HIV Foundation Queensland is taking its new Rapid Roadshow vehicles to the road in the coming weeks in an Australian-first concept aimed at raising awareness around 20-minute rapid HIV testing.
The eye-catching Rapid Roadshow vehicles are themed with colourful and vibrant pink flamingos and we encourage anyone seeking more information about HIV or rapid testing to come and join us on the astroturf lawn and chat to the team of HIV educators. Read More
Lawmakers in Nepal are considering a draft law that singles out people with HIV and hepatitis B, contrary to recommendations from UNAIDS and the Global Commission on HIV and the Law.
According to the draft text, tweeted by IRIN Humanitarian News, Article 103 ‘Prohibition of transmission HIV’ of Chapter 5, Offenses against Public Interest, Health, Safety, Facilities and Morals, criminalises people who are “aware of knowledge of one’s own positive HIV or Hepatitis B status”, who “purposefully or knowingly commit acts that would transmit Hepatitis B or HIV, give blood or coerce to give blood or come into sexual contact without precautionary measures in place, or cause entry of blood, semen, saliva, or other bodily fluids into the body of another.” Read More
The courtyard, tucked off a quiet road here and ringed by mango trees heavy with immature green fruit, was bedecked with a rainbow of balloons. One proclaimed “Happy Valentines Day!” though it was May. Another advertised specials at the fast-food chain Red Robin, while a third was imprinted with the Whole Foods logo. There is no Red Robin or Whole Foods in Haiti, but the energy in the courtyard of SEROvie, Haiti’s best-known LGBT health organization, had the flavor of an American gay-pride parade. Read More
Six in ten Hong Kong people support legal protections for LGBTI people, according to a new report. The paper, published by the Centre for Comparative and Public Law at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), comes two weeks after a three-month public consultation on the city's anti-discrimination laws. Read More
LGBTI activists delivered a letter to Macanese government headquarters yesterday demanding domestic violence laws include gay couples. One of the arguments for dropping gay couples from domestic violence laws was that their inclusion would be inconsistent with the penal code. Read More
Israel's gay teens are attempting suicide at an alarming rate, but the group Israel Gay Youth has said they are being ignored. They say LGBTI teens attempt suicide at a rate of 20%, compared with 2.5% for teens overall. Read More
The National LGBTI Health Alliance has recently launched a campaign aimed at fostering a community conversation and giving gay men the confidence, knowledge and skills to become “lifeguards” in their social networks to support themselves, partners and friends. Research shows that gay men often see their friends struggling with anxiety and depression but lack the confidence or skills to reach out to them to help.
Executive director Rebecca Reynolds said: “This project will provide a whole new level of support to gay male identified individuals and communities by encouraging them to be confident to know how and when to help their mates experiencing anxiety and depression and how and when to encourage their mates to seek help and support.” Read More
A lot of work remains to be done before LGBTs in Kisumu and in the rest of Kenya are fully accepted. Yet, with relatively few means, a young organisation like Men Against AIDS Youth Group (MAAYGO) has created a safe environment where LGBTs can talk openly about their sexuality and safe sex and where they can just simply be themselves for a moment without having to worry about what others might think of them.
'At some point, my friends were dying one after another', says Kennedy, one of the founding members. 'No one dared to admit they were suffering from HIV/AIDS. They all pretended it was malaria or tuberculosis. As a result of this shame and denial, the disease spread only further.' Read More
The 157 year old 60 ft tall obelisk in Sydney's Hyde Park has been sheathed in the pink condom-shaped cover as is part of the Aids Council of New South Wales (Acon) "I'm ON" campaign to encourage safe sex among gay men.
Some have criticised the decision to erect the giant condom in a park where children are playing, but the stunt has yet to experience the kind of backlash recorded over the giant inflatable "sex toy" sculpture in Paris, which was meant to depict a Christmas tree. Read More
In an effort to combat increases in HIV infections, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation has teamed up with FLEX Spas, a national chain of bathhouses, to install vending machines in their Los Angeles location that will dispense Ora-Quick In-Home HIV Tests.
“The new HIV self-test kit vending machines available at sex clubs in Los Angeles are a true breakthrough in access to HIV testing,” said Dr. Jeffrey D. Klausner, of UCLA, stating that the vending machines represent the successful partnership among researchers, community organizations and businesses. Read More
With the the Liberian Council of Churches blaming gays for the Ebola epidemic — with no rational reason, as usual — it’s a good time for a recap of other calamities that LGBTI people have been blamed for.
More than a dozen natural disasters are on the list, each one interpreted as God’s violent response to the existence of LGBTI people or the growing acceptance of same-sex marriage. Also on the list are various murders and massacres, somehow attributed to gays who weren’t on the scene, along with some surprising accusations, such as gays’ alleged responsibility for the existence of autism and the size of Spain’s national debt. Read More
While lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in some sections of the world have progressed in recent years, equality remains elusive in other parts of the world, such as Zambia. The paramount issue on the table, with regard to LGBT rights, is how we create an African-centered dialogue that tackles the social and political issues that currently drives homophobia across the continent. Read More