Almost 620,000 gay and bisexual men in the United States were living with HIV in 2014, and 100,000 of these men were not even aware of their infection. These men are 100 times more likely to have anal cancer than HIV-negative men who exclusively have sex with women. Yet, no national screening guidelines exist for anal cancer prevention in any population.
The 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly concluded this week, and among the packed events during the two-week gathering was a meeting of the U.N.’s LGBTI Core Group. Now 9 years old, the group is composed of representatives from 26 member states, along with the U.N.’s Office of Human Rights and two advocacy organizations — Human Rights Watch and OutRight International.
Imagine your doctor prescribing a medication that’s vital to your health, and then finding out your insurance company won’t cover it – and now you can’t afford it. Recent headlines highlighted an example of this very scenario: an insurance company refused to cover the cost of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a treatment regimen that is more than 90 percent effective in preventing HIV-negative individuals from contracting HIV.
On Tuesday, the Census Bureau announced that it is removing the planned sexual orientation question from a national survey. “Who and how the Census counts has enormous consequences for resource distribution, representation and LGBTQ protections,” said Rea Carey, National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director. “We shouldn’t have to keep telling this administration that we count. In case we weren’t clear: we count. Our experiences matter. Our needs matter, so count us.”
Authorities in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, have begun a vicious crackdown on the city’s LGBT community, according to activists in the country. Reports suggest that over the past 10 days dozens of gay and trans people have been arrested. One person the Guardian contacted said he had been beaten in police custody.
When “Will & Grace” premiered in 1998, the biggest comedies of the year were “Seinfeld,” “Veronica’s Closet” and “Friends.” It was the year that President Bill Clinton denied having “sexual relations” with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the year that gave us Google, and a time when the notion that young adults were spending less time with television was beginning to percolate.
It’s no secret that our country is currently witnessing a rise in hate crimes and hateful rhetoric. Whether it is coming from our elected leaders or violent white supremacists at rallies, people who are motivated by prejudice and bigotry are feeling emboldened in our current political and cultural climate.
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