African HIV Prevention Training
posted: 08/12/2009
Free training for workers delivering the National African HIV Prevention Programme (NAHIP) starts in Manchester in January (and London). The course is accredited by Open College Network (OCN). After successfully completing the course students will receive OCN or NAHIP certificates.
Training
There are four course units - and a total of thirteen training Mondays - from mid January to mid May.
These provide comprehensive knowledge, understanding and skills for community workers supporting African communities in HIV prevention.
A range of interactive learning techniques, from group work to learning from practice, will be used in all the units, giving participants a chance to share their experiences and learn from others.
NAHIP will try to identify suitable work placements needed for some course units so you can put into practice what you have learned.
Aims
This training programme aims to enhance knowledge, understanding and develop skills that community based HIV and AIDS service providers working with African communities need to deliver successful and effective prevention interventions in community settings.
In addition the training programme will build skills for using research-based knowledge and written NAHIP health education resources.
No Cost
The training is free. There is a £50 administration fee if you do not attend.
Training Timetable
The 200/10 training course will be provided in Manchester on Mondays from 11 January to 10 May 2010.
Make sure you tick the box for Manchester OR London.
More course information
- Unit 1: The African communities and the role of sexual health services in HIV prevention strategies Day 1 Understanding African Communities in UK Monday 11 January in Manchester
Day 2 role of sexual health services in prevention strategies Monday 18 January in Manchester
- Unit 2: Africans living with HIV – Treatment and Prevention.
Day 1 HIV treatments and transmission implications Monday 1 February in Manchester
Day 2 People living with HIV and prevention Monday 8 February in Manchester
- Unit 3: Evidence based HIV prevention intervention for African communities in the UK
4 Days Understanding HIV prevention interventions and resources
Mondays: 22 February, 1 March, 8 March, 15 March in Manchester
- Unit 4: Designing, implementing and evaluating HIV interventions for African communities in the UK: Using research, needs assessments, data and evaluation; Planning prevention programmes; Evaluating. Mondays: 29 March, 12 April, 19 April, 26 April, 10 May in Manchester
Forms, details, bookings
Download the full programme & schedule pdf
Download application form Word
Book online here
OR email the booking form to Fletcher Phiri
OR post it to Fletcher Phiri, Naz Project, 30 Blacks Rd, London, W6 9DT
020 8741 1879
Northern contacts for more information
In Manchester: Syson Namaganda, Black Health Agency, Zion Community Resource Centre, 339 Stretford Road, Hulme, Manchester, M15 4ZY 0161 232 5386
In Leeds: Jeni Hirst, Black Health Agency, Leeds Skyline, 4th Floor, Gallery House, The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 5RD 0113 2449767
Permalink
Will MPs Protect Young Gay Men?
posted: 24/11/2009
You can help protect young gay men from the risks of HIV by asking your MP to sign an Early Day Motion. National AIDS Trust is pushing for MPs to sign across the country.
A motion is a petition for MPs, and this one calls for action so that young gay men get the sex education and information they need about HIV, to take care of their sexual health. It also asks for the new national strategy for HIV to include meeting the needs of young gay men.
Young gay men are much more likely to get HIV because they missed out on early prevention campaigns and decent gay-friendly sex education.
It's easy
It's really easy to get your MP to sign an Early Day Motion
- find out who your MP is online
- check if they have already signed online
- email a letter we have written as a help, to ask the MP to sign
The motion is partly raising HIV awareness for World AIDS Day, on December 1st. Early Day Motions are a way to publicise something in Parliament – while they almost never lead to debates, government and opposition sit up and take notice of these barometers of public and MP opinion. MPs are often keen to sign motions constituents which press them to support.
Young gay men at higher risk
Deborah Jack, chief executive of NAT, said: “Young gay men missed out on the widespread health promotion messages of the 1980s, and they are now the group of young people most at risk of getting HIV. New diagnoses amongst young gay men have doubled in the last ten years. We hope every MP will sign this important motion, and if an MP doesn’t sign we will want to know why they are not prioritising HIV prevention for young gay men.”
