condoms. What you do
is try to make it medically impossible for
them to catch HIV.
You give them one HIV pill a day - tenofovir is the best
choice. It acts as a 'chemical vaccine'. The trials are already underway.
You also automatically include an HIV test among those done at GUM checkups
(with an opt-out clause). You campaign for the urgent development of microbicides
and their incorporation into every sexual lube. And, yes, free condoms
everywhere.
Three: prevention campaigns have concentrated on the gay men who don't
have HIV. HIV positive men are 'bolted on' to mainstream gay men's campaigns,
and addressed in the same language. But HIV positive men have different
needs and priorities, have more unsafe sex, and can't be scared by HIV.
And attempts to guilt-trip them, as did the US 'HIV Stops with Me' campaign,
will only make them more guilty, less likely disclose their status.
As a matter of urgency, we need a sexual health campaign designed specifically
for positive gay men. It must talk about every other damn thing than transmitting
HIV. It must inform them, bluntly, that barebacking is bad for you; that
syphilis accelerates dementia (did you know that?); that hepatitis C will
really mess up your treatment chances; that you can still catch resistant
HIV.
These measures have been criticised as 'mechanical'. We think 'mechanical'
options are the only compassionate and humane ones for the angry, the
depressed, the drunk, the drugged, the dumped, the self-hating, the young
and naïve, the old and lonely. The minority of gay men, in other
words - and some of us are or have been those men - who are out of control
with their sexuality.
page 2 of 2
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