China | Horror of “gay cure” conversion therapy revealed
Lesbian, gay and bisexual adults and young people in China are being subjected to cruel procedures, including shock therapy, in a misguided attempt to “cure” them of their homosexuality. In a new report, Human Rights Watch called on the Chinese government to take immediate steps to stop public hospitals and private clinics from offering so-called conversion […]
Your health | Undetectable? You can’t pass it on
Did you know that if an HIV-positive guy is on ARV treatment and the virus is undetectable, he cannot infect someone else? Undetectable equals untransmittable. In other words, treatment stops transmission! Therefore, treatment is a huge priority. That’s why WeTheBrave’s Call4Care want you to call them if you need any help gaining access to care. Thousands […]
Is Johannesburg Pride #BraveEnough to Get Tested?
The challenge is on! At Johannesburg Pride on 28 October, WeTheBrave – a large-scale, national sexual health campaign that specifically addresses gay, bi and other men who have sex with men (MSM) – will be trying to beat the number of MSM tested for HIV at Cape Town Pride held earlier this year. “Research has […]
UK | Doctors ordered to ask if patients are gay or lesbian
A move towards better health care or an invasion of privacy? Doctors and nurses in England have been told to ask patients about their sexual orientation. In a new policy document titled “Sexual Orientation Monitoring”, NHS England has ordered staff to “record sexual orientation at every face to face contact” with patients over the age […]
UK | Reversal of HIV epidemic among gay men
For the first time ever there has been a decline in HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men in the UK. According to Public Health England (PHE), there was an overall decrease in new HIV diagnoses by 18% in 2016. HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men dropped further, by 21%, with this decline particularly […]
#Oktobertest: Are you doing it? (sponsored)
Take control of your sexual health this October. BioSURE, the only legally approved HIV Self Test in South Africa recently launched #OktoberTest, a global movement aimed at generating and normalising the conversation around sex, HIV and testing – and letting everyone know that now they are able to test themselves easily and accurately wherever they […]
American tragedy | College student gets 10 years in jail for not disclosing HIV status
A 25-year-old American student has accepted a plea deal of 10 years in prison for not telling his sexual partners that he was HIV positive. Michael Johnson was first sentenced in 2015 to 30 years in prison for the offence before an appeals court threw out the conviction due to prosecutorial misconduct. The original trial, […]
5 Things You Need to Know About PrEP
PrEP – or pre-exposure prophylaxis – can be highly effective in preventing HIV if used as prescribed, but it is far less effective if not taken correctly. Here are five things you should know about HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis that will help ensure that you take it correctly. 1. What is PrEP? Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) refers […]
Life with HIV for 34 years I The remarkable David Ross Patient dies
David Ross Patient, one of the longest-infected HIV survivors and activists in South Africa and a member of the LGBT community, has passed away. On Friday, Patient’s partner Neil Orr announced on Facebook: “I regret to inform you that David Patient left us at 10:30pm on the 22nd September 2017. He developed pneumonia after surgery, […]
Miracle HIV cure man visits SA
Timothy Ray Brown is one in 70 million – the only person in the world who has been cured of HIV. The slight man with a dry sense of humour addressed students at the University of Cape Town yesterday – and his story is laden with suffering. “I have had two life sentences,” 51-year-old Brown […]