The Los Angeles-based TruthAIDS team, spearheaded by the poet Lily, recently held a TruthCircle for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness day. Lily wrote the following about the event on her blog (lilyliketheflower.blogspot.com):
I recently hosted a TruthCircle event at Mecca Hair Studios in Los Angeles. To provide some background, the TruthCircle is designed to promote honest communication and offer the opportunity for women to share their stories and learn from others experiences. Ultimately, the goal is to identify alternative ways to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its effect on the population most vulnerable to it - women. Ideally a TruthCircle would take place with an all female audience, but the first TruthCircle Los Angeles was different to say the least. Firstly, it was coed with men outnumbering women. Secondly, because it was hosted at a local beauty salon and community hub, we actually had walk-in participants! Overall, it was an enlightening experience and offered the chance the hear answers to controversial TruthCircle questions such as "Are you sexually satisfied" and "Have you ever had sex when you did not want to?" from a man's perspective. Ladies, I must tell you these are questions that we should not only be answering ourselves but asking the men in our lives. The vast difference in the answers can be mind boggling. My key takeaways from the event are as follows:
1) As women, with our emotional and physiological vulnerabilities, we (when I say we I mean me too!) have to be more aware of the choices that we make and their potential outcomes
2) Men think very differently than women, especially when it comes to sex. Relying on a man to put our safety and feelings on any list of priorities is not likely in a casual dating situation and many times not even in what a woman would consider a "committed relationship"
3) We absolutely have to keep up the open and honest communications! I learned so much and look forward to the next opportunity to share! Have a TruthCircle with your girlfriends or visit http://www.truthaids.org/ to find a TruthCircle near you.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Social vulnerabilities and HIV prevention
I have been getting a lot of questions lately about who is responsible for addressing social vulnerabilities. This is a big question. My answer, in short, is everybody! Professionals, researchers, concerned citizens, advocates, and infected communities all have a stake to claim.
Poverty, homelessness, racism, sexism, violence and homophobia are all forms of social vulnerability that predispose communities to ill health. These problems are not specific to HIV prevention and are rooted in long histories of oppression. So then the question becomes, how do we get free? We start by not repeating mistakes from the past and focusing future efforts on collective emancipation. The operative word being collective. You don't need to be an expert to start addressing social vulnerabilities. In the words of Arthur Ashe: "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."
I touched on these issues while speaking on a CHAMP community forum panel last fall that was focused on HIV prevention. Check it out below. If you still have questions... you know where to find me.
Poverty, homelessness, racism, sexism, violence and homophobia are all forms of social vulnerability that predispose communities to ill health. These problems are not specific to HIV prevention and are rooted in long histories of oppression. So then the question becomes, how do we get free? We start by not repeating mistakes from the past and focusing future efforts on collective emancipation. The operative word being collective. You don't need to be an expert to start addressing social vulnerabilities. In the words of Arthur Ashe: "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."
I touched on these issues while speaking on a CHAMP community forum panel last fall that was focused on HIV prevention. Check it out below. If you still have questions... you know where to find me.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Welcome Ebon!
TruthAIDS artisans are a group of artists we collaborate with to help us communicate community-based health lessons. Our newest member to the team is Ebon Heath.
Ebon Heath lives and works in Brooklyn New York and received his BFA, in Graphic Design, from Rhode Island School of Design. In 1993 he founded (((stereotype))) , a design studio focused on music packaging, magazine layout, and fashion advertising. Clients varied from the urban fashion pioneer Tripe 5 Soul, Puffy’s Bad Boy Records, to independent magazine Stress, as well as cultural institutions like the African Burial Ground, Take Your Daughter to Work Day, and promotions for the Nike NYC Swoosh Campaign.
He subsequently co-founded Cell Out in 2003, a consultancy that develops issue-based media strategies for non-profits, NGO's and brands. He is currently a adjunct professor in Graphic Design at Lehman College in the Bronx, New York.
Ebon will also be joining our advisory board and bringing his expertise in design to advise on all TruthAIDS projects. We are incredibly lucky to have him.
Please check out his incredible work: www.listeningwithmyeyes.com
Ebon Heath lives and works in Brooklyn New York and received his BFA, in Graphic Design, from Rhode Island School of Design. In 1993 he founded (((stereotype))) , a design studio focused on music packaging, magazine layout, and fashion advertising. Clients varied from the urban fashion pioneer Tripe 5 Soul, Puffy’s Bad Boy Records, to independent magazine Stress, as well as cultural institutions like the African Burial Ground, Take Your Daughter to Work Day, and promotions for the Nike NYC Swoosh Campaign.
