Chicago: 30% of Black MSM are HIV+
by: Victor Maldonado
Thu May 28, 2009 at 18:51:27 PM EDT
The Windy City Times is reporting that at its monthly board meeting on May 19, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) for the first time released data on HIV infection rates among city men who have sex with men (MSM), describing the results as "sobering."
Between August and December 2008, CDPH sampled 570 MSM at various Chicago locations. Of respondents, 17.4 percent (91) were HIV-positive. HIV prevalence was 30.1 percent among blacks, 12 percent among Hispanics and 11.3 percent among whites. Black MSM under age 35 were seven times more likely to be infected than their white counterparts (30 percent vs. 4.2 percent).
Victor Maldonado :: Chicago: 30% of Black MSM are HIV+
Of respondents who tested positive for HIV, more than 50 percent were unaware of their infection - including 67 percent of blacks, half of Hispanics, and less than a quarter of whites. Among the MSM unaware of their infection, 50 percent reported not having an HIV test in the previous year. Thirty-nine percent of respondents stated the primary reason for not getting tested was a fear of the result. Of the men who tested positive, all knew where to find an HIV testing location.
According to the survey, risky behaviors included multiple or concurrent sex partners, unprotected anal sex, drug/alcohol use prior to sex, and lack of knowing a partner's HIV status prior to sexual activity. Concurrent relationships were more common among blacks (37 percent), compared with 30 percent for whites and 28 percent for Hispanics. In contrast, drug/alcohol use was more common among whites and Hispanics, with 40 and 43 percent acknowledging use before or after sex, respectively, compared to 39 percent for blacks.
Nikhil Prachand, an epidemiologist with CDPH's STD/HIV/AIDS division, said the survey's findings mirror national data. Programs such as the Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus already are working to address racial disparities revealed by the data.
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Chicago: 30% of Black MSM are HIV+ | 7 comments
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Cause and Effect (0.00 / 0)
The article does not provide a link to the actual research. I want to know what the researchers hypothesized what they believed was the cause of the nearly triple the black MSMs HIV infection rate as compared to the hispanic and white MSMs communities. Any good research would postulate why they believed this is so.
Anyways, here is my hypothesis on the causes of this tragic finding:
1. Higher percentage of closeted black MSMs vs. hispanic and white MSMs.
1a. Higher percentage of closeted MSMs due to christianist black culture...e.g. more rigid than that of white and hispanic
2. Poor self esteem.
3. Cultural victimization within the black community
4. Poor access to HIV outreach and prevention programs
The black community needs to take ownership of this devestating problem and start attacking it wherever it can. I am assuming that there are scores of people and organizations doing just that black, white, hispanic and otherwise. However, it is obvious from these sobering statistics that the root cause analysis of this issue has not been seriously dealt with. Lastly, since the church is such a strong force and community in black culture, all arrows IMHO point in this direction as the first place that needs to embrace this issue and start working their asses off to start saving themselves.
Bottom line: Putting ones head in the sand is not bliss, but is deadly.
vanhattan
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by: vanhattan @ Thu May 28, 2009 at 21:19:18 PM CDT
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It's WAAAAY more complicated... (0.00 / 0)
than you suggest. I'm black and in Chicago so I do have some perspective on this.
Part of the problem is that the white gay community in the city is NOT particularly welcoming to black LGBT folks. People stay closeted when they feel they have nowhere else to go. There is a real physical seperation between the gay community and the bulk of the black population. There is almost no interaction between the two communities on a person to person basis. Why is this important, because in Chicago, there are actually quite a few LGBT affirming black churches. (plus I think there is more open awareness of the hipocracy of our religious institutions...this being the REAL Gotham we all know that someones got something going on the side whatever it is) Please remember that the church that the media villified Obama about is actually welcoming of LGBT people. More significantly, at a political level, there is more intersection between the two communities in City Hall (This is the REAL Gotham City, all the power brokers know each other and are equally corrupt). So the divide is DEFINATELY cultural/socioeconomical than traditionally religous.
