Gay and Bisexual Men in Florida Face High HIV Rates
Florida health officials announced Tuesday, November 13, that approximately one in 22 gay and bisexual men in the state were HIV positive last year, with the rates being higher in some counties and among certain subgroups (sun-sentinel.com, 11/14).
In Broward County, the HIV rate among gay white men was one in 11; in Palm Beach County, one in 13 gay black men were HIV positive; and in Miami-Dade County, the rate was one in 12 among gay Hispanic men.
Some activists say that there needs to be more focus on getting HIV prevention messages to young gay men in the state: “Prevention [efforts] are disconnected from the gay community,” said Joey Wynn, an organizer at the Broward House, a community-based organization in Fort Lauderdale.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