He subsequently co-founded Cell Out in 2003, a consultancy that develops issue-based media strategies for non-profits, NGO's and brands. He is currently a adjunct professor in Graphic Design at Lehman College in the Bronx, New York.
Ebon will also be joining our advisory board and bringing his expertise in design to advise on all TruthAIDS projects. We are incredibly lucky to have him.
Please check out his incredible work: www.listeningwithmyeyes.com
Welcome Trina!
Using media to connect the global and local is the expertise and creative vision that our newest Board Member, Trina DasGupta, brings to the table. We are so grateful she has joined the TruthAIDS family.
Trina DasGupta is a new media & youth marketing consultant, currently working with South Africa’s largest youth NGO, loveLife, to develop media-based engagement models to address the social determinants of HIV. On this project, she has also created the world’s first cell phone-based social network dedicated to youth empowerment & HIV prevention. Trina’s other clients include the Kaiser Family Foundation, Voxiva Inc., Going.com, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the American Democracy Institute, and the Democratic National Committee’s “Trailblazers” Young Trustee Program.
Prior to consulting, Trina worked for MTV Networks as the Manager of Integrated Marketing & New Business Development, developing creative concepts that brought in over $31 million in new revenue in less than two years. In this role, her clients included Coca Cola, Cingular/AT&T,
Dunkin’ Donuts, Intel, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Sharpie, and Starburst, among many other top consumer brands. She has also worked on Viacom and MTV International’s sexual health campaigns, Know HIV/AIDS and Staying Alive.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Stop AIDS in Prison Act Passes
House Passes Congresswoman Waters' Legislation to Prevent Spread of HIV/AIDS
PRESS RELEASE
March 17, 2009 Contact: Michael Levin
For Immediate Release (202) 225-2201
HOUSE PASSES CONGRESSWOMAN MAXINE WATERS’ LEGISLATION
TO PREVENT SPREAD OF HIV/AIDS
Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Stop AIDS in Prison Act (H.R. 1429), legislation introduced by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), a longtime leader of Congressional efforts to confront the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The Stop AIDS in Prison Act requires the Bureau of Prisons to test all Federal prison inmates for HIV upon entering prison and again prior to release from prison, unless an inmate opts out of taking the test. The bill also requires HIV/AIDS prevention education for all inmates and comprehensive treatment for those inmates who test positive.
“The Stop AIDS in Prison Act will help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among prison inmates and will protect people in the general community from transmission,” said Congresswoman Waters.
Original cosponsors of the Stop AIDS in Prison Act include Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Robert C. Scott (D-VA), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, which has jurisdiction over federal prisons.
The legislation also has the support of many health advocates. “AIDS Action, and our diverse nationwide membership of community-based HIV/AIDS service providers and public health departments applaud Congresswoman Waters’ efforts to combat the HIV epidemic within federal prisons and address the public health threat it poses to our nation,” said Ronald Johnson, Deputy Executive Director of AIDS Action, a leading national organization dedicated to shaping public policy related to HIV/AIDS.
The Department of Justice reported in 2005 that the rate of confirmed AIDS cases in prisons was three times higher than in the general population. This legislation is designed to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS within prison as well as lessen the spread of the disease in the general community following the release of infected prisoners.
Congresswoman Waters first introduced the Stop AIDS in Prison Act during the 109th Congress. She reintroduced it in the 110th Congress, and it was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, the full Senate did not complete action on the bill prior to adjournment.
PRESS RELEASE
March 17, 2009 Contact: Michael Levin
For Immediate Release (202) 225-2201
HOUSE PASSES CONGRESSWOMAN MAXINE WATERS’ LEGISLATION
TO PREVENT SPREAD OF HIV/AIDS
Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Stop AIDS in Prison Act (H.R. 1429), legislation introduced by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), a longtime leader of Congressional efforts to confront the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The Stop AIDS in Prison Act requires the Bureau of Prisons to test all Federal prison inmates for HIV upon entering prison and again prior to release from prison, unless an inmate opts out of taking the test. The bill also requires HIV/AIDS prevention education for all inmates and comprehensive treatment for those inmates who test positive.
“The Stop AIDS in Prison Act will help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among prison inmates and will protect people in the general community from transmission,” said Congresswoman Waters.
