On National Black HIV / AIDS Awareness Day, We Must Work Together to End the Stigma
February 7th is National Black HIV / AIDS Awareness Day, where advocates and health workers rally together to increase HIV education, testing, community involvement, and treatment among Black communities. Planned Parenthood’s Project Street Beat program provides confidential, non-judgemental health care to those on the streets, and we know intimately how important it is to highlight the needs of marginalized communities in relation to HIV and to strategize intersectional approaches to health equity. This year’s National Black HIV / AIDS Awareness Day theme is “Together for Love: Stop HIV Stigma”, which highlights the role we all have to play in ending the stigmatization of HIV.
HIV diagnoses among Black Americans have overall declined in recent years, but the results are not unilateral. In New York City, According to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s report, from 2016 to 2017, the number of new HIV diagnoses among women, including cisgender and transgender women, decreased by 11.6 percent. This includes declines among Latina, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Black women (28 percent, 21 percent, and 8 percent declines, respectively). From 2016 to 2017, the number of new HIV diagnoses among men, including cisgender and transgender men, decreased by 3.6 percent, with rates among men who have sex with men remaining stable. The rate of HIV among Latino men increased slightly.
Some of the most powerful tools in our HIV prevention toolkits are compassionate and comprehensive sexuality education and awareness initiatives that can teach those at risk about prevention medications like PrEP and PEP, increasing health care access, and supporting programs that are dedicated to ensuring that those living with HIV can exist with dignity and needed support.
Central to the mission of Project Street Beat is meeting those in need where they are — that’s why our Mobile Health Center, a partnership with the Keith Haring Foundation, travels through upper Manhattan, Central Brooklyn, and the South Bronx providing care to New Yorkers in their neighborhoods. Our services on the Mobile Health Center include HIV testing and counseling, STI screening and treatment, PrEP counseling and referrals, Hepatitis C screening, Narcan and overdose prevention, birth control and emergency contraception, and gynecological care. At our offices, we also provide case management, support groups, harm reduction counseling, and more. We have deep community roots and understand the importance of making sure we’re a trusted partner to the groups we serve — we believe this is core to providing health care with compassion.
Many people living with HIV experience shame and stigma as a result of their diagnosis — and this is a critical barrier to care. HIV stigma can prevent people from getting tested or knowing their status, and from reaching out to family and friends or other sources of support out of fear. Stigma related to substance use prevents people who use drugs from accessing needed health care and harm reduction services. And stigma related to HIV-prevention tools like PrEP stands in the way of more people taking advantage of this critical medication. That’s why it’s so important to know that when we talk about ending the stigma, we’re not just talking about making people feel better — we’re talking about making sure people can access the health care they need, when they need it, and actually improving their quality of life.
How do we actively work together to end the stigma? It can start with you. Be careful of the language you use when discussing HIV and HIV positive people, and avoid language that could be harmful or discriminatory. Learn and tell others about important HIV medication like PrEP and PEP — sharing this information could change someone’s life. Support policies and programs that, like Project Street Beat, meet people where they are — not where you think they should be. Don’t stay silent — firmly point out when others around you are contributing to HIV stigma and encourage them to do better.
At Planned Parenthood of New York City, we’re committed to creating communities where all people have access to the health they care they need to live fully and with dignity. We need your help to raise awareness about HIV and to end the stigma against it — allowing those affected to heal, move forward, and live in communities where they have the resources and support they need to thrive. It starts right now.
