Report: HIV Rates Rising Among Black and Hispanic NYC Gay Men
The new year begins with more news of a disturbing trend: At the same time New York City health officials report HIV rates decrease among older and white gay men, they report a "worrisome and perplexing growth of HIV infection among young men." This morning's New York Times:
The number of new H.I.V. infections in men under 30 who have sex with men has increased sharply in New York City in the last five years, particularly among blacks and Hispanics, even as AIDS deaths and overall H.I.V. infection rates in the city have steadily declined.
New figures from the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene show that the annual number of new infections among black and Hispanic men who have sex with men rose 34 percent between 2001 and 2006, and rose for all men under 30 who have sex with men by 32 percent.
Heath officials and HIV prevention advocates echo previous reporting at Rod 2.0 and believe some of seroconversions are being driven by "stubbornly high rates" of substance abuse involving drugs like crystal methamphetamine and cocaine, "which not only reduce inhibitions but can also lead to 'hypersexuality': extended periods of sexual activity, potentially with multiple partners."
There are several excellent interviews with black and Hispanic men who are HIV-positive and recovering from addiction, such as Javier Arriola, who, "in a flash of clarity one day, when the crystal meth was wearing off, dragged himself to a clinic to get an H.I.V. test, years after he stopped using condoms. .... He knew the answer before he received the results, but it was far worse than he thought: At age 29, he had full-blown AIDS."
Arriola considered suicide when he learned he had AIDS. "Instead, he stopped using drugs and found new reasons to live. 'For me today, I’ve done a lot of work to accept myself. I don’t drink and drug, I meditate, there’s a lot of visualization of the person I want to be,' he said. 'A lot of it is acceptance. I’m 32, I’m Latin, I’m gay and I have H.I.V. And I don’t feel bad about it. It’s very, very important for me to not feel shame about this.' "
More HIV
More CRYSTAL METH
More NEW YORK CITY
Some Background ...
HIV Rates Rise in NYC Black Gay Men [R20]
The HIV Morning After Pill? [R20]
Black Gay Men and "The Pill" [R20]
Jonathan Perry in "The Advocate" [R20]
Ending Black Homophobia Will Reduce HIV [R20]
Do You Disclose Your HIV Status? [R20]
Primetime Reports Black HIV Epidemic [After Elton]
"Out of Control: AIDS in Black America" [R20]
POZ Examines Race and the Down Low [R20]
HIV Rates Rise Among NYC Black Gay Men [R20]
CDC Tracking "Serious" Strain of Syphilis [R20]
Phill Wilson: Candidates Must Address HIV/AIDS [R20]
POZ Examines Race and the “Down Low” [R20]
"Urban Rally Against AIDS" [R20]
The ABCs of Black HIV [R20]
New CDC Guidelines [R20]
Repeat after me, everyone. Meth = Death.
It killed my best friend, put another friend in prison, and I've never seen it NOT screw up someone's life who used.
Maybe we need to make t-shirts patterned after the old ACT-UP ones...
Posted by: Andy in Seattle | 03 January 2008 at 11:35
Folks, meth is certainly an issue, but the majority of gay men do not use meth, and the majority of unsafe sex does not happen in conjunction with meth.Therefore, a focus on meth misses many, many people. We need to look at our use of ALL substances - and that includes alcohol, which certainly is a factor in quite a few sero-conversions.
A couple of other thoughts — we need to address gay men’s health needs holistically, and not defer to HIV/AIDS, as if that is the only health issue that matters.
I believe that treating ourselves as whole human beings, with plenty of complexities above the navel, will bring about better health outcomes for all that concerns us, including but not limited to HIV infecton.
Two - why are we as gay men seemingly satisfied with one way to protect ourselves during sex? Why do we think “use a condom every time” is enough?
How would you feel if you went into Starbucks and you had one choice - coffee. Period. Just plain, old coffee. Would we have people screaming in the streets?
Well, we need more options to protect ourselves. How about rectal microbicides? See www.IRMWG.org for more info on this new prevention technology, which is currently in the research and development phase.
Okay, and three. We can’t divorce societal and structural issues that put some of us at greater risk than others. It isn’t always about simply using a condom - it is also about homophobia, stigma, poverty, homelessness, substance use/abuse, mental and emotional health, loneliness, hunger, lack of access to health care, lack of insurance, etc….
It will never be enough to simply address HIV/AIDS among gay men by focusing on the area between the navel and the knee. And we need to move away from histrionics and fear/judgement/moralizing tactics which, in fact, don't work.
Jim Pickett
www.LifeLube.blogspot.com
Jim
Posted by: Jim Pickett | 03 January 2008 at 13:11
Still not sure what to say on this issue, just what does the public do? Demonizing has not helped, common sense does not help, sheesh, even trying to help does not help. Its getting to the point that I am tired of hearing these statistics that keep rising year in and year out and just can't muster the emotion to even care anymore that so many don't care about their lives and will do anything for sex, which makes me not happy with myself.
Posted by: Antwan | 03 January 2008 at 16:12