1/3 of Asian/Pacific Islanders with HIV Don’t Know They Have It

By Aastik Pokhrel

Tomorrow, Wednesday May 19^th is the 6th annual National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Led by the Banyan Tree Project in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the occasion is dedicated to ending the silence and shame surrounding HIV/AIDS in Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities.

While APIs are one of the fastest-growing ethnic/racial groups in the U.S., unfortunately, we are also one of the most susceptible to contracting HIV/AIDS.

Consider the following facts (from The Banyan Tree’s fact sheet – “Stigma, HIV/AIDS, and Asian & Pacific Islanders”):

• Every 5 years the number of APIs (both men and women) living with AIDS increases by 10%.
• Annual percentage increase in new HIV infections for APIs is higher than any other ethnic/racial group
• 1 in 3 APIs living with HIV don’t know it!

These data convey the urgency of getting tested and knowing your status, not only as an integral part of living a healthy life, but also to prevent further escalation of this disease within our communities.

While homophobic sentiments, which are often even stronger within South Asian cultures and communities, present debilitating hurdles in our everyday lives, HIV-related stigma poses an added difficulty. HIV-related stigma refers to the severe individual, family and community shame or disgrace associated with HIV. People living with HIV often are blamed and punished—by exclusion, isolation, prejudice and discrimination. They are often vilified and reduced to stereotypes with little regard for their individual experience or situation.

HIV-related stigma is so powerful, especially in South Asian communities, that people often avoid talking about sex or HIV entirely. This silence feeds fear and misconceptions about HIV transmission. An HIV-positive test result can shame and disgrace the individual, as well as the family and community. The intense fear and shame engendered by this stigma can lead to depression and isolation, often causing people to engage in unsafe behaviors such as unprotected sex or drug use.

Furthermore, statistics, like those listed above, paint a picture contrary to popular beliefs that HIV/AIDS is no longer relevant to the queer community. A May 17 op-ed in The Boston Globe discusses factors that contribute to common misconceptions about HIV/AIDS:

“We’re here because we have wasted a decade on abstinence-only sex education. A generation of young people have been deprived of honest information about sex. It’s not at all uncommon for an HIV testing site to see a young man who has been sexually active for less than a year come in for a test and learn that he is HIV positive. It is at once heartbreaking and maddening. At this point in the epidemic no one, least of all a 19-year-old just starting out in life, should be contracting HIV.”

API men, particularly MSM (men who have sex with men) are projected to be at a proportionally higher risk. After all, the number of young gay and bisexual API men infected with HIV more than doubled between 2001 and 2006. Similarly, there was a nearly 15% increase in HIV infections among API women between 2001 and 2004, shattering the misconception that API women are at relative low risk.

Also disturbing is the prevalence of HIV among MSM in Asia. A Reuters story yesterday reports on a recent report, which found that 90 percent of gay and bisexual men in Asia do not have access to HIV prevention and care services and that HIV prevalence among MSM in Mumbai is 17 percent (versus 0.36 percent in all of India). The report noted that repressive laws and a lack of anti-discrimination laws prevent people deemed “sexual deviants” from getting the help they needed.

This year’s National API HIV/AIDS Awareness Day theme —“Saving face can’t make you safe. Talk about HIV–for me, for you, for everyone” urges us to take responsibility for ourselves by knowing our HIV status and practicing safe sex. Moreover, it also points to our obligation to our community – to help fight negative stereotyping of our positive brothers and sisters and to encourage awareness about the grave importance of getting tested.

In addition to taking care of your physical health by knowing your status and getting regular check-ups, we hope that you also prioritize your emotional and mental well-being. Consider participating in SALGA’s support spaces. These safe spaces are welcoming, and discussion is kept confidential. Check out the SALGA website for detailed information on support group dates and times! Also, if you need someone to talk to, call SALGA’s new hotline on Thursdays from 5-7 PM ET (866) 274-2429.

Here are some valuable links:

For primary care services (offered at sliding scale) and free HIV and STD testing, check out APICHA (www.apicha.org).

Here is a Banyan Tree Project PSA for National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day:

\”Saving face can’t make you safe. Talk about HIV\”

And finally, a condom ad in Telugu:

PSA on Condom Usage in Telugu

(Writing by Aastik Pokhrel, Editing by Shawn Jain)

Saturday 4/10 - SALGA Monthly Support Group Meeting

Join SALGA for our monthly support group meeting.
The theme for this month will be

Friendships

With the arrival of spring, it’s time to take stock of our relationships, and not just our romantic ones. Whether you’ve been thinking about taking leave of someone who’s been bringing you down, or it’s time to take the initiative with a new friend at work, friendships can bring their own unique brand of personal drama. Mixing old friends and new, mourning the loss of friends you thought would be around forever, or feeling lonely and not sure where to meet your next best pal — whatever it is, come talk about it at SALGA’s next monthly Support Group.

(As always, the topic is a guide, but please bring whatever issues are current for you as well.)

Date: Saturday, April 10th, 2010
Time: 4 - 6pm
Location: LGBT Center

SALGA’s monthly support group meetings are a SAFE, CONFIDENTIAL space for you to join a group atmosphere to talk about issues that affect your life and well-being. We provide a supportive atmosphere to all attendees

Youth Group Meeting

Come to the Youth Group Meeting!
Date: Saturday March 20th
Time: 4-6pm
Place: LGBT Center 208 W 13th Street

It’ll be lots of fun and you can meet cool new people.
Ages 24 & younger.

SALGA Youth Group is a safe, confidential place for queer South Asians between the ages of thirteen and twenty-four to discuss issues facing our community. Whether you need support coming out, or have questions about your legal rights as queer youth, or are just trying to connect with fellow South Asians, this is the space for you! Depending on what members want, the group can provide social events, community outings, discussions, and participation in political events.

SALGA NYC Youth is the youth branch of SALGA NYC, a volunteer organization which serves the needs the South Asian queer community both politically and socially in New York City.

Saturday 3/13 - SALGA Monthly Support Group Meeting

Join us on Saturday 3/13 for our monthly support group meeting.

Date: Saturday, March 13th, 2010
Time: 4pm - 6pm

Meeting location:
LGBT Center

Meeting Topic:
Healthcare

This meeting space is available for people who trace their descent from countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tibet as well as people of South Asian descent from other regions, including but not limited to the West Indies, Africa, Southeast Asia, Canada and the U.K.

The objective of the meeting is to provide a safe space for people where they can freely discuss and share aspects of their experiences as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning individuals.

Facilitators guide the meeting which provides the opportunity for open dialogue about issues important to the participants. Individuals decide on their own level of involvement.

It is the hope of SALGA that you feel welcome in this gathering and be able meet and make friends with people who can better understand, share and empathize with you.

Visit www.gaycenter.org for directions to the Gay and Lesbian Community Center.

July Support Group Meeting

SALGA Support Group - Saturday, July 11th, 4-6pm
The LGBT Center
208 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011
This meeting space is available for people who trace their descent from countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tibet as well as people of South Asian descent from other regions, including but not limited to the West Indies, Africa, Southeast Asia, Canada and the U.K.
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