Now, a condom that can kill HIV

Aiming to increase global use of condoms as a way to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS, Dr. Mahua Choudhery and her team have developed a new non-latex condom which contains antioxidants and can kill the deadly virus even after breaking. The condom is made of an elastic polymer called hydrogel, and includes plant-based antioxidants that have anti-HIV properties.

"Supercondom could help fight against HIV infection and may as well prevent unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases and If we succeed, it will revolutionise the HIV prevention initiative," said Choudhury, the lead researcher.

Choudhury, who studied Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Genetics in India before getting her PhD in the US, has been researching diabetes and the obesity epidemic. She was one of 54 people awarded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Grand Challenge in Global Health" grant.  Read more via HuffingtonPost

Op-Ed: The choice to take the HIV prevention pill has nothing to do with sluttiness

I began taking PrEp, I told people the news very casually over drinks or in passing. Many times, this conversation has become a defense of my sex life. “Oh, so you’re a hoe now?” one person replied or “So you want to start having sex with everyone?”

Now that I’m taking the daily pill, the only thing I worry about is the next time I am going to be slut-shamed by another gay man for being on PrEP. When PrEP became FDA-approved in 2012, many long-time activists immediately began calling it a party drug for gay men who just wanted to have lots and lots of condom-less sex.

Others focused on “taking a drug that is poison to you”, like Larry Kramer, playwright and activist, who told the New York Times that being on it “lessened your energy to fight, to get involved, to do anything”, showing a fear that this new drug would make us lose our activist roots – that a way to save us from an epidemic that has ripped through the gay community for decades is a form of selfishness.

That’s quite a lot to put on a pill whose only job is to block the virus from staying in your bloodstream and becoming a chronic medical condition.  Read more via Guardian 

US: No new HIV infections in San Francisco community PrEP clinic

A trailblazing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation sexual health center Magnet was lauded at the 2015 HIV Prevention Conference. The PrEP health program began as a pilot program in November, 2014 and will continue to expand when it moves into a new health and wellness center, Strut, in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood.

In early December, Magnet director Steve Gibson, MSW, shared lessons learned about the PrEP health program—which has seen no new HIV infections—at the conference in Atlanta, Georgia.  Read more via Beta

Papua New Guinea: UN recognises local journalists

The UN Women’s Awards is a joint initiative by UN Women and UNAIDS to recognise journalists who write stories on human rights. The UN Women office in Papua New Guinea has recognized several journalists with the award.

Journalist, Deborah Pranis was acknowledged on a documentary she compiled on Sorcery killings in the Highlands. Florence Jonduo was recognised for her story on transgender issues male sex workers encounter on a daily basis.  And Abraham Avidiba, a Lae-based journalist, took out the third award for a news piece he wrote on a male sex worker.

The recognising of journalism work in PNG, unlike other professions, is rare. These awards are predicted to boost journalists’ morale and encourage them to continue to report on HIV & Gender Based Violence issues within Papua New Guinea and the Pacific.  Read more via EMTV 

IACHR Publishes Report on Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Persons

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights published a regional report on the violence perpetrated against LGBTI persons or those perceived as LGBTI [...] Some countries in the region have made significant progress in recognizing the rights of LGBTI persons, but there are still high rates of violence in all countries of the region.

As the many testimonies included in the report show, this violence tends to be extremely brutal and cruel. Moreover, the everyday violence that affects LGBTI persons is often invisible, as it is not reported to the authorities or covered by the media.

The report focuses on violence against LGBTI persons as a complex and multifaceted social phenomenon and not just as an isolated incident or individual act. Different sexual orientations and identities challenge fundamental heteronormative notions about sex, sexuality, and gender. The report also analyzes how the situation of violence faced by LGBTI persons intersects with other factors such as ethnicity, race, sex, gender, migration situation, status as a human rights defender, and poverty.

When States do not carry out thorough and impartial investigations into violence against LGBTI persons—as in the majority of cases—this leads to impunity for these crimes; this sends a strong message to society that violence is condoned and tolerated, which generates even more violence and leads victims to distrust the justice system.  Read more via OAS

On Human Rights Anniversary, LGBT Groups Shift Strategies at UN

December 10 is human rights day, the 67th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year, the focus of the presentations will shift to include not just human rights but also economic development. This shift, from human rights to economic and human development, represents a larger expansion in the strategy of the global LGBT movement which we will see played out in the years to come.

Until recently, LGBT groups have not focused on seeking inclusion in human and economic development programs. This has not been an oversight but rather a strategic choice. Fifteen years ago, a small number of LGBT activists were earnestly seeking recognition at the United Nations. Though certainly the battles are not over, the LGBT movement has been successful in assuring that LGBT issues are part of the human rights discussion. 

