A report issued by UNAIDS, timed to coincide with World AIDS day on Saturday, December 1, concluded that while progress is being made inn the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, violence and stigmatization against the LGBTQI community continues relentlessly.
Especially in Afriaca.
One of those caught in the malestrom is Nigerian-born activist Michael Ighodara. After being attacked, beaten, raped and having had his apartment torched, Michael left Nigeria and came to New York where he continues with his activism.
In a brief interview with Rebecca Hanser, a UN IPS correspondent, Michael discusses his life growing up and the very real threats facing gay people in one of the most homophobic countries in the world.
Sample this brief snippet and click here if you'd like to read more.
Q: Progress has been made in preventing HIV, but stigmatisation, violence and discrimination remain rampant. What are your thoughts on this imbalance?
A: Gay people are not just being stigmatised in Africa but all over the world. The worst part is that we are even being stigmatised in our own communities. In the gay community, members are mostly struggling with gay laws, the fight for gay rights and HIV prevention strategies, but they somehow neglect gay people with HIV.
They fail to specifically talk about gays with HIV, because you have to remember that a gay man with HIV is different from a gay man without it. These are two different things.
© 2012, Victor Hoff. All rights reserved. Menofcolor.blogs.com
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