicitation if they carried condoms. Even trans sex workers who weren't arrested for carrying condoms saw it happen to others and where afraid to carry condoms. Some police officers used possession of condoms to coerce trans sex workers into providing free sexual services.

People who tested positive for HIV while in jail were visited by an HIV task force that scheduled appointments at a clinic. However, many people were rearrested before their scheduled appointment. One woman was arrested ten times in three years, preventing her from going to any scheduled appointments to receive care for her HIV infection during that period. Jail interrupts taking medication on a regular basis.”

(I know radfems don’t care about trans people though. Y’all are definitely celebrating the New Orleans situation as a success.)

New York City

“Examples of police language: bitch ho slut you're not dead yet? we gotta go clean up the trash why should we help you?”

(Again, I know radfems approve of this. This is how they talk to me.)

Police raped me a couple of times in Queens. The last time that happened was a couple of months ago. But you don't tell anybody. You just deal wit it.— nineteen year old female

“Police officers propositioned underage youth and made lewd comments. Most female youth in the study reported trading sex to avoid arrest. Pimps were not arrested or received less jail time than the youth that worked with them, even when one of the youths was identified as fourteen years old.”

Thirty percent of the respondents reported threats of violence from the police, and twenty seven percent reported experiencing violence. One respondent said "I've seen cops get out of a car and beat a girl, and then get back in the car and leave." Another said that her greatest fear during arrest was "not coming home at all." The white woman from the Bronx said "... they throw you on the floor and they step on you..."

Another respondent reported seeing officers injure a women in the pelvic area to prevent her from working. “... it was like he was squeezing a handball or something, but really really hard... it was two guys in a car and they drove up on the sidewalk. He pushed her against the wall and then he pushed her against the wall after he finished that and then he said "now get off the street"...-respondent

“One likes to beat me now and then, or he wants me to suck his dick. I mean, it's crazy. He hits me with his gun and gives me these marks on my legs and my back. I don't know what to do...I can't call the other cops. I did that once and they asked this guy to stop beating me. But he got so mad that he came around and beat me up even worse. So I really have to get out of here. Now he wants me to give him 25% of what I make...I had to go to the hospital because I got beat so bad. — respondent

San Francisco 

“4% of respondents described being threatened with arrest unless they had sex with a police officer. 8% said they were arrested after having sex with a police officer. 5% said they were arrested after refusing to have sex with a police officer. 40% of interactions with police officers during the previous three months were bad or very bad.”

Washington DC

38.5% of survey respondents reported being humiliated or verbally abused by police during relatively minor interactions such as checking ID. One respondent said the officer called her a whore, prostitute, and trick. During 8.6% of these interactions, officers confiscated or destroyed safe sex supplies, including condoms. 17.3% of respondents said that police-initiated interactions involved the officer asking for sexual services, or demanding sexual services to avoid arrest. 9.1% of respondents reported being assaulted by police officers. 3 respondents reported strip searches.

Seventy eight respondents were profiled as sex workers and ordered to "move along." The most common result of this was that they ended up in an area where they felt less safe.

75% of trans people and 82.4% of Latinos said they were treated worse than others when they were in lock up.

When the survey respondents initiated contact with the police, usually to report a crime, in a number of cases the police tried to have sex with them. This seemed to be particularly true of trans Latinas.

Studies not limited to certain areas

“Police abuse of sex workers includes verbal insults, coerced sex, brutal beatings, and rape. When police know that a woman is a sex worker, they may harass her when she is not working.The most common abuses are verbal abuse and threats to arrest sex workers if the police don't receive sexual services. Police often assume that sex workers don't care who they will have sex with and will do anything to avoid arrest. But experienced street-based sex workers often refuse to provide free services. They are resigned to frequent arrests, including arrests for questionable charges. What they want to avoid are fear and indignity forced on them by bad officers.“

“During arrest or taking someone into custody, police often degrade or humiliate sex workers, including removing wigs or clothing, confiscating or destroying property, making homophobic, anti-transgender, and racists slurs, and engaging on sexual harassment. Organizations working with sex workers have documented a pattern of police practice that includes assault, sexual harassment, public strip searches for the purpose of viewing genitalia, and rape. This pattern of practice is supported by the difficulty or impossibility of obtaining justice in these cases.”