This same advancement has not happened in the sphere of human and economic development. The new set of global development goals adopted this year by the UN do not recognize LGBT people at all. These goals will guide trillions of dollars of international aid. The systems that are used to measure progress toward these goals --- a multitude of surveys and measurements of everything from health, education to domestic violence and agriculture -- do not track any data about LGBT people. In most countries in the world we know nothing to very little about the the lifespan, economic status, or educational attainment of LGBT people.  

Read more via Huffington Post
 

UNDP: When people are counted, no one is left behind

LGBTI economic, political and social exclusion remains pervasive, resulting in a lack of access to things like adequate education and health services. If LGBTI people continue to face exclusion, the  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will remain out of our reach. We must quickly sort out what it will take to ensure LGBTI inclusion. 

UNDP’s work includes a focus on providing the data and analysis that informs sustainable development. It is development data and its analysis that can lead to policy and program changes necessary to underpin sustainable development and prioritize  investments. But in most places, data and analysis specific to LGBTI people is drastically lacking, allowing the challenges faced by them to remain invisible.  UNDP is trying to change that with an initiative to address the data gaps and a new UNDP LGBTI Inclusion Index.

Measuring inclusion is not new to UNDP. We have long measured human development with the Human Development Index (HDI), and the more recently added Gender Inequality Index (GII). These indices help gauge how far countries have progressed in ensuring a long and healthy life, education, and a decent standard of living for all (HDI) and access to reproductive health, empowerment, and comparable economic status for women (GII). Read more via UNDP

Starting the world's only trans bodybuilding competition

Four years ago, Neo Sandja decided to get drunk and throw himself in front of a speeding car.

"I went out to a bar with my friends," he says."When I left, I told them, 'Goodbye, you'll never see me again.' But they were just as drunk as I was and didn't take me seriously." He found himself stumbling along the side of the road in his Georgia college town in the middle of the night. Headlights were speeding by.

"I kept thinking, 'This is it. I'm going to do this. I just can't be here anymore. Why did I suffer so long?" He thrust himself into the road, and a car stopped just shy of his leg. Out stepped a cop.

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" the cop asked.  "Yes," Neo replied. "Do you need help?" "Yes."

Neo explained that he had just realized he was transgender and that his father back in Africa would never accept him as a man. The officer responded: "My sister is a trans woman." Read more

UK: Internet goes wild over hardware store’s LGBTI advert

Several brands have used LGBT people to great acclaim in their advertising in recent months, including the likes of Nordstrom, Wells Fargo and airbnb. However, a social media campaign released by UK-based hardware chain Robert Dyas has left some people scratching their heads.
The video, posted online Friday, features gay, bisexual and straight members of staff extolling the LGBT-friendly credentials of the store.

‘I like showing our gay and straight customers the funky range of our Christmas gifts,’ says sales assistant Marcus.

‘Look at this Christmas tree; it’s perfect for a gay person or a straight person.’

‘I’m bisexual and I always find something I love at Robert Dyas’, says one female shopper. Since the video was posted, it’s had over 400,000 views on YouTube and over 400,000 on Facebook. Some have complimented the advert. Read more

Our 13 Favorite LGBT-Positive Children's Books

Children's books occupy a tricky place in literature, especially when their aim is to change the minds of readers. With Heather Has Two Mommies, author Lesléa Newman was the first person to portray a pair of lesbian mothers in a positive way in a children's book, and it instigated criticism during the culture wars of the '90s.

Now with its 25th anniversary re-release, we look at other books that include LGBT characters. It's a fine line to tread: without verging into the realm of preachy, all good children's books have a lesson, but kids can’t know that they’re learning! Here’s a handful of (mostly) recent books that stand out.  Read more

I’m Gay, Bi, Trans, Fluid: The 63 most powerful comings out of 2015 from all over the world

Coming out. Yes, it’s still a big deal. Although LGBT rights have made huge advances in recent years, as long as people are denigrated, abused, discriminated against, and killed for being LGBT, it is still utterly important for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people to be visible, and to be proud and value their identities. Making a statement and letting the world know is just the first step in a lifelong process.

And depending on who you are, or where you’re living, or what religious denomination you practice, coming out can make a unique difference in the lives of those around you, not to mention those who are listening around the world.

It’s a powerful act.  Read more 

NBA Referee Comes Out After Gay Slur

Bill Kennedy, one of the NBA's top referees, has revealed he is gay.

"I am proud to be an NBA referee and I am proud to be a gay man," Kennedy told Yahoo Sports on Sunday night. "I am following in the footsteps of others who have self-identified in the hopes that will send a message to young men and women in sports that you must allow no one to make you feel ashamed of who you are." 

Kennedy declined further comment on his announcement. NBA commissioner Adam Silver delivered a statement of support for Kennedy.  Read more