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  • There’s something you need to know about these men with HIV

    There’s something you need to know about these men with HIV

    They are all undetectable

    A new campaign by GMFA is aiming to educate us all about U Equals U, which simply means that if a person who has HIV, has an undetectable viral load cannot pass the virus on to you.

    The campaign, for FS Magazine, features 17 prominent and up-and-coming activists, focuses on the simple message that anyone living with HIV and on effective treatment cannot sexually pass on HIV. The common term for this is U=U, which means undetectable = untransmittable. 

    Ian Howley, Chief Executive of LGBT HERO, the parent organisation of GMFA said,

    “It’s been a known fact for several years now that people living with HIV, who are undetectable, cannot pass on the virus to their partners through sex. While this information has been liberating for gay and bisexual men, we are not seeing a big shift in attitudes towards people living with HIV. What we are seeing is a community who understands what being HIV and undetectable means, but there is a lack of trust either in the science behind the U=U movement or they do not trust what people are telling them. This is why we have brought prominent and up-and-coming activists, who are living with HIV, to tell everyone in our community that any fears they may have is just wasted energy. These men who are living with HIV are standing proud and telling you, you cannot get HIV from them.

    Ian adds,

    “This campaign is not just about sharing what U=U means but also to focus on the stigma people receive. In a recent issue of FS, we surveyed over 600 men living with HIV. 92% said they have experienced some sort of stigma, with 72% saying they received stigma on apps and social media from other gay and bisexual men. This is not acceptable and we should be better than this. We know that newly diagnosed men are far more likely to experience mental health issues based on becoming positive, with some taking their own lives. This is why the U=U movement and our The Undetectables campaign is so important. We’re putting the power back in the hands of those who pose no health risk within our community. That’s empowering.”

    Marc Thompson of Prepster

    The campaign also features prominent activists including, Greg Owen co-founder of iwantprepnow, Matthew Hodson – Chief Executive of NAM, Marc Thompson of Prepster and several up-and-coming activists, including Ameet Shah, who told us why he took part.

    “I was unable to meet anyone for a date or hook-up because I felt unclean”

    Ameet spoke about his reaction when he first learned he had become undetectable, “It was a celebration and relief, and almost hard to believe because of old information and attitudes to HIV. I believe we all carry internal phobias in many ways for many things because of our conditioned upbringings in society, as well as general external attitudes of people. For months after my initial diagnosis, I was unable to meet anyone for a date or hook-up because I felt unclean or not good enough. Talking to my consultant was such a relief for me and it changed the way I felt and behaved by empowering me again.” He adds, “I also think that it’s important more faces from minorities need to step out and be part of awareness projects for both LGBT and HIV populations.”

    HIV Stigma is getting better

    Another up-and-coming activist, Nicky Deboo, 29, tells us whether he thinks HIV stigma in society is getting better and talks about his own internal struggles: “Unfortunately HIV stigma is still very much alive, and I fear it lives deep inside of me and many others who are in my position.

    “I’m lucky, I’ve only experienced the stigma first hand on two occasions. I’m also lucky that I’ve got so many supportive people around me. I worry more so for the newly diagnosed, the young guy, or the newly out guy, who maybe hasn’t built his community yet.

    “What will happen if he finally builds up the courage to tell someone about his status, and they turn him away and call him names. I can’t bear the idea of these guys having no one to turn to.”

    It’s OK to ask questions

    Prominent activist and co-founder of iwantprepnow Greg Owen, explains how he deals with HIV stigma: “I try to be kind because not everyone is in the same place and it’s a journey for everyone. I allow people to ask questions. I also welcome people to challenge me if it respectful. I keep reverting to the holy grail of everything: evidence.”

    “Empowering men with all the ways to prevent HIV and STIs”

    In relation to some of the negative comments the U=U movement has seen, Ian says, “I’ve heard over and over again that by stating U=U we are telling people they should have unprotected sex. This is simply not true. At GMFA we always recommend a combination approach of Condoms, PrEP and regular testing as the best way to prevent transmitting HIV and STIs. But it’s about empowering men with all the ways to prevent HIV and STIs and allowing them to make the best choice for themselves. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to HIV prevention. This campaign and the U=U movement is about highlighting the fact that you cannot get HIV from people who are undetectable. Our ‘The Undetectables’ campaign is powerful force in the bid to stop HIV stigma and to end HIV once and for all.”



