Childhood sexual abuse and AIDS in the black community are linked
theGRIO REPORT - New research raises the question of a link between childhood sexual abuse and a higher risk for HIV/AIDS...
And, many black men and women who were sexually abused never report it, according to Dr. Gail Wyatt, a clinical psychologist, sex therapist and professor of psychiatry at UCLA.
While there have been advances in reducing HIV across the country, the number of new infections among blacks remains high. There were 50,000 new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States.
The highest rate of both new and existing infections is highest among black gay and bisexual men – nearly 50 percent of all new diagnoses.
Black women make up 60 percent of all women living with HIV/AIDS. Among heterosexual women, the risks for contracting a sexually transmitted disease –including HIV/AIDS – following sexual abuse or in young adulthood are also increased, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
With these numbers of new HIV/AIDS infections among Blacks at epidemic levels, groups of policymakers, activists and advocates attended AIDS 2012 – an International AIDS Conference – and strategized last week on creating an AIDS-free generation both in the United States and around the world.
Sweet says research into behavior and underlying impacts have the potential to help scientists and advocates understand what kind of behavioral interventions will help reduce the rates of infection in communities of color. But, she adds that all of the data needs to be further analyzed. Sweet also cautions against making broad generalizations based on her research.
“It in no way means that childhood sexual abuse drives sexual orientation, especially among black men who have sex with men.”
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