HIV and the Politics of Invisibility

That was the title of GLAD’s panel discussion held Tuesday night at the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center. It is a heavy title that forces us to ask the question: “Where are we today with regards to the AIDS epidemic?” How is it possible that after so many years of devastating loss and discrimination that infection rates continue to soar, disproportionately affecting minority communities? A panel of four renowned individuals in the fight against AIDS: Douglas Brooks, ED of JRI Health; Jacob Smith Yang, ED of Massachusetts Asian and Pacific Islanders for Health; Reverend Irene Monroe, writer and activist; and Kevin Cathcart, ED of Lambda Legal took the stage to discuss their thoughts on the invisibility of the HIV epidemic in the United States.

Kevin Cathcart addressed the paradox of the US government requiring national HIV plans in developing countries, but never forcing our own country to develop one. Other countries that have placed HIV/AIDS at the forefront of national policies and used culturally appropriate prevention strategies have been successful in reducing the transmission rate of HIV. Thailand, for example, implemented a “100 percent condom program” in the 1990’s providing all sex workers with boxes of free condoms. HIV infection rates dropped significantly. What makes it so hard for the US to implement a national strategy that would decrease infection rates across the board? Is our country just too diverse to come up with one national plan?

Jacob Smith Yang discussed the complexity and diversity of the US population. Neglecting to address this diversity has left minority populations behind in the fight against HIV. Yang described the diversity within the Asian population that’s often invisible in the US. It’s necessary to break down the larger Asian population to understand the specific populations affected. When it comes to collecting demographic data for the AIDS epidemic it does not suffice to simply fill in “Asian” (or, worse, “Other” – lumping anyone who is not white, African American or Latino into one category) on a form.

Recording agencies such as the CDC have claimed that desegregating this data is useless because the differentiated numbers are too small to matter, but when infection rates continue, what number is too small? Why can’t we be concerned nationally and on a state level about the health and well being of every individual? We are lucky to live in a diverse society where each population is unique in terms of its cultural dynamics, but that makes it all the more necessary for a national HIV plan to address these differences. By failing to develop a national HIV plan for our own country, we are making this epidemic invisible to the greater public, when in fact decreasing infection rates takes the awareness of every single individual.

- Noreen Giga, Bilingual Outreach Educator



Panelists Reverend Irene Monroe, Jacob Smith Yang, and Kevin Cathcart discuss educating youth about HIV and AIDS.

The GLAD Team at the AIDS Walk

Over 18,000 people participated in the Boston AIDS Walk on Sunday to raise $1.2 million in support of AIDS Action Committee. We were proud to be among them!

The AIDS Walk: It Still Matters

The annual AIDS Walk fundraiser for Boston's AIDS Action Committee is coming up this Sunday. Securing legal equality for people living with HIV/AIDS is a key part of GLAD’s mission, and supporting AAC's community-based education, prevention, advocacy and health service work is important to us.

And so we have a team walking, as we do each year. In fact, this year we’re proud to be the nonprofit organization that has raised the most money for the cause.

A large part of that money was raised by one dedicated staffer, who set a personal goal to ask 200 people to give just $5 each. Sure, some people weren't able to give, and then many people gave more than $5. The point was that lots of people never get asked to give at all, and if you ask, you may be surprised by who will.

More importantly, though, the effect of asking 200 people to support the AIDS walk, whether they gave money or not, is that 200 people were reminded that HIV and AIDS are still with us, and that AAC's mission - to provide support services for people living with AIDS and HIV; to educate the public and health professionals about prevention; and to advocate for fair, effective AIDS policy - is still vitally important.

AIDS is not over - neither is the fight.