Download XXX Threat - Harm Reduction Coalition

HIV, Drug Addiction, Sex Work
Nancy Gunnarson
Certified HIV Tester and
Counselor
At Philadelphia FIGHT
AGENDA
 TALK ABOUT HIV
 HIV/AIDS Myths/Fact’s
 Importance of Getting an HIV Test
 Importance of Needle Exchange Programs
 Sex Workers Rights
WHAT IS HIV
 It’s a virus
 Transmitted from person to person
 Damages the immune system
HIV facts at a Glance
 People are still contracting or transmitting HIV
 If you think it will not happen to you it can
 The only way not to contract HIV is Safe Sex
( Condoms, Dental dams ) Don’t share works and cooker,
cotton, water
 Get Tested Know. Your Status
 STIGMA around HIV still exist –But through Support &
Education STIGMA can be greatly minimized
 Funding for prevention/education programs are being
cut
TRANMISSION of HIV
 4 Body Fluids only
 Blood, Semen, Vaginal Fluids, Breast Milk
 Unprotected Sex ( Anal, Vaginal, Oral )
 Sharing Needles ( Drugs, Tattoo’s, Hormone's, Piercings )
 Mother to Child ( if not in Care)
Difference Between HIV and AIDS
What is the difference between
HIV and AIDS?
Human: because this virus can only infect
human beings.
Immune-deficiency: because the effect of
the virus is to create a deficiency, a failure
to work properly, within the body’s
immune system.
Virus: because this organism is a virus, which
means one of its characteristics is that it is
incapable of reproducing by itself. It
reproduces by taking over the machinery
of the human cell.
Acquired: because it’s a condition one must
acquire or get infected with; not something
transmitted through the genes
Immune: because it affects the body’s
immune system, the part of the body
which usually works to fight off germs such
as bacteria and viruses
Deficiency: because it makes the immune
system deficient (makes it not work
properly)
Syndrome: because someone with AIDS may
experience a wide range of different
diseases and opportunistic infections.
Myths and Facts
MYTHS
None of this is true!
 There is a cure for HIV.
 Kissing / causal contact
 “ I’m just a carrier.”
 You can tell that someone has HIV just by
looking at them.
 HIV does not affect me.
 HIV infection is a death sentence.
 It won’t happen to me.
FACTS
All of this is true!
 There is NO cure for HIV infection.
 You don’t get HIV by casual contact.
 You can still give HIV to another person even if your viral




load is undetectable.
You cannot tell who has HIV by looking at them.
HIV affects all of us.
HIV is NOT a death sentence. There is effective treatment
for HIV infection.
Anyone could get HIV.
an HIV Test
HIV Test
 Who needs to get HIV Test ?
 We encourage people to get tested
 Know your Status
 What if test is Positive ?
 What you need to Know if Positive Results
 Ways to stay Negative
 How not to Transmit or Contract
Who Needs to Get HIV Test
• Anyone that has unprotected sex
• Share I.V. Needles, Drugs, Cooker, Water Cap
• Men that have Sex with Men
• Baby born to HIV Positive Mom (not in Care)
• People who have Multiple Sex Partners
• Tattoo’s or Piercing at Party’s/Jail
• Pregnant Women
• Remember HIV only Transmits through
• Blood, Semen, Vaginal Fluids, Breast Milk and needs an
opening to enter it your blood stream
HOW DO WE TEST for HIV
• ORAL is a swab that look for HIV antibodies in the
mucus membrane
• RAPID is a finger stick that collects a small amount of
blood in collector then with solution in test
• BLOOD when you have labs done that can be sent
away
• If POSITIVE Test a Confirmatory test is Needed then
that is sent away and ELISA WESTERN BLOT would
be performed
What a positive result means
Life after a Positive Diagnosis
 BREATH
 Guilt
 Process the Feeling
 Denial
 Next Steps to Take
 Anger
 Learn the Facts
 Revenge
 Create a Support
 Shame
Network
 We Do Recover
 Stigma
Living with HIV
 Avoid Contracting STI’s
 Be aware of Risk’s
 Have Regular Check-Ups  Women ask for Cervical
 Find a Knowledgeable
Health Provider
 Understand your
Medications
 Seek Advice on family
planning methods




screening’s
Ask to have Blood work
explained
Stay Informed
Stay up to Date
Be aware of how you’re
Feeling
WHAT IS AN AIDS DIAGNOSIS
• CD4 level below 200
• It is possible for someone to be diagnosed AIDS
when a developed an opportunistic infection.
• 2 or more OI’s
A person is diagnosed with AIDS when they have developed an AIDS related
condition or symptom, called an opportunistic infection, or an AIDS related
cancer. The infections are called ‘opportunistic’ because they take advantage of
the opportunity offered by a weakened immune system.
Why we need Needle Exchange
 One-third of all AIDS cases
are linked to injection drug
use.
 For women, 64 percent of all
AIDS cases are due to
injection drug use or sex
with partners who inject
drugs.
 Injection drug use is the
source of infection for more
than half of all children born
with HIV.
 More than a million people
in the United States inject
drugs
 Drug use costs to society
(in health care, lost
productivity, accidents,
and crime) more than $50
billion a year.
 People who inject drugs
imperil their health and
that of their needle sharing
partners, sexual partners
and offspring.
Needle Exchange Reduces HIV Risks
 Though rehab is a better choice, not all drug
injectors are ready to quit.
 Those who cannot or will not stop injecting drugs
can avoid spreading HIV by suing a sterile needle
for each injection.
 Users who share needles should disinfect their
injection equipment thoroughly with bleach
 Though it’s not as safe as always using a sterile
needle and syringe.
However…
IDUs often struggle with multiple health risks due to
social, economic and psychological factors. HIV
prevention may not be their top concern since they
face other more pressing daily challenges such as
addiction, poverty, incarceration, homelessness,
stigma, guilt, shame
depression, mental illness and past trauma.
As well as Hep C and other STIs
The Unique Issues
 Multiple partners and inconsistent use of condoms
 Legal issues
 Criminalization of HIV
 No legal recognition as a profession
 Social and economic factors
 Drug use
 Migration, mobility and trafficking
HIV prevention amongst sex
workers: what works?
 An increased level of condom use and safer sex amongst
sex workers and their clients.
 Increased sex worker involvement and control over their
working and social conditions.
 A reduction in the number of sexually transmitted
infections occurring amongst sex workers.
Thailand
 Thailand: 100% condom program
 Government-run campaign aimed to enforce condom
use in all of Thailand’s brothels and massage parlors
India: Sonagachi and Avahan
As well as encouraging condom use, the project has
addressed the wider social and economic challenges
facing sex workers.