Barebacking and HIV infection are exploding, HIV prevention is a mess

Barebacking and HIV infection are exploding, HIV prevention is a mess.

Please write to the Government to demand a ground-up reformulation of AIDS strategy in the UK.

The department of Health: dhmail@dh.gsi.gov.uk
The Lib Dem shadow health minister, Sandra Gidley: gidleys@parliament.uk
The Tory shadow health minister Andrew Landsley: lansleya@parliament.uk

Here's my letter:

Dear Sirs,

I am writing to you to complain about the catastrophic state of AIDS-prevention strategies amongst gay men in the UK.

HIV prevention is turning into the public health catastrophe of our time, and the fact that HIV prevention and support to those with HIV have been grouped together into "one stop" HIV shops has resulted in the prevention message becoming so diluted by messages intended to reassure those with HIV that it to all intents and purposes has entirely vanished.

Barebacking amongst gay men is becoming common place, and those who would promote it as fashionable or hot are today the only voices to be heard on the subject convincing many youngsters that the pro-bareback position has become a majority viewpoint. If something isn't done many of these youngsters will go on to be infected by HIV causing suffering, death, and an explosion in public health budgets.

I'm writing to you today to beg for a ground-up reformulation of AIDS prevention strategy in the UK.

No longer must HIV prevention messages be decided by organisations whose job it is to reassure those who already have HIV.
Safe sex messages need to be hard hitting and simple. HIV is a dreadful disease that youngsters do not want to catch. The solution is to wear condoms.
Allowing those living with HIV to have a veto on strategies for HIV prevention is like asking those with lung cancer to authorise anti-tobacco policy. Though many are well-meaning, some are clearly are not experts, and the results of this fusion are catastrophic and plain to see.

Most of the main UK AIDS charities still do not even have a position on barebacking that even I can understand... as an example, on the current GMFA website one can currently read such risk reduction "advice" as "it's best to have sex only with people whose HIV status you know" (seeing as results take three months to show up, I'm not quite sure how this works) "Withdraw before coming" is a good strategy the GMFA tells us. "Monitor your viral load" (now that's really going to help prevent you spreading the disease) and even the fabulous, "Be a top if you're HIV negative, or a bottom if you're HIV positive." Such advice is factually incorrect, crazy, criminal and absurd, and the fact that public money is being used to promote HIV risk reduction strategies that are anything but risk reducing is a monumental scandal.
It is no wonder that gay men are barebacking more and more and infection rates are exploding.

Please reformulate your AIDS policy - every day you do nothing brings a fresh round of HIV infection.

The situation requires:
- a national campaign of hard-hitting anti-bareback adverts to teach that barebacking is stupid and irresponsible, and those who practice it are stupid, crazy, or criminal.
- a national campaign reminding gay men of the hard truths of a life on HIV medication
- a national campaign explaining that the only way to have all the sex you want without risk is condom use.
- a requirement of government funded organisations that they separate the tasks of HIV prevention and support to those with HIV.
- withdrawal of funding from any organisation that does not have a clear and unambiguous anti-bareback strategy.
- results based funding where the funding organisations receive is linked not, as now, to an increase in the size of the epidemic, but in measured reductions of risk-taking in the target population.

Yours Sincerely.

Nick Alexander