Canada: British Columbia to fund HPV vaccine for boys & gay men under 26

After years of requests from gay health advocates, BC’s Ministry of Health announced that it will offer free HPV vaccines for boys and young men who have sex with men, beginning this September.

“The human papillomavirus virus is the most common sexually transmitted infection,” BC Health Minister Terry Lake said. “Our vaccination program will help protect all young British Columbians from cancers and other diseases caused by HPV infection.” The vaccine is currently offered to all girls in Grade 6 as part of the province’s routine school-age immunization schedule. 

“We know if you get above 60% of the women vaccinated you get a herd immunity effect in which heterosexual men are protected as well,” says health officer Perry Kendall. “But we are not offering protection to men who have sex with men.”

Infectious disease expert Joel Palefsky says the vaccine may also help prevent oral cancer in men. “Many people in our field believe universal vaccination is warranted even if a high percentage of girls are vaccinated,” he explains. “They will get prevention for most anal cancers and most genital warts as well as the likely but as of yet unproven prevention of oral cancer.” Read More 

US: Bisexuals have worse health than gay, lesbian, or straight people

Professors of Sociology at Rice University have found that bisexual Americans face higher health disparities than their gay, lesbian, and straight counterparts. A variety of these health issues stem from systemic socioeconomic vulnerability in the bisexual community, according to the new study.

“As a group, bisexual men and women have higher rates of a variety of factors that can lead to poor health — things like poverty or involvement with lifestyle activities that can lead to poor health, ” lead author Bridget Gorman said. Bisexual respondents also reported a higher propensity for smoking and using alcohol than straight or gay counterparts — health risks that can be amplified by the higher rates of poverty among the bisexual community compared with other peers. Among gay, lesbian, and straight counterparts, researchers found members of the bisexual community were the least likely to be educated at a university level.  Read More 

Jamaica: Bisexuals accounted for 40% of new HIV infections in 2012

The Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson yesterday disclosed that men who have sex with both men and women accounted for almost 40% of new HIV infections in 2012.

“While we have a prevalence rate of 1.8% among the general population, female sex workers have a prevalence of 4.2%, young men under 25 years who have sex with men are at 24.3% as at 2013,” the health minister explained.

“I want to further note that MSM who reported being involved in sex work, reported an HIV prevalence of 41%, transgender women 45%, and transgender populations in sex work reaching as high as 56%.”

Insisting that the prevalence rate among these groups are “way too high”, Dr Ferguson said that much of the efforts must be concentrated on these vulnerable groups, adding that there is the ever present challenge of implementing mechanisms to effectively deal with the issue of stigma and discrimination. Read More

Nigeria: Gay, bisexual men report more fear in healthcare after law

Gay and bisexual men in Nigeria are reporting increased reluctance to access healthcare. While consensual sexual relationships between men were already illegal in Nigeria, the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, signed into law in January 2014, prohibited participation in organizations supporting gay people or attempts at any kind of civil same-sex relationship.

There were reports of arrests and torture following the enactment of the law, according to a paper published in The Lancet HIV. Since the law took effect, men who have sex with men may fear that the benefits of medical care don't outweigh the risks. The study suggests "that they think the (benefit) of HIV prevention care isn't worth remaining in a system that could potentially out them," she said.

Schwartz and her colleagues analyzed data from 707 gay and bisexual men in Nigeria who were receiving HIV prevention and treatment services from a community-based clinic in 2013 and 2014. Read More

Human Rights Council: Sexual Rights Initiative condemns resolution on “Protection of the Family”

excerpt: The Sexual Rights Initiative condemns the adoption of the 'Protection of the Family' resolution at the UN Human Rights Council’s 29th session. [...] While this serves to further polarise the HRC, it is heartening that the strength of the opposition to the resolution was considerable. How this resolution will now be used needs to be monitored closely. It is likely, for example, to be referenced in regressive positions taken on the Post-2015 development agenda.

The text of this resolution is extremely problematic in that amongst other concerns it sought to elevate the family as an institution in need of protection without acknowledging that families perpetuate patriarchal oppression, traditions and harmful practices, and that human rights abuses do occur within families (i.e., marital rape, child abuse, FGM, early and forced marriage, dowry related violence, so-called “honour” killings and other forms of domestic violence). Further, the core group continuously did not include in the text the recognition that various family forms exist, despite many delegations requesting them to do so. Without such recognition, it cannot be assured that the family-friendly and family-oriented public policies referred to in the resolution will address the needs of all family members in diverse families.

