Men

Women

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Special Populations

Wellness Center Project

Has there been an increase in infections?

Black women are disproportionately affected by AIDS. In the 1980's, during the beginning of the HIV epidemic, the majority of new HIV infections and AIDS diagnoses occurred among males. Since then, the number of new diagnoses has increased among the female population. In the US, over one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses occur in women, 60% of which are Black women. In Louisiana, more than 33% of all new HIV infections occur in women, and of those cases, 83% are Black women. 

Because of the disproportionately high rates of STDs and HIV in the Black community, the likelihood of being exposed to an infected person is much higher for Black women and men than it is for other ethnicities. 

What are the HIV prevention challenges for Black women?

Nationwide and in Louisiana, the primary modes of HIV transmission for women are heterosexual contact (having sex with a man who has HIV) and injection drug use, which involves sharing needles or syringes with someone who has HIV.

The majority of women become infected with HIV through high-risk heterosexual contact. In 2008, 82% of all new HIV infections in women were attributed to high-risk heterosexual contact in Louisiana. Lack of HIV knowledge, different interpretations of safe sex, lower perception of risk and drug or alcohol use can influence a women's engagement in sexual interactions.

You may not be aware of your male partner's risk factors for HIV infection.  In order for you to best protect yourself, you need to know the risk behaviors of your partners and use a latex condom with lubricant.

When it comes to having safer sex, you may be more concerned about pregnancy prevention than HIV/STD prevention, and therefore less likely to use two methods of protection (such as the pill and condoms). Contraception methods such as implants, injectables, the pill or patch and sterilization do not protect against HIV and STDs.

What can Black women do?

Get educated!  Educate yourself about the different ways that you can acquire HIV and then all the ways to protect yourself. Learn your status so that you can protect yourself and your partners.  Teach those around you about how HIV can be transmitted and how you can protect yourself from infection.  Work in your community to improve awareness.  You and your partner should get tested for HIV and other STDs so that you are aware of each other's status before you have sex.  If you are a pregnant woman, it is especially important that you get tested early to help ensure, that if you are HIV positive, you seek medical care and medications which will lower the chance of you transmitting the virus to your unborn child.  Talk about HIV and other STDs with each partner before you have sex.  Ask your partners if they have recently been tested for HIV; encourage those who have not been tested to do so. Use a latex condom and lubricant every time you have sex.  Get tested for HIV once a year. 

Alcohol & Drugs	Socioeconomic Issues (Poverty)	Incarceration Issues
Complacency	STDs and Vulnerability to HIV	If You Are Infected

 

Has there been an increase in infections?

In the 1980's, at the beginning of the HIV epidemic, gay men and intravenous drug users (IDUs) were the first to be infected within the black community. Early in the epidemic the media portrayed AIDS as a disease of white gay men and many Black Americans felt that AIDS could not affect them even though there were a large number of cases in the Black community already. Today, Black men are disproportionally affected by HIV nationwide and in Louisiana. In 2008, 66% of all men newly infected with HIV in Louisiana were Black and 59% of all men living with HIV/AIDS in Louisiana were Black.

One of the fastest growing populations of Black men getting infected with HIV is young Black men who have sex with men (MSM). The number of new infections among Black men, between the age of 13 and 29, is rapidly growing.  

What are the prevention challenges for black men?

You may not be aware of your partner's risk factors for HIV infection.  In order for you to best protect yourself, you need to know the risk behaviors of your partners and use a latex condom with lubricant.

Men who have sex with men may not identify themselves as gay, and frequently identify as straight because they also have a female partner. It is important to know the status of each partner, male or female, and protect yourself from HIV infection and from transmitting the infection to others. People within the MSM community may not have been reached with HIV prevention education. Sex education programs may not discuss sexual orientation or ignore issues specific to MSM.  Bullying, harassment, family disapproval, social isolation, and sexual violence can cause some men, especially younger MSM, to have higher rates of emotional distress, substance use, and risky sexual behavior.

There are high rates of STDs within the Black community which can decrease immune function and lead to open sores in the genital areas which increase the possibility of transmission of HIV. Rates of common STDs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are higher in the Black community than in all other racial groups.

Blacks are often diagnosed later in the stages of HIV. HIV positive Blacks are also less likely to receive antiretrovirals. This may be due to issues with insurance, and access to healthcare.

What can Black men do? 

Get educated!  Educate yourself about the different ways that you can acquire HIV and then all the ways to protect yourself. Learn your status so that you can protect yourself and your partners.  Teach those around you about how HIV can be transmitted and how you can protect yourself from infection.  Work in your community to improve awareness.  You and your partner should get tested for HIV and other STDs so that you are aware of each other's status before you have sex.  Talk about HIV and other STDs with each partner before you have sex.  Ask your partners if they have recently been tested for HIV; encourage those who have not been tested to do so. Use a latex condom and lubricant every time you have sex.  Get tested for HIV once a year. 

Greater Than AIDS

Greater Than AIDS is a public information campaign of the Black AIDS Media Partnership (BAMP),sustained commitment among major U.S. media companies to work together to address the AIDS crisisfacing Black Americans. Organized as part of Act Against AIDS, a multi- year effort by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help refocus national attention on the HIV/AIDS crisis in United States, the Partnership is undertaking a coordinated campaign presented under a common brand "Greater Than AIDS," to reach Black Americans with life-saving information about HIV/AIDS and to confrontthe stigma surrounding the disease. 

The Kaiser Family Foundation - a leader in health policy and communications - is providing strategic direction and day-to-day management for BAMP, as well as overseeing campaign production and helping to support member company commitments. The Black AIDS Institute is also providing strategic leadership, guidance, and technical assistance to BAMP. Other AIDS service organizations as well as the CDC's Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative, a collaborative of fourteen highly respected and influential organizations serving African American communities, are providing additional counsel and support for community mobilization efforts

 

Alcohol & Drugs	Socioeconomic Issues (Poverty)	Incarceration Issues
Complacency	STDs and Vulnerability to HIV	If You Are Infected

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