“When sex workers try to report crimes against them, officers don't take their complaints seriously, refuse to file a report, and may arrest them, physically assault them, or pressure them for sex. When a sex worker tried to bring charges against a security guard who handcuffed and raped her, the police referred to the guard as "a big teddy bear", and added exculpatory statements to her report that she didn't make. This refusal to deal with crimes against sex workers leads serial killers to target sex workers and people profiled as sex workers.”

“Six of the twelve women who had been trafficking victims left their trafficking situation without help from law enforcement, through the help of a coworker or an attorney they met through a coworker or friend. Nationwide, it appears that the majority of trafficking victims escape without the involvement of law enforcement. One supervisor in a national organization said that 90% of their cases were not produced by raids or identified by law enforcement.”

Of the six trafficking victims picked up in law enforcement raids, one would have left her situation in a few days if she had not been picked up in a raid and arrested. As a result of the raid, she was pistol-whipped by a police officer and incarcerated. 

Her conclusion: “A better way to help leave my situation would be anything that didn't involve the police.”

[xpresscareurgent]

Stress-free HIV Testing in DC Paves Way for Longer and Better Life for HIV-infected People

There are over 1.2 million HIV-infected people in the US, as per reliable data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly twenty percent of them are not aware of their HIV status. There is no other way than to go for an HIV test to know the presence of HIV because an HIV-positive person remains symptom-free for several months.

[nouraalali]

The Progress of LGBT representation in American

Before the events of Before Stonewall that took place in 1969, members of the gay, lesbian and transgender community endured constant attacks and harassment from police raids. At the time, members of the LGBTQ did not know that their sexuality had political implications or that there would ever be a new way of life other than in hiding in shame and wishing the police did not attack them. However, since there was little to no media coverage at the time because the LGBTQ community was not yet identified and categorized, the media did not spend their time, technology, and space covering their events in footage or writings in newspapers or magazines. During the early 1960s, even the word lesbian hardly surfaced in mainstream conversations. Gayism, on the other hand, was considered slang, and the term homosexual had not been coined at the time. The first known use of the term homosexual was in Charles Gilbert Chaddock’s 1892 translation of Richard von Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis, a study of sexual practices. During the 1960s, there was old-fashioned homophobia that revolved around homosexuality, and this would explain why there was little to no media coverage of such topics by the media despite the LGBTQ community's continued harassment by members of the police force. The grassroots riots by the drag queens, butch lesbians, male sex workers, and androgynous youths were deemed so insignificant that neither the Life magazine nor the Time magazine dared to cover them. Even the three main TV stations at the time bothered to send camera operators to record the riots.

In 1969 at a dingy, Mafia-owned bar in Greenwich Village, the LGBTQ community reached a breaking point due to their continued harassment by the police. Unlike previous raids, on this day, they refused to be herded into a police van for their umpteenth arrests. This was the beginning of a six-day route that started in Stonewall Inn to Christopher Street and the neighboring areas.

With such an outbreak, the media could no longer turn a blind eye to the LGBTQ community. The media coverage started helping the public visibility of same-sex sexuality. By airing and publishing interviews and protests of famous LGBTQ members, the public started to accept same-sex orientation as part of their societal sexual preference, and names like gay and lesbian were not as frowned upon as before. The media made it easier for the LGBTQ community by increasing same-sex orientation's visibility and perceived legitimacy. At the time, the idea of being LGBTQ had begun to gradually weaken the predominance of the heteronormative discourse and the formation of homonormative lessons. This means that the media was at the forefront of portraying how gay and lesbian individuals should appear and behave.

Identity Politics and Impact of Grassroots Organization in Redefining the Status of LGBTQ

The post-Stonewall gay liberation movements restored radical energies seeking to align politics with radical social change in American society. Legendary activists such as Barbara Gittings from Philadelphia and Franck Kameny from Washington DC understood that there needed to be a radical change that was big enough to overturn the laws that kept embers of the LGBTQ stuck in their second-class status. After the uproar of the Stonewall resistance, it became a symbol that would inspire solidarity among many homosexuals’ groups worldwide. While historians agree that the Stonewall riots were not the first to initiate the gay rights movement, they agree that it did serve as a catalyst for a new era of political activism, especially those campaigning for equal rights for members of the LGBTQ.