Thus I com back to the race issue. The black institutions that actually do deal with these issues are generally grossly underfunded and not well maintained. The "common" public or NGO institutions are all outside of the black community and are largely run by white men. There is a real indifference in the Chicago gay community toward the black population in general and the black gay community is pretty far removed from it.
I can speak personally on this issue precisely because at one point I was eager to work to try and bridge the divide. I actually get angry when I hear some of the local LGBT or HIV groups talk about how they "try" to reach out and are looking for black LGBT folks to speak out. I ACTIVELY sought out those organizations to try and be that person. I was ignored and I know that I was not the only one to experience that. I've even heard from some sympathetic white gay associates, they they have been shocked at the indifference.
This is why every time I see this topic in the LGBT press I start fuming.
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by: SciFi Geek @ Fri May 29, 2009 at 09:07:44 AM CDT
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It's even more complicated than this (0.00 / 0)
When I first moved to Chicago 20 years ago, there was a distinct "black gay community" and that no longer seems to be the case.
I've almost always lived on the far North Side and I haven't seen that particular disconnect, but then again Edgewater and Rogers Park are defintely areas where the 2 populations do co-mingle (and I know that this is not the "gay community," proper.Of course, Edgewater and Rogers Park is not the bulk of "the black community" in Chicago but it is significant to solving this problem, IMO.)
Again, I really thinks much of this gets back to the very real issue of xenophobia present in both communities. And it will take more than simply the white gay community reaching out, it has to occur on both sides.
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by: kevinchi @ Fri May 29, 2009 at 09:44:27 AM CDT
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The Northside (0.00 / 0)
and the South Side might as well be on two different planets. I grew up on the Southside and can tell you that they are very different worlds where never the twain shall meet (well except maybe in Hyde Park). It tells you something when all of the social services are housed on the Northside where as all of the people that need the service are out south. How is it that the bulk of HIV/AIDS services and organizations are housed away from the people with the highest concentration of infections? I spoke with a rep from the Test Positive Awareness Network (one of the main HIV groups in the city) and we talked about how they could reach more people. I was told that their services was exclusively limited to the Northside. How does that make any sense?
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by: SciFi Geek @ Fri May 29, 2009 at 12:29:08 PM CDT
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But was that always true? (0.00 / 0)
Was it always true that most HIV infections were on the South Side or is it that the necessary adjustments in locales for HIV/AIDS services haven't changed with the times?
And if the black community on the South Side has enough power to put the plans for a GLBT high school on the West Side on hold, then I think that they have enough power to light a fire under the necessary asses to get HIV/AIDS prevention services on the South Side.
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by: kevinchi @ Fri May 29, 2009 at 12:55:22 PM CDT
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Sci Fi, you make an EXCELLENT point (0.00 / 0)
About LGBT affirming churches in the black community in Chicago.
There are LGBT affirming churches on the North Side too (you know what I'm really saying here!): indeed, Chicago is a city of churches. At the Prop 8 rally Tuesday, there were a few speakers that spoke about religious faith, as did many of the protestors. Religious faith is very much a flavor of the Midwest, regardless of race.
I mention this not only because of the issue of this thread but also more generally as the issue of marriage equality has arrived in the Midwest first through Iowa and now in Illinois with the pending civil unions bill [we have most, if not all other GLBT protections (ENDA, hate crimes) on the books, here.] It might also be possible for churches to form liasions as well as gay organizations (it's a Midwest thing!)
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by: kevinchi @ Fri May 29, 2009 at 11:07:01 AM CDT
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vanhatten, I have to agree with you 100% (0.00 / 0)
Also a factor in Chicago are disparities in treatment.
http://rodonline.typepad.com/r...
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by: kevinchi @ Thu May 28, 2009 at 22:45:44 PM CDT
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Chicago: 30% of Black MSM are HIV+ | 7 comments
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