By Dickie Beau
Did you hear about the massive rise in HIV infection rates as a direct consequence of unprecedented numbers of gay men being completely stone cold sober? Neither did I.
Most of the gay guys I know who are HIV positive were infected whilst under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs (by the way, alcohol is as much a mind-and-mood-altering drug as crystal meth; let’s not be moralistic about that just because it’s more socially acceptable).
The issue is not only about our knowing that the use of condoms can help prevent the spread of HIV. It is also, perhaps more importantly, about acknowledging and understanding how our behaviours influence whether or not we use those condoms. Getting off your tits can have consequences.
One of the gravest gaps in public policy is the failure to address the link between substance abuse issues among gay urban males and HIV infection patterns.
“Getting off your tits can have consequences.”
Sarah Graham, addiction counsellor and consultant to Frank, wrote in a recent article that despite increasing evidence pointing to the fact that LGBT people are way more likely than heterosexuals to develop substance abuse issues, this increased risk is not adequately reflected in public policy. Graham quotes the National Treatment Agency’s official line on this: “The NTA has no evidence so far that there is a differential treatment need among members of the LGBT community.”
‘Clubland’s therapist’, David ‘The Swarmite’ Parker, has observed that most official funding directed towards the gay community focuses on the issue of HIV, but compellingly argues that this orientation is incomplete because it “puts the cart before the horse”, since many gay men become infected as a result of drug and alcohol abuse.
It is common to think of these issues as exclusive, but they are inseparable.
It is of course not only substances we imbibe that cloud our judgement. There is another type of drug that can be just as intoxicating as any narcotic, that causes us to behave in ways that are irrational and irresponsible, and we call this drug ‘love’. You know the story: you meet a man, you think he’s the one, you ‘commit’ to each other exclusively, you stop using condoms…
According to GMFA about a third of HIV-positive men become infected by a regular partner.
But maybe it’s all okay, because we’ve got combination therapies, and maybe the drugs will keep us alive as long as our straight brothers and sisters. Or maybe not. They haven’t been around long enough for us to know that yet.
More information at:
https://www.lgbthero.org.uk/pages/category/gmfa