Historians recognize older groups such as the Mattachine society founder in California and flourished in the 1950s. Lilli Vincenz and Frank Kameny, two members of the Mattachine Society of Washington, participated in the discussions, planning, and protection of the first Ride along with activists in New York. Additionally, the Mattachine were enlisted as stalwart Cold Warriors, and they used these anti-communist credentials to push for citizenship rights. However, since the riots, new groups appear such as the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) and the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). These groups launched numerous public demonstrations whose main goal was protesting the lack of civil rights for members of the LGBTQ. Although the lesbian community was not as affected as the gay community, they shared the desire to have a secure place in the world community at large. Unchallenged by the fear of violence, they ganged up with the gay community to voice their desires for equal treatment under the law and their unwillingness to be considered second-class citizens. These alliances, in many cases, resulted in such tactics as the disruption of public meetings and public confrontation with political officials to force them to recognize members of the gay community. Unlike before, when gay protests were frowned upon by both the media and the public, members of the gay community demanded respect and acceptance after the Stonewall uprising. Many gay and lesbian communities’ members demanded equal treatment in employment, public policy, and housing. Through continued radical activism, a new motion was set in place, one that discourages discrimination against members of the LGBTQ by government policies. I

t was not until December 1973 that the vote to remove homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual was cast, and the motion passed. Historians consider this one of the most significant early achievements of the post-Stonewall LGBTQ movement, especially since the new law undercut all forms of discrimination against members of the LGBTQ. The nondiscriminatory trend was also forced to educate society on the significance and contributions of the gay community. In response to their activism, any jurisdictions in the United States enforced laws banning any form of discrimination against homosexuals. They also increased the number of employment and agreed to offer "domestic partner" benefits similar to life insurance, health care, and in some cases, pension benefits to heterosexual married couples.

AIDS Crisis in Redefining the status of LGBTQ

In the United States, AIDS was particularly prevalent in the urban gay community, especially during its first discovery phase. For this reason, the public developed a somewhat negative perception of lesbians and gay individuals. Although there were not publicly prosecuted, bt members of the lesbians and gay community were singled out and discriminated against, particularly because they were blamed for the transmission of HIV. Gay and lesbian couples were losing their loved ones to this new disease that only seemed to affect the gay and lesbian community; it drove a shockwave of fear of death from contracting the disease in the community. As a result, there was an increased stigma, violation of human rights, discrimination, and physical violence against members of the LGBTQ. Most of the LGBTQ members at the time adopted "social homophobia." They unknowingly contracted and lived with the virus for fear of societal discrimination whenever they thought of testing or healthcare treatment. One research reports that due to this "social homophobia," members of LGBTQ exhibited adverse mental issues such as depression and anxiety, and many were driven into substance abuse and addiction.

For this reason, gays and lesbians were at the forefront of advocacy for research into the disease and the provision of better support for its victims. One such group recognized for this effort was the Gay Men's Health Crisis located in New York City. AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), founded by Larry Kramer, was another group that actively campaigned to promote political action against the disease through his writing in local chapters in cities such as Washington D.C, Los Angels, Paris, San Francisco, and New York.

Many members of ACT UP were sick with the virus themselves, and they engaged in civil disobedience in protest for increased research on HIV/AIDS in the attempt to find a cure for the virus. Activists such as Kramer made good use of the media when they established AIDS organizations. These organization's central role was to increase media exposure on the risks that members of the LGBTQ were facing as well as encouraging them to come out in huge numbers to fight for their rights. Through such organization and media coverage, it forced the government and private drug companies to pursue research that led to the discovery of ARVs as a treatment for HIV/AIDS and saved the lives of not only the gay community but infected heterosexuals as well.