  • 6 things you shouldn’t say to people living with HIV

    6 things you shouldn’t say to people living with HIV

    Lizzie Jordan, Founder and Director at Think2Speak, is a multi-award-winning social entrepreneur, a mother, widow and is HIV positive. Lizzie is one person with a myriad of possible labels.

    More than a decade ago, Lizzie became a mother, a widow and HIV positive all within an 18-month period. Her life was turned upside down, in 2012 as a single mother to a grieving child, Lizzie wanted to find resources and training locally for her child’s primary school. She struggled.

    Lizzie recognised the issues being faced in classrooms across the UK and wanted to do something about the ‘uncomfortable silences’ young people often felt when discussing sensitive subjects with the professionals involved in their lives. 18 months of plotting and planning later Think2Speak CIC was founded.

    With the recent revelation that former Welsh rugby captain, Gareth Thomas has been diagnosed with HIV, here are Lizzie’s tips on what not to say, or how to approach someone who has HIV:

    Don’t bring it up unless they do:

    Someone’s HIV status is their HIV status and theirs alone – as we’ve seen with Gareth he has been forced to share his news because the press were threatening to make this public. There’s nothing wrong with being curious about HIV but there are certain things that should be respected and it isn’t every HIV positive person’s job to educate you.

    It doesn’t define someone:

    Just because someone is living with HIV doesn’t mean that’s all they are. It’s a virus, it isn’t someone’s personality, their fault, their ‘choice’ nor is it their identity or the only subject on which they can speak.

    Use your common sense:

    There are certain aspects of conversation that are off-limits, but morbid curiosity often prevails. Try to think if you actually need to know the answer to the question you’re about to ask! Or maybe you can search the internet before you ask a glaringly obvious, or even insulting question.

    Don’t ask how they got it:

    This is perhaps the most insulting. You’d never ask the same of someone who’s living with cancer or diabetes. A lot of this kind of thinking can be attributed to the ‘blame’ culture that exists when it comes to sexual health and HIV, it is often viewed as a ‘choice’. Blame is never apportioned to other health conditions.

    Don’t tell them they are ‘looking well’:

    People often comment in this way as if having HIV should mean you look ravaged by disease. This is often accompanied by a well-meaning, but ultimately patronising tilt of the head. Science has moved on dramatically since the 1980s and people with HIV who are diagnosed, accessing care and treatment, live full, healthy and happy lives.

    Don’t presume the worst:

    Many people who ask questions aren’t aware of the fact that someone living with HIV, on antiretroviral medication, can now be undetectable and therefore untransmittable. This is known as U=U (UEqualsU). It totally dispels the perceived ‘threat’ of people living with HIV. This will become general knowledge as time moves on, but for now, education and awareness is still needed.

    Overall, relax. If someone shares their HIV status with you; respect them for sharing their personal and sensitive information with you. Lots of people living with HIV, choose to share their stories to encourage awareness and understanding. Curiosity is fine, being too personal and intrusive isn’t it is all about respect.

  • Homophobes vandalise anti-stigma HIV adverts

    Homophobes vandalise anti-stigma HIV adverts

    An advert which depicts two men in a romantic embrace has been vandalised in London, the campaign aims to reduce the stigma faced by men who live with HIV.

    The HIV charity, Terrence Higgins Trust has revealed that an advert it has placed on a phone box in the nation’s capital has been targeted by vandals and defaced. The campaign is promoting the message that people living with HIV and on effective treatment can’t pass it on, if they are on medically prescribed treatment.

    The targeted phoneboxes were located in the London borough of Hackney.

    The poster campaign comes off the back of a nationwide survey commissioned by the charity which revealed that knowledge of HIV remains stuck in the 1980s. It found that just under one in five (19%) Brits are aware that people on effective HIV treatment can’t pass it on – which is the focus of the vandalised posters.

    The charity’s YouGov survey also revealed almost half (48%) of Brits would feel uncomfortable kissing someone living with HIV – even though there is zero risk of transmission through kissing or other day-to-day contact.

