During the 12th annual observance of National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, NYHAAD Ambassadors and youth activists reaffirmed that young people receive poor quality of care due to stigma, lack of healthcare providers’ awareness, and insensitivity to the unique needs of this community.
Our young people highlighted the challenges faced by young people living with and vulnerable to HIV, offered insight on how they thrive, and enhanced the awareness among physicians, policymakers, and youth-serving organization staff, etc. about the existing disparities in order to provide a more comprehensive, competent evidence-based care to this community.
I remember a #health class in high #school in which the lesson that day was about #HIVtransmission routes and the instructor informed us that HIV could be transmitted through a can of soda. Shocked, I politely, yet firmly, let him know that that was absolutely untrue. After going back and forth for a while, I realized that my point would not get across to my instructor. Fortunately, my classmates listened and affirmed me and that was all that truly mattered.
As someone who was born to a mother living with HIV, I was exposed to conversations and information that many of my peers were shielded from. I thought of myself as a natural-born activist because of my situation, and it was important to me that others have medically accurate information.
People tend to have a knee-jerk reaction when it comes to comprehensive sexual health education, discussions about access to condoms, and prevention methods such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a once-daily pill regimen that can help a person remain HIV-negative. Young people are often infantilized and denied proper, life-saving information because it goes against the supposed morals of their parent or medical provider.
The support that I received from my peers about HIV misconceptions reflect studies that show that young people themselves are dissatisfied with the state of #sexeducation. They know they’re being left in the dark, so when they reach out to to satisfy their inevitable curiosity, we must ensure they’re getting facts, not fantasy.
as we close out #AIDSAwareness week and on this 30th annual observance of world aids day, we are reminded of the powerful and visionary words of queer & aids activist, val russo:
“Someday, the AIDS crisis will be over. Remember that. And when that day comes - when that day has come and gone, there’ll be people alive on this earth - gay people and straight people, men and women, black and white, who will hear the story that once there was a terrible disease in this country and all over the world, and that a brave group of people stood up and fought and, in some cases, gave their lives, so that other people might live and be free.”
My Story Out Loud is a digital storytelling project dedicated to uplifting the narratives of LGBTQ+ youth of color and young people living with HIV across the nation by capturing our stories and experiences.
