August 7, 2008

Homophobia Fuels HIV/AIDS in Mexico

Mexico, which is hosting the XVII International AIDS Conference, is having difficulty addressing HIV/AIDS transmission risks for men who have sex with men (MSM) due to social stigma there and throughout Latin America that force homosexual activity underground, The New York Times reports. While Mexico’s overall HIV prevalence in the general population is 0.3 percent, it approaches 15 percent among MSM.

Although the country has made strides in accepting same-sex relationships—including adopting a law in Mexico City that allows for civil unions for same-sex couples—homophobia persists, making it difficult to raise HIV/AIDS awareness among MSM.

“I’d say most of the men in Mexico who have sex with men will never recognize that they are gay or bisexual,” said Jorge Saavedra, MD, MPH, MHPM, an HIV-positive gay man who directs the Mexican government’s AIDS-fighting program. “Only if you go into in-depth interviews will the information slowly come out. It makes our job all the harder since there is so much shame involved.”

Search: homophobia, Mexico, International AIDS Conference,

Scroll down to comment on this story.

Previous Comments:

gbfowler, Portland, 2008-08-13 14:30:53
Thought the anti-homophobia March in Mexico City was a movement in the right direction.... www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6Okgs1jWgU

RZ, Washington, DC, 2008-08-13 11:26:22
Homophobia fuels the epidemic everywhere. When kids begin to have sexual feelings, if they feel same sex attraction, and they have learned that being gay is sick and evil, they lose all sources of social support and shame will lead them into unsafe sex in the dark with strangers. And it prevents MSM who also have sex with women from telling the women, putting the women at risk. When will we acknowledge that AIDS prevention requires a national campaign to reduce homophobia?