    For the past 20 years, evidence has been building to show that the likelihood of passing on HIV is linked to the amount of virus in the blood, also known as viral load. Treatment is deemed effective when it reduces this to undetectable levels. This can take up to six months from starting treatment.

    The landmark PARTNER and PARTNER 2 studies provide the medical evidence that people with an undetectable viral load definitively cannot pass on HIV.

    Can’t Pass It On has been the focus of Terrence Higgins Trust’s messaging during Pride season, including at Pride in London and Black Pride earlier this month.

    Ian Green, Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust, said, “This vandalism is so sad to see. Whether our posters have been targeted because it features two men in an affectionate embrace or because it’s about HIV, we will not be silenced. In fact, it makes us even more determined to get the message out there that people on effective HIV treatment can’t pass it on.

    “Despite this medical progress, public attitudes towards HIV are firmly stuck in the past. That’s exactly why it’s so important to remove the fear and misinformation about HIV by celebrating the fact that thanks to effective treatment people like Sadiq who is featured in our poster, are living normal and healthy lives and cannot pass the virus on.

    “We have been heartened to see supporters offsetting the damage caused to the posters by sharing information about our Can’t Pass It On campaign. If everyone knew the facts on HIV we could not only end HIV stigma, we could end new HIV transmissions.’

  • The chances of passing HIV to a partner is ZERO when you have an undetectable load

    The chances of passing HIV to a partner is ZERO when you have an undetectable load

    “We’re as confident now that undetectable gay men pose no risk of HIV transmission as we already were for heterosexuals,” researchers say.

    The PARTNER 2 study results found no cases of HIV transmission between men when one partner had HIV but was on effective treatment. This finding offers further confirmation that an undetectable viral load prevents sexual transmission of HIV. This understanding is frequently expressed as Undetectable equals Untransmittable, or U=U.

    CREIT: © garyphoto Depositphotos

    PARTNER 2 is an extension of the PARTNER study, which in 2014 indicated that people with an undetectable viral load do not transmit HIV. Gay and bisexual men were included in the previous study, but PARTNER 2 was added on to the earlier study to ensure that this finding was at least as certain for gay men as it was for heterosexuals.

    It had been speculated that because HIV is transmitted more easily via anal than vaginal sex, the results might not hold for gay men. PARTNER 2 now tells us that U=U holds just as strongly for gay men (and for anal sex) as for heterosexuals.

    No transmission of HIV in nearly 77,000 acts of bareback sex

    (C) BIGSTOCK

    The 14-country study found no transmissions between gay couples where the HIV-positive partner had a viral load under 200 – even though there were nearly 77,000 acts of condomless sex between them.

    A detailed analysis of the research findings is available on NAM’s website, www.aidsmap.com

    PARTNER, together with another study, Opposites Attract, have between them not found a single case of HIV transmission in 126,000 acts of condomless anal sex between partners of differing HIV status.

    This new data adds further strength to the U=U Campaign, whose consensus statement has been signed by NAM and hundreds of other organisations around the world, including the International AIDS Society, which runs the International AIDS Conferences.

    Dr Pietro Vernazza, author of the 2008 Swiss Statement, which first affirmed that viral suppression meant that HIV could not be passed on, commented at an earlier conference session, “Those who say that HIV can be transmitted should be able to provide evidence of it.” No study has identified a case of sexual transmission from someone who is virally suppressed on treatment.

    NAM’s Executive Director, Matthew Hodson, commented, “This is the moment when science trumps stigma. This is the moment when facts must conquer fear. The knowledge that when we are undetectable we can’t pass the virus on to our sexual partners has the power to encourage people to test and to remain adherent to their treatment. Just as importantly it can have an impact on the way that people with HIV think about themselves, removing some of the stress and fear that many in our communities experience.”

    Matthew Hodson continued, “The preventative impact of effective HIV treatment underlines the importance of expanding access to treatment and of improving treatment uptake and adherence for all people living with HIV worldwide.”

  • What does UEqualsU mean?

    What does UEqualsU mean?