References

Butler, I. (n.d.). This remarkable history of the fight against AIDS is a guide to the battle yet to come. Slate Magazine. https://slate.com/culture/2016/12/david-frances-how-to-survive-a-plague-reviewed.html

Corry, J. (1985, June 27). Film: Documentary on homosexuals (Published 1985). The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos. https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/27/movies/film-documentary-on-homosexuals.html

Heiko Motschenbacher, H. (2019, November 18). Language use before and after Stonewall: A corpus-based study of gay men’s pre-Stonewall narratives - Heiko Motschenbacher, 2020. SAGE Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1461445619887541

History. (2018, June 1). How the Stonewall Riots Sparked a Movement | History. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9wdMJmuBlA

Holden, S. (2013, February 20). They wouldn’t take no for an answer in the battle against AIDS (Published 2012). The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/movies/how-to-survive-a-plague-aids-documentary-by-david-france.html

John-Manuel, A. (2019, June 14). Film: "Before Stonewall" Explores LGBTQ pain and resilience. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stonewall-strong/201906/film-stonewall-explores-lgbtq-pain-and-resilience

Lecklider, A. S. (2021, June 10). The push for LGBTQ equality began long before Stonewall. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/06/10/push-lgbtq-equality-began-long-before-stonewall/

Weiss, A. (2019, June 30). Creating the first visual history of queer life before Stonewall. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/06/before-stonewall-documentary-archives-history-invisible/592675/

Winik, M. (2016, November 28). David France’s eyewitness account of AIDS activism. Newsday. https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/books/how-to-survive-a-plague-review-david-france-s-exhaustive-history-of-aids-activism-1.12667430

[urbtnews]