Original cosponsors of the Stop AIDS in Prison Act include Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Robert C. Scott (D-VA), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, which has jurisdiction over federal prisons.
The legislation also has the support of many health advocates. “AIDS Action, and our diverse nationwide membership of community-based HIV/AIDS service providers and public health departments applaud Congresswoman Waters’ efforts to combat the HIV epidemic within federal prisons and address the public health threat it poses to our nation,” said Ronald Johnson, Deputy Executive Director of AIDS Action, a leading national organization dedicated to shaping public policy related to HIV/AIDS.
The Department of Justice reported in 2005 that the rate of confirmed AIDS cases in prisons was three times higher than in the general population. This legislation is designed to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS within prison as well as lessen the spread of the disease in the general community following the release of infected prisoners.
Congresswoman Waters first introduced the Stop AIDS in Prison Act during the 109th Congress. She reintroduced it in the 110th Congress, and it was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, the full Senate did not complete action on the bill prior to adjournment.
Stop AIDS in Prison Act Passes
House Passes Congresswoman Waters' Legislation to Prevent Spread of HIV/AIDS
PRESS RELEASE
March 17, 2009 Contact: Michael Levin
For Immediate Release (202) 225-2201
HOUSE PASSES CONGRESSWOMAN MAXINE WATERS’ LEGISLATION
TO PREVENT SPREAD OF HIV/AIDS
Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Stop AIDS in Prison Act (H.R. 1429), legislation introduced by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), a longtime leader of Congressional efforts to confront the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The Stop AIDS in Prison Act requires the Bureau of Prisons to test all Federal prison inmates for HIV upon entering prison and again prior to release from prison, unless an inmate opts out of taking the test. The bill also requires HIV/AIDS prevention education for all inmates and comprehensive treatment for those inmates who test positive.
“The Stop AIDS in Prison Act will help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among prison inmates and will protect people in the general community from transmission,” said Congresswoman Waters.
Original cosponsors of the Stop AIDS in Prison Act include Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Robert C. Scott (D-VA), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, which has jurisdiction over federal prisons.
The legislation also has the support of many health advocates. “AIDS Action, and our diverse nationwide membership of community-based HIV/AIDS service providers and public health departments applaud Congresswoman Waters’ efforts to combat the HIV epidemic within federal prisons and address the public health threat it poses to our nation,” said Ronald Johnson, Deputy Executive Director of AIDS Action, a leading national organization dedicated to shaping public policy related to HIV/AIDS.
The Department of Justice reported in 2005 that the rate of confirmed AIDS cases in prisons was three times higher than in the general population. This legislation is designed to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS within prison as well as lessen the spread of the disease in the general community following the release of infected prisoners.
Congresswoman Waters first introduced the Stop AIDS in Prison Act during the 109th Congress. She reintroduced it in the 110th Congress, and it was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, the full Senate did not complete action on the bill prior to adjournment.
PRESS RELEASE
March 17, 2009 Contact: Michael Levin
For Immediate Release (202) 225-2201
HOUSE PASSES CONGRESSWOMAN MAXINE WATERS’ LEGISLATION
TO PREVENT SPREAD OF HIV/AIDS
Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Stop AIDS in Prison Act (H.R. 1429), legislation introduced by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), a longtime leader of Congressional efforts to confront the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The Stop AIDS in Prison Act requires the Bureau of Prisons to test all Federal prison inmates for HIV upon entering prison and again prior to release from prison, unless an inmate opts out of taking the test. The bill also requires HIV/AIDS prevention education for all inmates and comprehensive treatment for those inmates who test positive.
“The Stop AIDS in Prison Act will help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among prison inmates and will protect people in the general community from transmission,” said Congresswoman Waters.
Original cosponsors of the Stop AIDS in Prison Act include Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Robert C. Scott (D-VA), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, which has jurisdiction over federal prisons.
The legislation also has the support of many health advocates. “AIDS Action, and our diverse nationwide membership of community-based HIV/AIDS service providers and public health departments applaud Congresswoman Waters’ efforts to combat the HIV epidemic within federal prisons and address the public health threat it poses to our nation,” said Ronald Johnson, Deputy Executive Director of AIDS Action, a leading national organization dedicated to shaping public policy related to HIV/AIDS.
The Department of Justice reported in 2005 that the rate of confirmed AIDS cases in prisons was three times higher than in the general population. This legislation is designed to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS within prison as well as lessen the spread of the disease in the general community following the release of infected prisoners.
