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First ‘Zero HIV Stigma Day’ launched July 21

International event aims to become annual effort

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A new annual international HIV awareness event called Zero HIV Stigma Day was launched on July 21 in the United States and Europe as a means of drawing attention to how stigma and bias against people with HIV hurts efforts to end the HIV pandemic, according to the event’s organizers.

“The day aims to unite people, communities, and entire countries to raise awareness about and take action to end the global HIV epidemic,” according to a statement released by the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), one of four organizations leading efforts related to Zero HIV Stigma Day.

“This year’s theme, ‘Human First,’ emphasizes the human dimension of people living with and affected by HIV and reinforces that any form of stigma encountered by people living with HIV is a human rights violation,” the statement continues.

“Given persistent levels of HIV stigma experienced in health and other settings, IAPAC and our partners launched a new global awareness day focused on ending HIV stigma in all its forms,” said Jose M. Zuniga, president and CEO of IAPAC. “We can only succeed in our efforts to end the global HIV pandemic if we end the gross violation of human rights that stigma represents for people living with and affected by HIV,” Zuniga said.

The other organizations involved in leading efforts to launch Zero HIV Stigma day include the British-based NAZ, which describes itself as a minority-led HIV and sexual health agency that delivers HIV care and support to racial minorities; Global HIV Collaborative, a partnership of global leaders and activists that seeks to improve HIV outcomes for Black communities globally; and Fast-Track Cities Institute, which says it supports cities and municipalities worldwide in efforts to end the HIV and tuberculosis epidemics.

IAPAC describes itself as an international organization representing 30,000 members as the largest association of clinicians and allied health professionals working to end the HIV and tuberculosis epidemics.

The statement released by IAPAC says July 21 was chosen for Zero HIV Stigma Day in honor of the birthday of Prudence Nobantu Mabele, the first woman in South Africa to disclose her HIV status in 1992 and who went on to become an advocate for people with HIV before she died in 2017.

“The only thing preventing us from ending all new HIV transmissions by 2030 is stigma,” said Parminder Sekhon, NAZ’s Chief Executive Officer in the statement released by IAPAC. “Normalizing HIV, delivering high quality sex and relationships education to young people, and promoting holistic care and support in bold and intentional ways is our collective responsibility,” Sekhon said.

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New York

Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade

One of the victims remains in critical condition

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The Stonewall National Memorial in New York on June 19, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.

According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.

The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.

The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.

In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.

The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.

New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.

“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”

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New York

Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade

Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

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NYC mayoral candidate and New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (Screen capture: NBC News/YouTube)

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.

The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”

“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.

Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”

His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.

“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”

“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”

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U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court upholds ACA rule that makes PrEP, other preventative care free

Liberal justices joined three conservatives in majority opinion

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The U.S. Supreme Court as composed June 30, 2022, to present. Front row, left to right: Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Associate Justice Elena Kagan. Back row, left to right: Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Photo Credit: Fred Schilling, the U.S. Supreme Court)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a portion of the Affordable Care Act requiring private health insurers to cover the cost of preventative care including PrEP, which significantly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV.

Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion in the case, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management. He was joined by two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson.

The court’s decision rejected the plaintiffs’ challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s reliance on the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force to “unilaterally” determine which types of care and services must be covered by payors without cost-sharing.

An independent all-volunteer panel of nationally recognized experts in prevention and primary care, the 16 task force members are selected by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve four-year terms.

They are responsible for evaluating the efficacy of counseling, screenings for diseases like cancer and diabetes, and preventative medicines — like Truvada for PrEP, drugs to reduce heart disease and strokes, and eye ointment for newborns to prevent infections.

Parties bringing the challenge objected especially to the mandatory coverage of PrEP, with some arguing the drugs would “encourage and facilitate homosexual behavior” against their religious beliefs.

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