2023 USCHA: A Love Letter to Black Women

2023 USCHA: A Love Letter to Black Women. The Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States (EHE) initiative was launched in 2019. The EHE aims to reduce new HIV infections by 90% by 2030. By implementing key HIV prevention and treatment strategies to achieve healthy equity with all communities while also addressing the epidemic. The EHE initiative encouraged jurisdictions to implement a whole-person approach to HIV prevention and care known as status neutrality. This person-centered approach addresses healthcare gaps and underserved support service needs of people living with or at risk of HIV. Earlier this week, the 2023 United States Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA) was held at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, DC. The theme for this year was "A Love Letter to Black Women." DOWNLOAD THE URBT NEWS APP Day 1: Wednesday, September 6, 2023 A Love Letter to Black Women The United States Conference on HIV/AIDS is a safe space for people highly impacted by HIV. The gathering values diversity, equality, and justice. Attendees can be themselves in all their fabulosity. PHOTO: COURTESY OF: NMAC Dress Code, Published August 31, 2023. 2023 USCHA celebrated and sent love to all the Black Women in our movement at the Opening Plenary.  The plenary was titled "Opening Plenary: A Love Letter to Black Women." USCHA shared stories, honored those we've lost, and highlighted current leaders on the frontlines. The Opening Plenary session also gave voice to the next generation. They are ready to take the lead in putting an end to the HIV epidemic. Sweet Honey In The Rock® The women of Sweet Honey In The Rock® gave a soulful performance. Founded by Bernice Johnson Reagon in 1973 at the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company, the group's name was derived from a song, based on Psalm 81:16, which tells of a land so rich that when rocks were cracked open, honey flowed from them Sweet Honey In The Rock® is an all-woman, African-American a cappella performance ensemble rooted in African American history and culture. The three-time Grammy Award–nominated troupe educates, entertains and empowers its audience and community through the dynamic vehicles of a cappella singing and American Sign Language interpretation for the Deaf and hard of hearing.   Sweet Honey’s audience and community comes from diverse backgrounds and cultures throughout the United States and around the world, and includes people of all ages, economic/education/social backgrounds, political persuasions, religious affiliations, sexual preferences and differing abilities.  Picture: Sweet Honey in the Rock - (From Left to Right) Christie Dashiell, Nitanju Bolade Casel, Carol Maillard, Barbara Hunt, Romeir Mendez, Aisha Kahill, Louise Robinson, and Rochelle Rice. PHOTO: COURTSESY OF: Sweet Honey In The Rock® . (Photo by Christopher Robinson) HIV/Aging Policy Bootcamp I attended the "HIV/Aging Policy Bootcamp: Building Skills for Equity and Inclusion" policy advocacy workshop after the Opening Plenary. This institute focused on the unique challenges that older adults living with or at risk of HIV face. In the United States, 50% of people living with HIV are 50 or older. This figure is expected to rise to 70% by 2030. Comorbidities, social isolation, financial insecurity, and stigma/discrimination are all more likely in older adults with HIV. Participants were educated on policy actions to promote equitable and inclusive care. This includes removing age limits on HIV testing guidelines and implementing the Older Americans Act to be more HIV-inclusive. The bootcamp also discussed advocacy for the LGBTQ+ and HIV Long-Term Care Bill of Rights. The HIV Long-Term Care Bill of Rights ensures access to safe, respectful long-term care services free of discrimination and stigma. Participants met in small groups to discuss policy advocacy strategies and community organizing efforts aimed at improving the quality of life for older adults living with or at risk of HIV. Comorbidities, social isolation, financial insecurity, and stigma/discrimination are all more likely in older adults with HIV. The workshop educated participants on policy actions that promote equitable and inclusive care. This includes eliminating age limits on HIV testing guidelines and making the Older Americans Act more HIV-inclusive. The boot camp also discussed advocacy for the LGBTQ+ and HIV Long Term Care Bill of Rights. The HIV Long Term Care Bill of Rights ensures access to safe, respectful long-term care services free of discrimination and stigma. Participants met in small groups to discuss policy advocacy strategies and community organizing efforts to improve the quality of life for older adults living with or at risk of HIV. U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) The workshop "Storytelling: What U=U Means to Four Women of Color" featured short videos. The videos depicted the interwoven stories of four women of color from diverse backgrounds, all long-term HIV survivors. The videos were created by the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) and the New England AIDS Education and Training Center (NEAETC) to educate healthcare professionals about the significance of U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) to people living with HIV. Each video demonstrated the importance of honest communication between providers and clients, as well as their strength, power, and resilience. The storytellers featured in the videos shared their experiences participating in the project. They also shared its impact on them during this highly interactive workshop. Participants discussed their reactions after watching the videos together. They discussed U=U with the storytellers, how providers could become more comfortable discussing it, and strategies to sustain these efforts. Discrimination Into Motivation The last workshop of the day was the "Turning Discrimination into Motivation" workshop. In this workshop, ... Welcome Reception The first day concluded with a Welcome Reception in the Marquis Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis. DOWNLOAD THE URBT NEWS APP Day 2: Thursday, September 7, 2023 All Up In Your Mind 2023 USCHA: A Love Letter to Black Women. The "All Up In Your Mind: Examining the Media's Impact on Sensationalizing Black Women" panel kicked off the second day of the 2023 USCA. This panel addressed issues such as sexual health, social media, and the sensationalization of Black women. The panelists talked about the effects of stereotyping, colorism, and misogyny on Black women as a result of a hypersexual media culture. Subtopics