LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Safe: |
by Sal Seeley |
Second Wavers While at the HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta earlier this month, I had a chance to meet other gay men who are working with men who have sex with men. We talked about an announcement that the Centers for Disease Control made at the conference: For the second year in a row, HIV infections have risen for men who have sex with men. This news is disturbing for all of us. In light of all the information that is out there, why do gay men continue to be one of the highest risk groups that are becoming infected with HIV? No one seems to know the answer to this. However, it seemed to the men that I talked with that many young men, "second wavers," are taking more chances when having risky unprotected sex. Researchers are spending a considerable amount of time trying to find why this new group are taking risky choices compared to their predecessors who lived during the start of the epidemic and who lost many friends to AIDS. First of all, what are second wavers? Second wavers are gay and bisexual men between the ages of 18-30 who are given this name because they did not experience AIDS during the 80s and early 90s as "first wavers" have. Second wavers live in a world where they are told that all you do is pop a pill and you will live a longer and productive life. Second wavers are blinded by this illusion and do not see the harsh realities of what HIV/AIDS can really do to a person. Some of them also have the attitude that while they are young, they should have a good time because later on they can rely on new therapies or advances in medicine to help them cope. There is also a feeling that they will get infected eventually. The drugs that people with AIDS have to take are very toxic. Although combination therapies have been very successful in treating people living with HIV, not everyone can take the drugs. Many experience very severe side-effects. And even those who can take the therapies may not be able to take them forever. The drugs are very toxic and extended use can lead to liver failure, a common cause of death among positive people. Also, after taking a drug, it may become less effective and a good alternative may not be available. Is it this attitude towards HIV/AIDS medications that makes them take risks? What else could it be? Studies presented at the conference indicate that the rate of HIV infection and high-risk sex were much higher when psychosocial problems were present. The percentage of men reporting high-risk sex increased over the past year from 7.1 percent among men with no health problems to 33.3 percent of those with psychosocial problems. It seems like the most common psychosocial problems among gay men are multiple drug use, partner violence, a history of childhood sexual abuse, and depression. The more of these problems that gay and bisexual men report, the more likely they are to have high-risk sex or be infected already. Where do we go from here? There's no easy answer to this growing concern. There are many gay and bisexual men who are shocked to hear that the number of new infections is increasing. I believe we all need to pull together as a community and begin to talk more about safer sex and HIV transmission. We each need to take responsibility for preventing new infections by talking to our partners about our HIV status. If we don't know, we should get tested. We should take time to learn about sex and HIV risks so we can make informed decisions about the sex we like to have. We can still have fun while doing this. Being safe can be very sexy! CAMPsafe is an HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention program funded through a contract with the Delaware Division of Public Health. Free, anonymous HIV testing is offered at CAMP Rehoboth, 39 Baltimore Avenue. For information, call 302-227-5620. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 13, No. 11, August 8, 2003 |