Letter to the Editor: We are Stuck in the ’80s

Dear Editor,

HIV testing rates remain low due to the stigma surrounding the virus. Many people live for years unaware that they have HIV because they are afraid to get tested.

Laws criminalizing those who do not disclose their HIV status only make matters worse by further discouraging testing. These laws are based on 40 year old science. They are stuck in the 80’s. We need to change these laws, and end the stigma associated with their very existence.

By destigmatizing HIV and building trust between patients and healthcare providers, more people will feel comfortable getting tested regularly. This is critical to slowing the spread of the virus and connecting people to the life-saving treatments now available.

Let’s work to educate the public, support those living with HIV, and create an environment where people choose testing not out of fear, but because they understand it benefits our entire community.

To learn more about our efforts to modernize Indiana’s outdated HIV laws, go to https://hivmodernizationmovement.org/.

To learn more about a national #StuckInThe80s billboard campaign being now being run in Indiana, go to https://hivisnotacrime-etaf.org/

Sincerely,

Professor Peacock
aka C. Todd Fuqua
Artivist, Connector and Reflector

What did we learn from COVID that we can apply to the ongoing HIV epidemic in Marion County

Dear Editor, 

What did we learn from COVID that we can apply to the ongoing HIV epidemic in Marion County, where we are a federally designated HIV hotspot due to our high number of new cases of HIV?

We know from COVID how important it was to get quick, easy to use tests to the general public. In other words, how important it was (and is) to know your status – whether or not you have the virus in question! 

This same discussion highlights the importance of testing and reducing stigma around HIV/AIDS. We have the science and medicine to reduce new HIV cases to zero, yet barriers remain. 

For prevention, we have PrEP – a once daily pill that when followed as prescribed, prevents transmission with 99% effectiveness. For treatment of those living with HIV, we know that when someone’s viral load reaches undetectable levels, they can not transmit the virus to their sexual partners. This is known as U=U, or shorthanded to U+. We also have easy to use tests – including at home tests – that can give results in 20 minutes. Get your free at-home test at https://together.takemehome.org/. Get testing options for Marion County at https://endinghivtogether.org/resources-categories/hiv-testing/

What barriers remain that keep us from ending the HIV epidemic? Without a cure, our goal is to reduce the number of new cases to 0. In Indiana, our plan to get to zero for both new HIV and HepC cases is known as the Zero is Possible Plan. Learn more at https://www.zipindiana.org/

The single biggest barrier (apart from a cure!) is STIGMA! HIV Stigma, plain and simple.

Lessons from the COVID response show that widespread testing, public health messaging, and free testing can reduce stigma and encourage testing.

Realistically, many people still do not get tested regularly for HIV, which allows the virus to progress to later stages with worse health outcomes. 

Normalizing HIV status and increasing testing frequency, especially for those at higher risk, could help catch cases earlier and prevent transmission. 

One of the biggest systemic sources of HIV stigma, many would argue, are our laws that further stigmatize people living with HIV by unfairly prosecuting them because of their HIV status. But that’s another conversation for a different day. Learn more at https://hivmodernizationmovement.org/

We must apply the knowledge we have gained from the early years of the AIDS pandemic as well as the recent COVID pandemic, to make progress on REALLY ending the HIV epidemic in our lifetime.

Learn more about HIV at https://endinghivtogether.org/, part of the Marion County effort to End the HIV Epidemic. Side by side, as a community, we can end this HIV epidemic in our city.

Thanks for listening. I invite your comments and discussion.

Keep tellin’ the story,

Professor Peacock

Are you clean? Come on guys – we can do better than this!

I was asked this recently on a kink/fetish site.

Really? It’s 2023 and we’re still doing the “are you clean?” thing? As if having an STI implies you’re “dirty”. Or worse, if you’re living with HIV, you’re “dirty” – not clean.

We really are stuck in the 1980s!

What we do know is if you’re viral load is undetectable, then HIV is untransmittable – also known as U=U or U+ for short. You can’t transmit HIV to your sexual partners. Full stop.

What we do know is if you haven’t tested positive for HIV, you can go on medication called PrEP. One pill daily that is 99% effective at preventing someone from acquiring HIV.

When U+ and PrEP are combined, it means great sex! Full steam ahead!

From an HIV point of view, condomless sex IS possible and safe! (For protection against other STI’s, please consider use of condoms, and ensure routine testing of all common STI’s).

Many of the dating and hook-up apps now offer the following options to communicate your HIV status: HIV-negative, HIV-neg on PrEP, HIV-positive, HIV+ and undetectable. THAT’s progress. THAT’s science. That’s 2023, not 1980!

Maybe someone reading this will think differently, act differently, communicate differently.

Thanks for listening,

Keep Tellin’ the Story

Professor Peacock

#StuckInThe80s #HMMIndiana #ProfessorPeacock