included patriarchy and pretty privilege, respectability politics and reclaiming our time, sexual health and self-care, and reclaiming our time. Proverbs 18:21 Proverbs 18:21 in the New International Version of the Holy Bible says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Many people face various forms of oppression and discrimination based on their gender, race, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, or other factors. Language is frequently used to reinforce oppression and discrimination. Over time, hearing language that perpetuates stigma, oppression, and discrimination has a negative impact on the health and overall quality of life of people living with HIV. The session "Proverbs 18:21 - Stigmatizing Language in Sacred Spaces" looked at why language matters in sacred spaces. It investigated methods that faith communities can use to reshape the language used in sermons, promotional materials, and dialogue - both in and out of the pulpit. Attendees also examined how racialized and stigmatizing language assigns negative labels, stereotypes, and judgments to specific groups of people. Furthermore, how such language can contribute to negative outcomes. She is Glorious Gilead Sciences presented the second day's plenary, "Gilead Plenary: In Her We Trust: She is Glorious - A Celebration of Black Womanhood." Gilead's mission is to discover, develop, and deliver novel therapeutics for patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. PICTURE: Raven, a 29-year-old mother, has spent most of her life raising awareness and educating others about what it means to live with HIV. PHOTO: COURTESY OF: Gilead Science Stories@Gilead, Published January 09, 2020. Throughout history, Black women have been at the forefront of social movements such as HIV, driving societal progress while frequently being overlooked. This plenary luncheon celebrated and honored Black women's exceptional leadership and ongoing contributions to their families, communities, and society. Their leadership was honored through stories and performances, their voices were amplified, and attendees were inspired by their legacy to help inspire a more inclusive future in which Black women are celebrated for their leadership and prioritized in our collective work to help end the HIV epidemic for everyone, everywhere. Intimate Partner Violence and HIV Care PICTURE: Beaten - November 25 is the international day against domestic violence. This photo was taken in Bonn, displaying the work of an artist. PHOTO: COURTESY OF: Unsplash, Published November 25, 2020 Accessing and navigating HIV care services may be difficult for people living with HIV (PLWH) who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). Traumas brought on by toxic relationships can influence their willingness to seek specialized care. This population must have access to comprehensive mental health services led by certified IPV counselors who understand the importance of HIV care and retention and are familiar with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) community. Cultural competence and understanding are required for effective therapeutic support in the field of mental health. Individuals will incorporate the importance of HIV care and medication adherence into their wellness strategy as they gain mental empowerment. The inclusion of this mental health modality is consistent with the principles of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States (EHE) initiative. The "The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on HIV Care Access" institute highlighted MarSell Wellness Center's trauma informed care (TIC) strategies for breaking down barriers that prevent this marginalized group from accessing much needed HIV care services. Related URBT News article: No Does Not Mean Go Fueling the Movement During the COVID pandemic, the HIV field experienced a significant shift. Many people's mental health suffered as a result of the constant challenge of team building as a result of high turnover rates, the addition of new members to the field, and balancing the need to sustain motivation. In the "Fueling the Movement: Shaping the Future of HIV Leadership" panel, presenters from the National Minority AIDS Council's (NMAC) Gay Men of Color Fellows and other seasoned advocates discuss how emotions such as frustration and anger can fuel positive change while shaping the future of HIV leadership. The Gay Men of Color Fellowship is built on a powerful social media campaign that is informed by its members. Fellows are trained in biomedical prevention and given social media packages to help them launch their "biomedical prevention influencer" status. The campaigns aim to raise awareness about PrEP, PEP, and TasP among men who have sex with other men. Fellows will also plan Facebook live events and create social media posts based on three themes: (1) biomedical prevention basics, (2) sex, desire, and pleasure, and (3) PrEP, PEP, and treatment adherence. Panelists worked together to navigate these complex topics, hoping to shed light on how to build up by combining an administrator's strategic mindset with an activist's heart. Race-Based Health Inequities The workshop "Using a Health Equity Lens to Access Race-Based Health Inequities" concluded Day 2. This workshop guided participants through a 12-step process for increasing a community organization's or clinic's capacity to apply a health equity lens to their work. It drew attention to the historical and contemporary impact of structural racism, as well as system-level issues at the root of current health disparities. Participants were given a 12-step process handout and engaged in discussions and individual planning for each step. The process includes a focus on data, providing guidance on community input, establishing priorities, addressing social determinants of health, and testing new models with data as a guide. This was a hands-on workshop for participants who are in positions to make operational decisions that will assist an organization in addressing health disparities. This workshop will strengthen an organization's ability to be truly representative of, trusted by, and responsive to the needs of people of color. Day 3: Friday, September 8, 2023 Living Positively Day 3 began with the presentation "Living Positively: Redefining HIV Care for the 50+ Community" following morning worship. It centered on Gilead's HIV Age Positively Initiative and the programs and services developed by national, state, and local organizations across the United States to improve the health and quality of life of people living with HIV who are 50 and older. The presentation highlighted the