In the absence of a cure, the global Aids crisis can’t end while LGBT+ people are denied equality

Damning statistics show that nations who stigmatise and persecute their LGBT+ communities have higher numbers of sufferers. It is more vital than ever to stop this

Evidence shows that draconian measures to stop the epidemic has a detrimental effect on numbers (AFP)

Half of the gay homeless kids in Kingston, Jamaica, are HIV positive. They’re homeless because they were thrown out by their families because they are gay. I met a couple of these kids a few years ago. They were children. They should have been lounging about at home watching TV and annoying their mums. Instead they were surviving on the streets. Hustling would get them some food. It may even get them a bed for the night and a shower. Their homelessness got them HIV.

The link between LGBT+ persecution and HIV is well documented. The most glaring statistic comes from the Caribbean. In the English-speaking parts, including Jamaica, where most countries criminalise sex between consenting men, one in four gay men are HIV positive. In the rest of the Caribbean, where gay sex is not a crime, the statistic is one in 15. Similar facts emerge from sub-Saharan Africa.

Countries with a recent history of LGBT+ hate have higher rates of HIV infection than those countries that haven’t targeted sexual orientation and gender identity in this way. Russia has an Aids crisis that remains out of control. Russia continues to use the full force of the state to marginalise and harm men who have sex with men.