In NW England young men between the ages of 15 and 29 now make up 29% of all gay men diagnosed with HIV.
All party support
David Borrow MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on AIDS, supports the motion.
He said: “Good sex and relationships education in schools is critical to good health, and schools should know how to respond to the learning needs of young gay men. This is an area which some teachers may find difficult, and they will need support and guidance. However, if we ignore the educational needs of young gay men we will see rates of HIV continue to rise and that would be indefensible.”
Supporting campaign
The campaign is also being supported by Channel 4’s Dr Christian Jessen, and writer Paul Burston.
Jessen said: "I'm supporting NAT's campaign – education about HIV is so important for protecting young people's sexual health. I'll be writing to my MP about it and hope other people do the same."
Burston added: “It's vital that young gay men are educated about HIV. Awareness about HIV is lower than ever but infections continue. We each have a responsibility to equip young men with the knowledge they need so they can avoid HIV infection, and MPs must make this a priority. I will be writing to my MP to get them to sign up.”
The motion asks:
That this House notes the importance of World AIDS Day;
recognises that the number of people living with HIV in the UK continues to increase, with over 80,000 people now living with HIV, and that young gay men remain the group of young people most at risk of acquiring HIV, with new diagnoses amongst this group doubling in the last ten years;
acknowledges the need for sensitive and sensible messages on sexual health to young people in schools and calls on the government to ensure teachers have support and information to be able to talk confidently and sensitively about sexual health in order to meet the needs of young gay men;
and to further ensure a new national strategy for HIV beyond 2011 includes specific actions to address the needs of young gay men.
NAT’s campaigns page for HIV protection for young gay men
- To find out who your MP is click here and enter your postcode.
- Find out whether your MP has already signed the EDM click here and check the list of signatures. On 24 November few MPS had signed yet.
- Copy and paste the text below into an email or letter, and ask your MP to sign. You can email your MP by clicking here, or write a letter to them at: House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.
- NAT would like to hear from you, especially if you hear from your MP.
__________________________________
Dear [name of MP]
I am writing asking you to sign EDM number 47 which was tabled on 18 November. Please see the text of the EDM below.
1 December is World AIDS Day, when the world unites in support of people living with HIV. In the UK, young gay men are now the group of young people most at risk of getting HIV. In fact, new HIV diagnoses in this group have doubled in the last ten years. Young gay men missed out on the widespread health promotion messages of the 1980s, and we need to ensure that more is done to protect this group from HIV.
I would be grateful if you could sign this EDM – by signing it you will show your commitment to World AIDS Day and to ensuring that the needs of the young group most at risk of HIV are not ignored.
If you do not intend to sign it, please could you write back to let me know why.
Yours sincerely,
[your name]
[your address and postcode]
EDM 47 - World AIDS Day 2009
That this House notes the importance of World AIDS Day; recognises that the number of people living with HIV in the UK continues to increase, with over 80,000 people now living with HIV, and that young gay men remain the group of young people most at risk of acquiring HIV, with new diagnoses amongst this group doubling in the last 10 years; acknowledges the need for sensitive and sensible messages on sexual health to young people in schools; calls on the Government to ensure teachers have support and information to be able to talk confidently and sensitively about sexual health in order to meet the needs of all including young gay men; and further calls on the Government to ensure that a new national strategy for HIV beyond 2011 includes specific actions to address the needs of young gay men.
Source
NAT’s campaign page
image credit from Seattle, Washington, USA
Permalink
Compulsory Sex / HIV Education
posted: 06/11/2009
The government has announced that sex education will become compulsory for all schools, including lessons on gay relationships, and sexually transmitted infections such as HIV. But this will only be compulsory from age 15. Before that age, parents can stop their child attending any sex education lessons.
From September 2011, the law will change to make it compulsory for all young people in England to learn about sex between the ages of 15 and 16, even if their parents object. In religious schools the sex education the state requires to be taught to all can be contradicted by the religious teaching.
