Wisconsin: Programs Aim to Help Minority Men Avoid HIV

New programs in Madison are trying to reach minority men who have sex with men (MSM) and, in some cases, have sexual relationships with women too. The Men of Color Access programs hope to bring HIV/AIDS prevention education to men in communities where safe sex messages have run into resistance based on cultural ideas of masculinity.

With a $37,824 grant from the Wisconsin HIV/AIDS Program and the Wisconsin AIDS Fund, the local Urban League and Madison's AIDS Network are offering separate support groups for African-American and Latino MSM.

The programs reflect a growing awareness of a subculture that has helped fuel an alarming rise in HIV infection rates in the black and Latino communities. Called living on the "down low" in the black community, it is linked to an urban, hip-hop aesthetic where masculinity is rough and risky. For some Latinos, an emphasis on macho virility devalues cautious practices that could be construed as feminine.

The idea of looking at the bisexual lives of minority men began when AIDS service organizations and community-based groups saw a big rise in HIV infections among women of color. "We put two and two together," said James Pennington, director of services for the AIDS Network. Secret gay sex lives among men assumed to be heterosexual have been common for decades, noted Pennington.

To attract participants, the new support groups are offering men $15 each time they attend a session, for up to 10 weeks. Not only do the payments provide incentive to attend, but clients also bring invaluable experience that can help program operators become more culturally competent.

In Dane County, statistics demonstrate the growing rate of HIV infection among minorities since 2000. From 2000 to 2002, 158 new cases of HIV were reported, more than 31 percent of which were among blacks, compared to just under 22 percent of cumulatively reported infection in previous years. Some 13 percent of the new HIV cases were among Latinos, compared to just 5 percent of cases previously.

Back to other news for November 7, 2003