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
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