Overcoming Barriers
Article by MetroSource
Members of the Latino community face a variety of cultural barriers that prevent them from seeking HIV-related care.
The obstacles to addressing hiv among certain Latino men in the U.S. can seem endless. They include cultural taboos, religion, immigration, homophobia, poverty, language and the social pressure of “machismo.”
At the heart of it all is this problem: If it is culturally unacceptable to be seen as gay, men are more likely to participate in high risk behaviors that spread HIV and less likely to seek treatment. Pedro Rodriguez of GMHC notes that in the New York City area, some of this behavior is centered around bugarrones, men who do not identify as gay or bisexual but regularly travel to parks to meet men for sex. Meanwhile, Elvis Rosales of AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), points out he knows of local closeted Latino men who pick men up for sex at hardware stores and sports stadiums; they may even seek out day laborers in need of work who will go “gay for pay.”
The Big Picture
When it comes to HIV and the Latino community, the numbers may surprise. In some major cities, studies found that nearly one in five Latino gay and bisexual men are infected with HIV, and nearly half of them don’t know they have HIV because they are not tested. These numbers may still be increasing. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that Latino gay and bisexual men accounted for 22% of new HIV infections in 2010; more than a third of those men were relatively young: aged 25 to 34.
Rodriguez attributes this in part to the fact that Latino men (in his experience) are raised to avoid conversations with doctors about anything that happens in the bedroom. “They would only go to a doctor as a last resort — if they are really sick — and they would not talk about sex or the possibility they may be HIV positive,” he says.
Finding New Ways to Help
Identifying how to lower the barriers between Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) and HIV-related care requires a sensitivity to their cultural situation. For example, at APLA, a new grant will help Rosales present a social marketing campaign that will intentionally use toned-down language focused on neutral words such as “support”— rather than loaded images such as plus signs or rainbows.
“[For these men], it is hard enough to be gay,” explains Rosales. “Mash that together with being HIV-positive: Daily life becomes even worse. We know there are Mexican gay men who are HIV positive and leave their medications in their cars or at friends’ homes as they cannot tell their families. This situation could lead to them to falling out of medical care.”
This year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services granted GMHC $1.5 million (over five years) to expand testing, prevention and care services for Puerto Rican MSM. Their new program, LINK II, will utilize three strategies to effectively identify and serve Puerto Rican MSM who are at high risk of HIV infection; are infected but unaware of their status; are HIV positive but have never accessed medical care; or who have dropped out of care.
“Through LINK II, we will enlist HIV-positive recruiters from the Puerto Rican MSM community to recruit their associates through social networks for HIV testing,” adds Kalyani Sanchez, also of GMHC. “This strategy has proven to effectively reach HIV-positive individuals in communities that are otherwise hard to reach. We also want to connect Latino men to medical providers who [know] the population they are serving.”
By following the example of these innovative programs, we as a country can greatly expand our ability to provide much-needed services to Latino gay and bisexual men.
Information provided by GMHC. Visit gmhc.org and apla.org for more on these programs.
The obstacles to addressing hiv among certain Latino men in the U.S. can seem endless. They include cultural taboos, religion, immigration, homophobia, poverty, language and the social pressure of “machismo.”
At the heart of it all is this problem: If it is culturally unacceptable to be seen as gay, men are more likely to participate in high risk behaviors that spread HIV and less likely to seek treatment. Pedro Rodriguez of GMHC notes that in the New York City area, some of this behavior is centered around bugarrones, men who do not identify as gay or bisexual but regularly travel to parks to meet men for sex. Meanwhile, Elvis Rosales of AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), points out he knows of local closeted Latino men who pick men up for sex at hardware stores and sports stadiums; they may even seek out day laborers in need of work who will go “gay for pay.”
The Big Picture
When it comes to HIV and the Latino community, the numbers may surprise. In some major cities, studies found that nearly one in five Latino gay and bisexual men are infected with HIV, and nearly half of them don’t know they have HIV because they are not tested. These numbers may still be increasing. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that Latino gay and bisexual men accounted for 22% of new HIV infections in 2010; more than a third of those men were relatively young: aged 25 to 34.
Rodriguez attributes this in part to the fact that Latino men (in his experience) are raised to avoid conversations with doctors about anything that happens in the bedroom. “They would only go to a doctor as a last resort — if they are really sick — and they would not talk about sex or the possibility they may be HIV positive,” he says.
Finding New Ways to Help
Identifying how to lower the barriers between Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) and HIV-related care requires a sensitivity to their cultural situation. For example, at APLA, a new grant will help Rosales present a social marketing campaign that will intentionally use toned-down language focused on neutral words such as “support”— rather than loaded images such as plus signs or rainbows.
“[For these men], it is hard enough to be gay,” explains Rosales. “Mash that together with being HIV-positive: Daily life becomes even worse. We know there are Mexican gay men who are HIV positive and leave their medications in their cars or at friends’ homes as they cannot tell their families. This situation could lead to them to falling out of medical care.”
This year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services granted GMHC $1.5 million (over five years) to expand testing, prevention and care services for Puerto Rican MSM. Their new program, LINK II, will utilize three strategies to effectively identify and serve Puerto Rican MSM who are at high risk of HIV infection; are infected but unaware of their status; are HIV positive but have never accessed medical care; or who have dropped out of care.
“Through LINK II, we will enlist HIV-positive recruiters from the Puerto Rican MSM community to recruit their associates through social networks for HIV testing,” adds Kalyani Sanchez, also of GMHC. “This strategy has proven to effectively reach HIV-positive individuals in communities that are otherwise hard to reach. We also want to connect Latino men to medical providers who [know] the population they are serving.”
By following the example of these innovative programs, we as a country can greatly expand our ability to provide much-needed services to Latino gay and bisexual men.
Information provided by GMHC. Visit gmhc.org and apla.org for more on these programs.