    Have you heard of the term UEqualsU, here’s what it means and why it’s important.

    UEqualsU is a campaign which highlights that when people, living with HIV have an undetectable load, they are unable to pass on HIV to their sexual partners.

    Read more about the campaign from one of our own columnists.

    It stands for Undetectable Equals Untransmittable.

    what does UEqualsU mean?

    An undetectable viral load can be achieved when a person diagnosed with HIV is following medical advice and taking prescribed medications from their doctors and managing their illness suitably – mainly through the use of medication, such as antiretroviral therapy (ART).

    In May 2019, a European study of nearly 1,000 gay male couples who had sex without using condoms – where one partner was HIV positive and on suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the other HIV negative – reported no cases of within-couple HIV transmission over 8 years.

    The results support the international U=U or UEqualsU (undetectable equals untransmittable) campaign, that has been endorsed by more than 780 HIV organisations in 96 countries, to raise awareness of how scientific evidence shows that effective ART means people living with HIV can have sex without fear of transmitting the HIV virus to others.

    In another study, also in 2017, 343 gay couples, where one partner had HIV and the other did not, has not found a single case of HIV transmission despite 16,889 acts of condomless anal sex. The Opposites Attract study looked at whether HIV is transmitted between gay male couples of different HIV status when the HIV-positive partner is on treatment that fully suppresses their HIV. The HIV-positive partners in Opposites Attract had a so-called ‘undetectable viral load’ 98% of the time.

    Professor Andrew Grulich of the Kirby Institute and chief investigator on the study summed up the findings,

    “Our data add to previous studies which show that there has never been a recorded case of HIV transmission from an HIV-positive person to their HIV-negative sexual partner when the HIV-positive partner had undetectable viral load.”

    NAM’s Executive Director, Matthew Hodson, commented,

    “In terms of HIV prevention, if condom use is safer sex, then sex with someone who has maintained an undetectable viral load is even safer sex.”

    Can you expand this definition? Use the comments below and your answer could be used to expand or define this glossary entry.

    Check out more definitions in our Big Gay Glossary

  • Study finds partners on HIV treatment don’t pass the virus on to their partners

    A new study of gay couples has found that the HIV positive partner did not pass on the virus to their partner if they were on HIV treatment

    Study finds partners on HIV treatment don't pass the virus on to their partners

    A study of 343 gay couples, where one partner had HIV and the other did not, has not found a single case of HIV transmission despite 16,889 acts of condomless anal sex.

    The Opposites Attract study looked at whether HIV is transmitted between gay male couples of different HIV status when the HIV-positive partner is on treatment that fully suppresses their HIV. The HIV-positive partners in Opposites Attract had a so-called ‘undetectable viral load’ 98% of the time.

    The study recruited and followed-up gay couples at clinics in Australia, Thailand and Brazil.

    The study was presented at the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science in Paris today. A detailed analysis of the research findings is available on NAM’s website, www.aidsmap.com

    The evidence from Opposites Attract adds to the evidence from the PARTNER study that HIV-positive people on effective HIV treatment that fully suppresses their virus cannot transmit their infection through sex. Taken together, the two studies have not found a single case of HIV transmission in nearly 40,000 acts of condomless anal sex between gay men.

    This new data adds further strength to the “U=U” (Undetectable equals Untransmittable) tagline of the Prevention Access Campaign, whose consensus statement has been signed by both NAM and the International AIDS Society.

    Professor Andrew Grulich of the Kirby Institute and chief investigator on the study summed up the findings,

    “Our data add to previous studies which show that there has never been a recorded case of HIV transmission from an HIV-positive person to their HIV-negative sexual partner when the HIV-positive partner had undetectable viral load.”

    NAM’s Executive Director, Matthew Hodson, commented,

    “In terms of HIV prevention, if condom use is safer sex, then sex with someone who has maintained an undetectable viral load is even safer sex.”

    The studies also found that if the positive partner is on successful treatment, even having another sexually transmitted infection does not increase the risk of HIV being transmitted. Significant numbers of participants in both studies had a sexually transmitted infection at some point.

