London's gay community ignores HIV warning
After all of the campaigns, money and effort that has been poured into educating and warning the gay community about HIV and AIDS, it appears that all has gone in vain. Sexual health clinics are seeing the number of infected gay men rocket with numbers at an all time high.
Recent figures reveal that an astonishing 10% of gay men in London are HIV positive and the numbers don't seem to be slowing down. In 2007 alone, there were approximately 2,700 newly diagnosed cases in the gay community alone within the UK, placing the total number of HIV-positive people in the UK at around 73,000.
The question that begs answering is why are the figures continuing to climb?
The scary truth is that gay men are, more than ever, taking risks and placing their lives in jeopardy in their pursuit of hedonism. Recent studies indicate that gay men are more than three times more likely to take hardcore, class A drugs on a night out. With many gay men mixing alcohol and cocktails of drugs, their inhibitions and judgment is majorly affected leading to copious amounts of unprotected sex.
Reckless and thoughtless behaviour by London's gay men paints a frustrating picture for campaigners from organisations such as the Terrence Higgins Trust, especially when one considers what is happening in Africa. With an estimated 25 million people living in Sub-Saharan Africa with HIV and AIDS, Africa is thought to have more than 60% of the AIDS-infected population.
Access to medical support and treatment in the UK is extremely widely available; however millions of Africans unfortunately do not see this support. Why, then, are thousands of gay men still contracting this virus that is ravaging the third world?
The answer could lie in the increasingly glamorous image given to ‘barebacking' or having sex without a condom. Any porn DVD shop in London will agree that barebacking porn is by far the most popular kind, leading to many gay men thinking it desirable to have unsafe sex. Many believe that barebacking actually enhances the sexual act with an added risk of a possible infection.
In 2006, the BBC ran a documentary on gay men, HIV infections and the infamous ‘bug chasers'. The programme explained of the many ‘gift-givers' (HIV positive men) who would infect the ‘bug-chasers' (HIV negative or untested men). This is a completely mutual and negotiated agreement with both partners knowing of the other's HIV status beforehand.
The findings were astounding. ‘Bug parties' or ‘conversion parties' are regularly organised in London as an opportunity for gay men to be ‘pozzed up'. The internet and online dating has arguably made these fantasies much more of a reality among gay men, leading to an increase in infection rates. The worrying question to ask now is when will it stop?