Learn from 5
Sex education will start from the age of five. Primary school children will learn about their bodies and puberty, along with marriages, divorces and civil partnerships. Pupils in secondary schools will learn about contraception, gay and lesbian relationships and HIV, as well as the emotional implications of having sex. Faith schools, like other schools, will be forced to teach about homosexuality, civil partnerships, divorce and abortion.
Religious spin and opt outs
However, faith schools, mainly Roman Catholic and Church of England, can teach this sex education in line with their beliefs and teachings. They are required to educate pupils about issues such as abortion and the tolerance of homosexuality, but may present them in congruity with religious teachings. Teachers in religious schools will still be free to tell pupils that sex outside marriage, homosexuality or using contraception are 'wrong', because the legislation will include a clause allowing schools to apply their "context" "values" and "ethos" to lessons.
One-third of schools in England are faith schools and this means pupils could be taught about same-sex relationships, while learning that they are against their religion. About 0.04% of pupils are withdrawn from sex education classes, usually on religious grounds.
Opt-out until 15
Currently, parents are allowed to withdraw children from sex education lesson up to the age of 19. This will now change to 15 to ensure that pupils have at least one year of sex education before they reach the age of consent.
Ed Balls, the schools secretary, said: “You can teach the promotion of marriage, you can teach that you shouldn't have sex outside of marriage, what you can't do is deny young people information about contraception outside of marriage. The same arises in homosexuality. Some faiths have a view about what in religious terms is right and wrong – what they can’t do though is not teach the importance of tolerance.”
HIV - welcome and disappointment
The National AIDS Trust welcomed the plans, saying that all young people have a right to information about sexual issues.
Chief executive Deborah Jack said: "We are pleased that discussion of same sex relationships and HIV is included in the PSHE education programme of study. HIV is a serious long-term condition and young gay men remain the group of young people most at risk. In the past young gay men have often been ignored in sex and relationships lessons in schools and the result has been a rise in young gay men being diagnosed with HIV.”
George House Trust is very disappointed that all young people will not have an equal right to high quality accurate sex education. Some young people will have two-faced lessons (the national sex education curriculum, and their church’s teachings against this), and a minority will get nothing until they are 15, if their parents withdraw them from sex education. By that age much of the damage caused by ignorance and misinformation will have already been done.
The changes, due in autumn 2011, are better than patchwork mess we have now. The state believes sex education is serious enough to be a compulsory part of the national curriculum, but has allowed religious schools to contradict points being taught and pupils to be kept away until they are 15. This isn't an evidence-based sex education policy.
As a result of this half-hearted change, young people with religious backgrounds, especially teenage males, will continue to be far more vulnerable to HIV, STIs, and females will also face unwanted pregnancies.
Catholics respond
A spokesman from the the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales said PSHE was "vital". He said: "It enables factual information from reliable sources to be communicated and misinformation from peers or street culture or exploitation to be avoided. While disappointed that legal encumbrances mean that a blanket right of withdrawal can no longer apply, we are pleased that the government has recognised that the right of withdrawal in formative years is most critical and is therefore providing for the ability of parents to opt out of SRE up to the age of 15. We will continue to firmly uphold the position that parental rights remain vital, particularly but not exclusively in those most formative and critical years up until the age of 15. As age and growing independence brings young people ever closer to pressures, advertising and coercion to behaviour that can undermine the healthy life of young people, we are comforted in the knowledge that our schools and colleges will do an exceptional job in providing sex and relationships education, set within the teachings of the Catholic Church."
Poll backed compulsion
The review was followed by a government-commissioned poll of 1,791 adults and 1,661 parents into whether all pupils should be taught about sex, and consultations with faith groups. A fifth of the parents said parents should never be able to withdraw their children from sex education lessons, whatever age the children were. A third said parents should be allowed to exclude their children from sex education classes if they were aged 11 or under. As part of the legislation, children will also be taught about drugs and alcohol, how to tackle cyber-bullying, resist pressure to join gangs and manage their bank accounts.
The new sex education lessons will not begin for another TWO years.