    Topping or bottoming made no difference to the findings when HIV-positive partner is on treatment

    Sexual position also made no difference even though when viral load is not suppressed and condoms are not used, transmission is 10-20 times more likely if the HIV-positive partner is the ‘top’ rather than the ‘bottom’.

    Matthew Hodson welcomed the new data,

    “We’ve known for many years that HIV treatment, as well as saving lives, also plays a role in reducing transmission risk. Our confidence that those of us with HIV are not a risk to our sexual partners is crucial to the transformation we have seen in HIV since the introduction of effective treatment.”

    Matthew Hodson continued,

    “For many years, those of us with diagnosed HIV have had to live with the idea that our bodies are dangerous. This has had a profound emotional impact on many people. It is wonderful to consider what this news can mean to people with HIV who are too scared to have sex in case they pass their virus on, or to those in relationships with HIV-positive people whose sexual pleasure has been hampered by fear.

    “The preventative impact of effective HIV treatment underlines the importance of expanding access to treatment and of improving treatment uptake and adherence for all people living with HIV worldwide.”

    Reporting from NAM aidsmap

  • COMMENT | HIV: It’s time to embrace undetectable means untransmittable

    The year was 1981, sexual liberation was in full swing with destinations like Key West being a bimonthly pilgrimage for many gay men who, no doubt drank, joked and dare I say frolicked among the sand dunes of Higgs Beach.

    What does UEqualsU mean?

    It was an era that can merely be reminisced of, impossible to recapture. Anybody reading the LA Times on June 5th could easily be excused for their oversight in failing to notice one small paragraph telling the public of a new “gay cancer” that had been documented among some doctors mainly in the New York and San Francisco areas.

    Over the years, many more articles were published about what we now know as HIV & AIDS. The most recent of them, hailing milestones such as PrEP, a preventative treatment for the condition that society wished for decades ago. There have been amazing advancements in treatment, meaning people living with HIV who have undetectable viral loads, who are consistent with their medication, are unable to pass on the virus but, the fight is in no way over.

    To begin we must break down the stigma surrounding PrEP and the naïve insinuation that if someone is using PrEP, they are having an orgy every night of the week, or failing to protect themselves in other ways such as using a condom.

    We also need more organisations, government departments and influential voices to get behind the undetectable equals untransmittable campaign, it is a scientific fact backed up by The Swiss Statement (2008) as well as the PARTNER study.

    Of course, some people are reluctant to embrace science on this occasion and question the viability of the UequalsU message, however, they do so while failing to question science from the 80s and 90s which led to such heightened fear of HIV and by effect those of us living with it.

    Put aside people living with HIV who desperately deserve this message to be endorsed, society deserves it too. For more than 30 years grown men and women have lived in fear of this invisible killer. Generations of children have been raised with a background of AIDS fear, leading in some cases to a severe negative impact on their sex life.

    I clearly remember the day being diagnosed, November 27th, 2013. Sitting in that chair I knew death was not coming for me just yet and my biggest obstacle in life from that day forward would be the opinion and perception of others, not necessarily, family or friends, I knew they would be willing to stand by me and if not then they would have been the wrong friends to have chosen.

    It was society’s opinion and perception I knew would be the obstacle and one I would have to change. After several weeks of wondering what I should do, I set a goal which was to reach an undetectable viral load, this happened in September of 2014, a day that will remain among the most special of my life. I knew the very thing that had prevented me from doing anything more than kiss a guy for the previous 9 months, was no longer an issue.

    People say the day a cure for HIV is found will be like a battle or war ending. My battle ended that day when I became undetectable and untransmittable but my war is still going because nearly ten years after the Swiss Statement was released too few organisations who accept public funding in the name of representing me and people like me have promoted this statement of fact.

    On a recent trip to Key West I paid a visit to Higgs Beach where once all that laughter and fun took place, there now lays a memorial as a tribute to those who died from AIDS. This seemingly endless list of names, to me, was a testament to my commitment to promoting the UequalsU message.

    So I make this a call to action, by asking the 100,000 of us living with HIV in the UK to embrace the fact that being undetectable means we are untransmittable and ask you to lobby your local organisation, politician or influence maker to embrace it with us, they have nothing to lose in doing so and don’t forget to

    #UequalsU.

     

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