Transgender may be removed as mental disorder
The process of getting transgender declassified as a mental disorder took its first steps with a study conducted in Mexico City. The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal last month, found that the distress and dysfunction experienced by transgender people were more strongly related to the social rejection and violence they experienced than by […]
LGB youth in US face alarming rates of violence and bullying
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual young people are far more likely to experience violence and bullying, and attempt suicide, than their heterosexual peers. That’s according to the alarming results of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nationwide survey of American high school students. This year marked the first time the biannual Youth Risk Behaviour […]
UK court overturns refusal to offer PrEP
In a landmark case, the High Court in London has ruled that England’s National Health Service (NHS) acted unlawfully in refusing to offer the HIV prevention drug PrEP. In March, after 18 months of preparation, NHS England suddenly announced that it would halt its work on the approval and rollout of PrEP, which has shown […]
Stupidity on a monumental level: Tanzania bans lube to stop gay sex
In move that will only increase the spread of HIV, Tanzania’s so called “health minister” has banned personal lubricants in a bid to stop gay people from having sex. According to reports, minister Ummy Mwalimu announced an end to the import and sale of the products because, she claimed, they encourage homosexuality. Bizarrely, she actually […]
Elton John: Aids won’t end if we leave LGBT Africans behind
Elton John says that the continued stigma and discrimination against LGBT people in Africa will hamper efforts to end the Aids epidemic. Representing his Aids Foundation, John spoke alongside his husband David Furnish to journalists at the International Aids Conference in Durban on Wednesday. He insisted that LGBT people and other key populations must receive equal […]
WeTheBrave moves to tackle HIV among MSM in KZN
Almost half (48.2%) of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in Durban are estimated to be living with HIV. This is according to the South Africa MSM Data Triangulation Project Report published by the Department of Health. Factors listed in the report contributing to this exorbitant figure include alcohol usage […]
Health: Drug-fuelled sex does not have to end in HIV
Did you know that gay and bisexual men as well as straight men who have sex with men, take more illicit drugs than compared to other people? According to the 2013/2014 Crime Survey for England and Wales, gay or bisexual men (33.0%) took more illicit drugs than gay or bisexual women (22.9%) and heterosexual men […]
Charlize Theron: “We value some lives more than others”
In a powerful speech at the International AIDS Conference, Charlize Theron has said that discrimination is the primary reason HIV/Aids has not been beaten. The South-African-born Hollywood superstar used her address at the opening of the Durban event to question why the epidemic has still not been eradicated when we have all the tools needed to […]
Study confirms that HIV treatment stops spread of virus to partners
A new study has shown once again the power of HIV treatment in blocking the transmission of the virus between HIV positive people and their negative partners, even without using condoms. The Partner study, the world’s largest study of people with HIV who have had condomless sex with their HIV negative partners, found that neither […]
South Africa’s LGBTI community much more likely to suffer from depression
The South African Depression and Anxiety Group reports that the LGBTI community is three to four times more likely to suffer from stress, anxiety, and depression. While these conditions affect around 10% of the general South African population, the rate amongst LGBTI people is between 31% and 45%. The statistics were highlighted this July, which […]