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December 2007 Monthly Monitor
Advocates for Youth's Youth of Color Initiative
Feature: The Impact of Homophobia and Racism on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (GLBTQ) Youth of Color
As members of more than one minority group, GLBTQ youth of color face special challenges in a society which often presents heterosexuality as the only acceptable orientation and in which nonwhites have disproportionately higher rates of negative sexual outcomes. Economic and cultural disparities, as well as sexual risk taking and other risk-taking behavior, make these youth vulnerable to HIV, pregnancy, and sexual violence. Holistic, culturally competent health care is essential to their well being.
Following are some principles of successful culturally competent education, programs, and health care for GLBTQ youth of color:
- A recent study of GLBTQ youth who received gay-sensitive HIV prevention education in school showed they engaged in less risky sexual behavior than similar youth who did not receive such instruction.[1]
- Researchers recommend that HIV prevention messages for Latino and African-American gay and bisexual men not only be culturally competent, but also address the larger social, health, and psychological issues which affect them.[2,3]
- Researchers who worked with GLBTQ Latina and African American women stressed the importance of affordable, nonjudgmental health care, as well as the need for services accessible to those who speak little or no English.[4]
- A study of 758 young African American men who have sex with men found that those who carried condoms and reported that their peers normally use condoms were less likely to have had unprotected anal intercourse. Therefore, researchers recommend strengthening social norms for condom use among these young men.[5]
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References
- Blake SM et al. Preventing sexual risk behaviors among gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents: the benefits of gay-sensitive HIV instruction in schools. American Journal of Public Health 2001; 91:940-46.
- Brooks et al. Preventing HIV among Latino African American gay and bisexual men in a context of HIV-related stigma, discrimination, and homophobia: perspectives of providers. AIDS Patient Care STDS 2005; 19(11) 737-744.
- Celentano DD et al. Race/ethnic differences in HIV prevalence and risks among adolescent and young adult men who have sex with men. Journal of Urban Health 2005; 82(4): 610-621
- Arend ED. The politics of invisibility: homophobia and low-income HIV-positive women who have sex with women. Journal of Homosexuality 2005; 49(1): 97-122.
- Hart T et al. Predictors of risky sexual behavior among young African American men who have sex with men. American Journal of Public Health 2004; 94(7): 1122-1123.
Capacity Building & Professional Development
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Creating Change Conference will be held February 6th thru February 10th in Detroit, MI. It is the nation's preeminent political, leadership and skills-building conference for the LGBT movement. During the past two decades, Creating Change has been the place where thousands of committed people have developed and honed their skills, celebrated victories, built community, and been inspired by visionaries in movements for justice and equality. The conference registration deadline is January 15, 2008. For more information, please visit http://www.thetaskforce.org/events/creating_change
The 2008 HIV Prevention Leadership Summit (HPLS) will be held from June 11-14, 2008 in Detroit, MI at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. The Summit will feature institutes, workshops, roundtables and other sessions that are primarily intended for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grantees and has a major focus on CDC-funded HIV prevention efforts. The goal of the meeting is to bring together leaders in HIV prevention to disseminate and exchange information to enhance program planning and management. Abstracts for workshops are due January 10, 2008. For more information, please visit The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Creating Change Conference will be held February 6th thru February 10th in Detroit, MI. It is the nation's preeminent political, leadership and skills-building conference for the LGBT movement. During the past two decades, Creating Change has been the place where thousands of committed people have developed and honed their skills, celebrated victories, built community, and been inspired by visionaries in movements for justice and equality. The conference registration deadline is January 15, 2008. For more information, please visit http://www.thetaskforce.org/events/creating_change
The 2008 HIV Prevention Leadership Summit (HPLS) will be held from June 11-14, 2008 in Detroit, MI at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. The Summit will feature institutes, workshops, roundtables and other sessions that are primarily intended for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grantees and has a major focus on CDC-funded HIV prevention efforts. The goal of the meeting is to bring together leaders in HIV prevention to disseminate and exchange information to enhance program planning and management. Abstracts for workshops are due January 10, 2008. For more information, please visit http://www.2008hpls.org
The National Minority AIDS Council's (NMAC) HIV/AIDS Stigma program offers three individual trainings focusing on how stigma prevents people from seeking HIV testing, counseling, and care, as well as disclosing their sero-positive status. The trainings include:
HIV/AIDS Stigma and Access to Care
April 10-11, 2008 * Des Moines, IA
June 19-20, 2008 * Denver, CO
HIV/AIDS Stigma and Access to Care: Women of Color
February 7-8, 2008 * Charlotte, NC
Training-of-Trainers: HIV/AIDS Stigma and Access to Care
August 7-8, 2008 * St. Louis, MO
For a description of each training and information about program eligibility, visit NMAC's website, http://www.nmac.org. For more information, contact Aida Gemechu, HIV/AIDS Stigma Program Coordinator, at agemechu@nmac.org or (202) 483-6622, ext. 323.
The National Minority AIDS Council's (NMAC) HIV/AIDS Stigma program offers three individual trainings focusing on how stigma prevents people from seeking HIV testing, counseling, and care, as well as disclosing their sero-positive status. The trainings include:
HIV/AIDS Stigma and Access to Care
April 10-11, 2008 * Des Moines, IA
June 19-20, 2008 * Denver, CO
HIV/AIDS Stigma and Access to Care: Women of Color
February 7-8, 2008 * Charlotte, NC
Training-of-Trainers: HIV/AIDS Stigma and Access to Care
August 7-8, 2008 * St. Louis, MO
For a description of each training and information about program eligibility, visit NMAC's website, http://www.nmac.org. For more information, contact Aida Gemechu, HIV/AIDS Stigma Program Coordinator, at agemechu@nmac.org or (202) 483-6622, ext. 323.
Announcements
CDC has released a new report on health disparities entitled "Health Disparities in HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Tuberculosis in the US: Issues, Burden and Response."
To read the report in full, please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/healthdisparities/docs/NCHHSTPHealthDisparitiesReport1107.pdf
January is Cervical Health Awareness Month. In the United States, about 10,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and about 3,700 women die in the USA each year from this disease. Young women ages 20-24 have the highest rate of HPV infection of any age group, while young women ages 14-19 have the second highest rate; and women of color are disproportionately affected. For more information, visit the National Cervical Cancer Coalition at http://www.nccc-online.org/.
Funding
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of AIDS Research (OAR) are sponsoring the 2008 Equal Access Initiative (EAI) Computer Grants Program. Qualified community-based organizations (CBOs) in the United States, its territories and possessions are invited to submit an application to receive one of 100 state-of-the-art desktop computers. This year, in partnership with the National Library of Medicine (NLM), NMAC expanded the scope of the program to include a series of trainings held at the 2007 USCA. This program will continue in 2008, awarding grantees a scholarship package that includes registration for the 2008 USCA, a travel credit and an invitation to the three hour comprehensive training course from the NLM to familiarize them with reliable online health information from government and other reputable resources that address HIV/AIDS and related medical conditions. Applications for the 2008 cycle will be accepted starting on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2007 and will be due on or before February 7, 2008, which coincides with National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. For more information, please visit: http://www.nmac.org.
Development and Testing of an HIV Prevention Intervention Targeting Black Bisexually-active Men Grant: The purpose of the program is to support the development and pilot testing of novel interventions or those not rigorously evaluated that reduce sexual risk for HIV infection and transmission among bisexually active African-American men who do not inject drugs. Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on the January 30, 2008. For more information, please visit: http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=true&oppId=15887
Resources
For more resources on GLBTQ youth of color, please visit the following resources:
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