Men who have sex with men: stigma and discrimination
Abstract
The first cases of AIDS were identified in gay men in the USA, and the disease was originally termed gay-related immune deficiency (GRID). Mobilisation of attention and resources was slow, partly because of the association between AIDS and male homosexuality and corresponding reluctance on the part of government officials to acknowledge the importance of the epidemic. 25 years later, the same reluctance is evident in many parts of the world, and again, scarcity in attention and resources is affecting responses to HIV transmission in homosexual men.1 The complex relation between homosexuality and HIV continues to mark the epidemic, even in countries where most infections are unrelated to homosexual contact.2 That most societies regard homosexuality with a mixture of disdain and disgust has therefore been, and remains, a major factor in the development of the epidemic.