2 minute read
More To Me Than HIV
by Glenn Stevens
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There has been much said in the news and press of the government working towards eliminating new HIV transmissions by 2030. In many of these reports it talks about how many gay and bisexual men are being reached with their campaign message.
However, a piece written by Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), Why we need to shine a light on trans people’s experiences of sexual health and HIV, brought up the fact that it was as late as 2015 ‘for new HIV diagnoses among trans people to be recorded in annual statistics on HIV’ and that ‘the impact of HIV within this community in the UK before 2015 remains largely unknown’ and ‘it wasn’t until 2017 that a new code to record trans people’s attendance to sexual health services was introduced’.
Although outreach work is improving, there is still much more that needs to be done to enable those from the transgender and non-binary communities to feel confident in accessing sexual health information. Why is this? Partly because transgender people find themselves having to answer more personal questions to less enlightened medical staff before they can start to talk about their sexual health.
Thankfully, here in Brighton there is dedicated sexual health and contraception service at the Lawson Unit for those who identify as transgender, gender neutral or non-binary. They include the T-Clinic at Lawson Unit and a dedicated service at THT.
Having these services is a massive step forward in giving people from the transgender and non-binary communities the confidence to take control of their sexual health and hopefully be able to be more confident about talking about their own HIV status.
The main aim of the project is to break down HIV related stigma, which can be a barrier to many people not seeking out a sexual health screening, which in turn can have a negative impact on an individual’s well-being, which excludes them from the life-saving treatment that people with HIV can now expect.
By bringing people from all communities together, to show there is no shame in living with HIV, we can encourage others to take the step in finding out their own HIV status.
For those who are still unaware of how successful HIV treatments are, let us reiterate: antiretroviral medication has never been so successful at reducing the amount of HIV in your blood. For those who are HIV+, on regular treatment (two tablets every day), it is impossible to pass on HIV during sexual intercourse.
So, please consider taking part in the More to Me than HIV project, collectively we can help illuminate HIV by 2030, but only if we work together and show the same compassion to all minority groups as we did when HIV first became known in the 1980s/90s.