Congresswoman Waters first introduced the Stop AIDS in Prison Act during the 109th Congress. She reintroduced it in the 110th Congress, and it was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, the full Senate did not complete action on the bill prior to adjournment.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Center for Women & HIV Advocacy
TruthAIDS has been filming a video narrative series with advocates from the HIV Law Project's Center for Women & HIV Advocacy. These women advocates have been incredibly impressive and have taken on the issue of comprehensive sexuality education. They recently released a press release calling on President Obama to specifically fund accurate and appropriate comprehensive sexuality education for all students. Check it out below:
New York, NY (March 10, 2009) – Schools across the country routinely fail to provide girls and young women with comprehensive sexuality education – the cornerstone to HIV awareness and prevention. Meanwhile, young people between the ages of 13 and 29 accounted for 34% of new HIV infections in 2006. As the Appropriations Act awaits Senate approval, and as President Obama crafts the details of his budget, the United States must change course and ensure that HIV awareness and prevention begins with comprehensive sexuality education for our young people.
“We are at a critical moment where the President and Congress have the opportunity to end ineffective and inaccurate abstinence-only-until-marriage programs,” says Tracy Welsh, Executive Director at HIV Law Project. President Obama has stated support for comprehensive sexuality education. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated that she would redirect abstinence-only funds toward sexuality education. Yet, it appears that neither the President nor Congress is taking affirmative steps to educate our youth about HIV prevention.
The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, passed by the House of Representatives on February 25, 2009 maintains over $94.6 million in federal funding for abstinence-only programs for the remainder of the fiscal year. As well, President Obama’s recently released budget does not directly mention comprehensive sexuality education. Privileging the abstinence-only agenda, while denying young people information that directly impacts their health and welfare, is irresponsible and short-sighted.
HIV Law Project calls on President Obama to specifically fund accurate and appropriate comprehensive sexuality education for all students. “Prevention programming must include comprehensive sex education that teaches young people how to prevent HIV transmission. If we miss this opportunity, we will fail our young people now and for generations to come,” says Ms. Welsh.
HIV Law Project believes that all people deserve the same rights, including the right to live with dignity and respect, the right to be treated as equal members of society, and the right to have their basic human needs fulfilled. These fundamental rights are elusive for many people living with HIV/AIDS. Through innovative legal services and advocacy programs, HIV Law Project fights for the rights of the most underserved people living with HIV/AIDS.
HIV Law Project’s Center for Women & HIV Advocacy is fighting for comprehensive sexuality education for students in New York and throughout the country.
New York, NY (March 10, 2009) – Schools across the country routinely fail to provide girls and young women with comprehensive sexuality education – the cornerstone to HIV awareness and prevention. Meanwhile, young people between the ages of 13 and 29 accounted for 34% of new HIV infections in 2006. As the Appropriations Act awaits Senate approval, and as President Obama crafts the details of his budget, the United States must change course and ensure that HIV awareness and prevention begins with comprehensive sexuality education for our young people.
“We are at a critical moment where the President and Congress have the opportunity to end ineffective and inaccurate abstinence-only-until-marriage programs,” says Tracy Welsh, Executive Director at HIV Law Project. President Obama has stated support for comprehensive sexuality education. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated that she would redirect abstinence-only funds toward sexuality education. Yet, it appears that neither the President nor Congress is taking affirmative steps to educate our youth about HIV prevention.
The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, passed by the House of Representatives on February 25, 2009 maintains over $94.6 million in federal funding for abstinence-only programs for the remainder of the fiscal year. As well, President Obama’s recently released budget does not directly mention comprehensive sexuality education. Privileging the abstinence-only agenda, while denying young people information that directly impacts their health and welfare, is irresponsible and short-sighted.
HIV Law Project calls on President Obama to specifically fund accurate and appropriate comprehensive sexuality education for all students. “Prevention programming must include comprehensive sex education that teaches young people how to prevent HIV transmission. If we miss this opportunity, we will fail our young people now and for generations to come,” says Ms. Welsh.
HIV Law Project believes that all people deserve the same rights, including the right to live with dignity and respect, the right to be treated as equal members of society, and the right to have their basic human needs fulfilled. These fundamental rights are elusive for many people living with HIV/AIDS. Through innovative legal services and advocacy programs, HIV Law Project fights for the rights of the most underserved people living with HIV/AIDS.
HIV Law Project’s Center for Women & HIV Advocacy is fighting for comprehensive sexuality education for students in New York and throughout the country.
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