population's unique needs and challenges, such as stigma, ageism, and co-morbidities. PICTURE: By 2030, up to 70% of people with HIV will be over the age of 50. Gilead Science's "HIV Age Positively" aims to support programs focused on improving the quality of life and health for those who are aging. PHOTE: COURTESY OF: Gilead Sciences, HIV Age Positively. "The S Salon Desire, Pleasure & Intimacy: An Experience in Three Acts" plenary session by ViiV Healthcare was a dynamic live show with a supporting multimedia presentation centered on this year's USCHA conference theme of "A Love Letter to Black Women." It emphasized ViiV's commitment to Black women, the cultural and community initiatives they have launched in recent years aimed at Women of Color, and the significance of this work on a local/national/global scale. ??? performed during the session, which featured several keynote speakers from the community and the brand. In addition, a platform was provided for our community partners who are working with us to change the narrative around women and HIV, reframe risk, and recognize the leaders who are moving the work forward. Leveraging Media Advocacy I attended the "Leveraging Media Advocacy in the Fight Against HIV Stigma" session after ViiV's luncheon plenary. Since 2020, GLAAD has been tracking the State of HIV Stigma in the United States in collaboration with Gilead Sciences, asking key questions each year about Americans' attitudes and knowledge of HIV, as well as the stigma that exists around the virus and people living with HIV (PLWH). GLAAD, as a dynamic media force, tackles difficult issues in order to shape the narrative and spark dialogue that leads to cultural change. While the 2022 State of HIV Stigma Report shows some progress in reducing HIV stigma, there is still work to be done, as the majority of Americans still believe HIV stigma exists and report seeing fewer stories of people living with HIV in the media. According to the 2022 report, nearly 90% of Americans agree that there is still stigma surrounding HIV, and only 31% have seen stories about PLWH in the last year. According to GLAAD's 2022 Where We Are On TV (WWATV) Report, only eight characters on scripted series were living with HIV. PICTURE: The 2022 State of HIV Stigma report reveals progress toward easing HIV stigma, through increasing knowledge, comfort, and greater understanding that HIV can be treated to the point of being undetectable and therefore untransmittable (U=U) and the importance of PrEP for prevention. PHOTO: COURTESY OF: GLAAD. The 2022 State of HIV Stigma Study was conducted in February 2022 via an online survey of 2,536 U.S. adults aged 18 and up. CINT, the world's largest consumer network for digital survey-based research, sourced and aggregated the sample. The results from 2022 are compared to those from 2021 and 2020, assuming the same question was asked. The findings document progress against HIV stigma, HIV transmission and prevention, and HIV attitudes and knowledge among people living with HIV in the United States: - Knowledge of HIV is Stable. Half of Americans believe they are knowledgeable about the virus, and nearly 40% have some knowledge. Since 2020, the figures have remained stable. - Greater comfort interacting with people living with HIV (PLWH). Since 2020, the percentage of Americans who are comfortable interacting with HIV-positive people has steadily increased. - Increased understanding of PrEP benefits in preventing HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is one of the most effective HIV prevention strategies. Today, two out of every three Americans believe that there are medications available to protect against HIV infection. Keeping PrEP free or low coat is a long-term need in the fight to end HIV. - Growing understanding of U=U. There has been a steady decrease in key stigma measures, indicating that HIV affects only certain groups of people. Today, only 32% of Americans associate HIV with drug users, and 33% believe HIV primarily affects LGBTQ people. - There is not enough visibility of people living with HIV in media. Less than one-third of Americans say they've seen media stories about people living with HIV in the last year. This lack of visibility has the potential to perpetuate harmful stereotypes and stigma. Protecting Our Care The healthcare system in the United States is fragmented, dysfunctional, and undeniably expensive. Add stigma and discrimination to the list of burdens for people living with and at risk of HIV in this broken system. Public health programs must step up to fill the gaps in care. Recently, the courts and state legislatures have used health policy to attack the rights of LGBTQ+ people and women by restricting access to reproductive, gender-affirming, and preventive health care. Simultaneously, Congress is pushing austerity measures that threaten to reduce federal funding for public health programs that serve people living with or at risk of HIV. The workshop "Protecting Our Care: Political Attacks Against Healthcare and Public Health" provided a policy analysis of the healthcare landscape. It also explored the current political threats to funding public health programs across the country. The workshop examined complex threats to healthcare and safety net programs designed to keep people from falling through the cracks. Beyond Diversity It is important to have an HIV workforce that reflects the demographics and experiences of those most affected. This includes includes as Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities. However, how can organizations go beyond simply hiring diverse employees to foster environments in which employees from historically marginalized communities feel a sense of belonging and receive the support they require to succeed and grow as leaders? How can we work to avoid replicating the oppressive systems that our clients face with our own staff? Concrete, data-driven strategies that AIDS Service Organizations of all sizes can use to improve engagement, retention, and a sense of belonging among their BIPOC staff were discussed in this interactive "Beyond Diversity: A Data-Driven Approach to Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging" workshop. Let's Stop HIV Together HIV affects certain groups disproportionately more than others. Research shows that those same groups have a higher level of distrust of the government and the medical system. Government agencies and organizations that want to engage these populations must think outside the box. The national Let's Stop HIV Together (Together) campaign of the CDC employs evidence-based strategies to reduce HIV stigma. Read the full article