Read the specifics of the resolution.

Barbados: UN chief concerned about HIV/AIDS approach in the region

With over a quarter of a million HIV-infected persons reportedly living in the Caribbean, visiting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is renewing a call for regional governments to make swift changes to legislation that promote discrimination as a measure to contain the spread of the mostly sexually transmitted virus which causes AIDS.

Addressing the launch of the Report of the UNAIDS and Lancet Commission that coincided with the 36th regular CARICOM Heads of Government Summit here, Ban noted that regional countries were struggling to address the epidemic with limited resources at their disposal.

“The epidemic is only made worse by laws and stigma. These are [impacting] our vulnerability to HIV infection and our answers to life saving achievements. They threaten both human rights and public health. We cannot tolerate discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or on the basis of gender identity,” the UN chief said, also calling for the human rights of sex workers and persons who inject drugs.

“We can leave no one behind. AIDS can only end when we protect the human rights of all . . . We have to [correct] all kinds of societal ills including stigma, intolerance, discrimination and violence. To end this epidemic, we need gender equality. We need to protect the sexual and reproductive rights,” Ban emphasized.  Read More

Italy: Sports magazine causes outrage over gay kiss on cover

A popular Italian sports magazine has faced a backlash from readers after featuring a gay rugby couple on its most recent cover. The 11 July edition of SportWeek features Giacomo and Stefano – a gay couple who also play together on gay-friendly amateur Rome squad Libera Rugby. The cover features the provocative headline, ‘Who’s afraid of a kiss?’. Judging by the reaction of many readers of the magazine, a lot of people.

“That’s absolutely disgusting,” tweeted one angry fan.

“You’re painfully conformist and ideological,” wrote another.

Arguably one of the most troubling comments was that which asked the magazine, “Tell me how I explain it to my 5 year old son.”

However, the cover also generated a lot of support on the magazine’s social media channel, with many, more liberal readers viewing the cover as a positive, long overdue challenge to the homophobia that often goes unchallenged in Italian sport. Read More

Sri Lanka: Equal Ground

Equal Ground presents a wholly homegrown composition "Nothing but Pride" was filmed entirely on location.

A music video of the song “Nothing but Pride” was launched at the Auditorium of the Goethe Institute in Colombo. In a country where homosexuality is still considered a crime, the song celebrates diversity and equality encouraging the LGBTIQ community to stand tall and proud, and the society to stop harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation. “Nothing but PRIDE” was written by Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, Executive Director of EQUAL GROUND, a Sri Lankan non-profit organization seeking human and political rights, the creation of  a safe space for all LGBTIQ individuals and providing opportunities to promote mental well-being.

Former Australian footballer Lachlan Beaton shares agony of coming out in touching video

'Our political leaders can end this now. All it will take is a little bit of courage… courage to make #Equallove a right', he says in the video which appeals to Australian MPs to support marriage equality

Lachlan Beaton’s moving video in which the former Australian footballer revealed how his efforts to keep his sexual orientation a secret from his family and football club caused him engage in destructive habits for 12 years has made the press in Australia.

The Herald Sun reported that Beaton, who coached at Uni Blacks until his move to the US last month, is one of few footballers of any level to publicly come out as gay and ‘yet the statistics tell us his story of suffering is echoed across every community and sporting club.’ See more

Hey Bill Nye, 'Does Homosexuality Make Evolutionary Sense?' #tuesdayswithbill

An anonymous viewer asks Bill whether homosexuality makes sense from an evolutionary and genetic standpoint. Bill's response? Homosexuality exists across species and throughout nature. Bonobo monkeys, for example, exhibit homosexuality. And Bonobo monkeys aren't going anywhere anytime soon. In short, Bill says we should just live and let live. Read More

This weird and amazing video wants to encourage gay men to use condoms

An HIV charity and the NHS have produced a strange and amazing film to encourage men who have sex with men to use condoms when they have anal sex. The film, titled ‘That Awkard Moment’, was released last week, and hopes to use humour to encourage gay and bi men to talk about issues around using condoms and lube. 

Created by the British Association for Sexual Health, HIV funded Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland and NHS Tayside, the film hopes to “help [men] overcome these issues with the facts in a fun, innovative and engaging way.” Read More