Source 1
Source 2
Joe Galliano, a gay man, talks about how these new sex education rules will help all children feel comfortable with their sexuality – except gay lads and lasses in faith schools.
Permalink
World AIDS Day - Lancashire
posted: 28/10/2009
World AIDS Day (1 December) is being made a red letter day across Lancashire. Here’s the events we already know about.
Pantomine and Cabaret
25 November Red Ribbon Pantomine @ Twaites Theatre Blackburn
27 November Red Ribbon Cabaret @ 53 degrees, UCLAN, Preston
Full details here
Ormskirk Clubbing
WAD 1st December
Outrageous club in Ormskirk, WAD fundraiser for CLASS (CLASS provide HIV support from Preston for people in central Lancashire)
HIV Vigil - Preston and Blackburn
WAD Vigil, 7.30pm St Johns Minster, Church Street, Preston
WAD Vigil, 7.30pm (to be confirmed) Blackburn Cathedral, Blackburn
Event
Friday 4th December, Preston FLAG Market (Market Square) Celebrating life with HIV event - we've not been told when - email Andy Thompson the LGBT community worker at SHIVER
Schools and Colleges Awareness - Blackpool
From 6 December there’s a week of awareness in several schools as part of the 'Respect' week. There will be speakers on ‘respect’ issues such as domestic violence, homophobic bullying and sexual health.
A speaker living with HIV will give an informal talk on Friday 4 December to 6th form students who are being trained as teenage peer educators, and to the whole sixth form in the following week.
iPhone quiz prize for school and college students
lAndy Thompson, SHIVER’s LGBT worker and a colleague will give short talks on HIV at several school assemblies. A free Q&A quiz about HIV will award the winner an iPhone and is already drawing much student interest, promoted by the poster produced by the 6th form to advertise it.
Teenage peer educators The teenage peer educators are making a short film for these school assemblies which will include sound bites and clips from programmes popular with teens, such as Holyoaks which has a current Malachy and HIV storyline.
Red Ribbons for donations will be widely available at the schools and colleges during this fortnight.
Video at Blackpool council customer centre
On a continuous display loop is a short video presentation in the Customer First Centre of Blackpool borough council; this will run for two weeks from 23rd November to 6 December.
This short video will also be shown in all the local LGBT venues on and around the 1st.
Mardi Gras club vigil - Blackpool
A short service and vigil will be held in the Blackpool gay club Mardi Gras on the Saturday 28 November and on Tuesday 1 December
Flying Handbag - Blackpool
There’s a charity all-dayer at the Flying Handbag on Sunday the 6 December to raise money for next year. £2 on the door.
Permalink
Action on Teaching HIV in Schools
posted: 17/07/2009
Earlier this week we asked you to stand up for the rights of children and young people to effective HIV education in all schools. One further simple step we ask is for you to give the same message to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
Last October the Government announced it would make sex and relationships education (SRE) a statutory part of the National Curriculum by 2011. It has not happened yet - there are two consultations about it. Churches and schools opposed to teaching all children about HIV, sexuality and relationships are actively campaigning against making HIV and SRE compulsory.
Unless there is a strong show of support for making SRE part of the curriculum, the Government may decide not to make this change, and young people will then continue to miss out on basic information about how to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
Tell the QCA we must have sex and relationships education in schools
As part of the review, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is consulting with a short questionnaire on PSHE. Please complete the survey, support making sex and relationships education part of the National Curriculum. There are only 10 simple tick-box questions. The more responses the QCA receives in favour, the stronger the pressure to act.
You can download the survey (in Word) and then email it to the QCA
You could simply copy the tickbox answers given by THT. They are listed here. You can see all of THT's completed survey here. Section 1 is the most important bit, where you vote for SRE. (Section 2 asks questions about specific areas of the curriculum, which you can ignore if you wish).
Making PSHE a part of the National Curriculum will be essential to improving the UK's future sexual health, we have already come a long way in campaigning for this, we just need one final push to make it a reality.
Suggested answers to tickbox questions
QCA PSHE Reform Survey (Word)
Permalink