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[pozmagazine]

Ron Simmons, PhD, an accomplished academic based in Washington, DC, and exceptional AIDS advocate who championed Black gay men, has died. He was 70. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed among the outpourings and remembrances on social media. Simmons had lived with HIV for 30 years, having tested positive in 1990, according to The Ubuntu Biography Project.

Simmons was featured on a special foldout cover for the 2015 POZ 100 (along with Fred Hersch, Luna Luis Ortiz, Erin Secker and Lolisa Gibson-Hunte). That year’s list honored long-term survivors, defined as those living with the virus since 1995 or earlier. Here is what we wrote in 2015 about Simmons:

It’s no secret the HIV epidemic disproportionately affects African-American men who have sex with men (MSM). That’s why Ron’s work remains so vital. For the past 23 years, he has helped lead Us Helping Us, People Into Living, where he’s now the president and CEO. It started out as a support group for HIV-positive Black gay men, but under Ron’s leadership—and thanks to his having raised $30 million since 1992—the group is now one of the largest Black AIDS groups in the country, serving men, women, transgender people and youth. He has been active with the DC Board of Medicine and the health department’s HIV Prevention Community Planning Group. No wonder the White House honored him as a Champion of Change.

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In Nigeria where Chevron is the third-largest oil producer and in 2010 employed 6,600 Nigerians, an estimated 75,000 babies are born HIV positive every year – mostly due to mother-to-child transmission. This announcement came as part of Chevron’s $20 million commitment made at the United Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS in 2011 to eliminate new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keep their mothers alive. We are grateful to Direct Relief International and the local-country implementing partners for their work in helping us to reach so many mothers and families across the developing world." Chevron: $20 Million to Eliminate Childhood HIV InfectionsĪt this year’s International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, Chevron announced its partnership with Pact, the Business Leadership Council (BLC), mothers2mothers and the Global Fund to reduce the rates of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Nigeria, Angola, and South Africa. "By donating 20 million rapid HIV tests, we have helped thousands of children to be born without HIV. "Helping pregnant mothers to know their HIV status is a critical step in advancing access to treatment and preventing the transmission of HIV to children," said Katherine Pickus, divisional vice president of Global Citizenship & Policy, Abbott, and vice president, the Abbott Fund. Abbott estimates that as a result of these efforts, a minimum of 150,000 new cases of HIV were averted in infants over the past decade.*

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Mothers who tested HIV positive were offered free preventative treatment and therapy to protect their children from becoming infected with HIV. The rapid HIV tests distributed by Abbott and its partners over the past 10 years allowed even the most remote health clinic to test and within 15 minutes provide results for patients. This summer, through partnerships with Direct Relief and over 150 other organizations, and with the participation of more than 8,000 medical facilities, Abbott reached that 20 million milestone. In response to this epidemic, in 2002 Abbott and its foundation, the Abbott Fund, made a commitment to donate 20 million rapid HIV tests to HIV and counseling programs serving pregnant women and their families in 43 developing countries. Globally, more than 33 million people, or the equivalent of the entire population of Canada, have HIV/AIDS and each day, approximately 1,000 more children are infected with HIV, 90% through mother-to-child transmission. This summer both Chevron and Abbott announced “20 million” milestones of their own, aimed at dramatically reducing the numbers of mother-to-child AIDS transmission in the developing world. $20 million equals two Kim Kardashian weddings, Carmelo Anthony’s 2012 contract with the Knicks, or the amount Jay-Z paid for the island he gave Beyonce for her birthday. During the 2012 London Olympics 20 million viewers tuned in to watch Usain Bolt win the men’s 100 meter dash.