Uganda anti-gay bill major step backwards in fight against HIV/AIDS

When it comes to HIV prevention, Gug never really received much education on the subject.

It's not because he doesn't want it. It's because as a gay man living in Uganda, Gug - the alias under which he writes - is seen more as a problem than a person.

"Gay men have never been targeted for HIV prevention in the country. The [new Anti-Homosexuality] law will make sure that they become more closeted," he says. "Where will that lead in regards to the epidemic? Don't know. But am sure it will not decrease it."

The law Gug mentions is the controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 which is currently being debated before Ugandan parliament. Criticized worldwide, it threatens gay, lesbian and transgender individuals with life imprisonment and, until recently, the death penalty.

At the same time, those who don't report homosexuals to the authorities would face a fine and up to three years in prison. That includes people working in public health agencies trying to counsel homosexual men on HIV prevention.

"If you are going to be given life in prison when your sexuality becomes a matter of public record, how likely are you to seek treatment?" says Cary Alan Johnson, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHR). "This not only sentences the gay and bisexual male population to jail time, it sentences them to death because there can be no discussion about HIV/AIDS."

Uganda has been hailed worldwide for the progress it has made fighting HIV/AIDS. When the virus was discovered in the 1980s, prevalence in the country was at about 29 per cent. Today, that number sits at about 5.4. According to AVERT, an international charity that works to eliminate HIV/AIDS through education, treatment and care, this is largely due to a decrease in new infections through the ABC program (abstinence, be faithful, use condoms), but also high numbers of AIDS-related deaths due to lack of treatment.

Gug is skeptical of his country's advancement.

"Everyone touts Uganda's progress," he says. "But, in actual fact, the levels have been stagnant for close to five years now. And, they are actually inching up."

In his own community, Gug cites a lack of access to prevention education and condoms. But, he also alludes to persecution by the government.

"For the last 12 months or so, we have had a lot of anti-gay talk on the airwaves, including huge scandals, outings and things like that," he says. "What I know is that the government is homophobic and we have been under attack consistently throughout the year."

That is pushing gay men further into the closet.

"Closets are dangerous when it comes to public health," says Johnson. "They endanger the entire [Ugandan] population."

Criminalization puts pressure on homosexuals to keep their sexual preference private. But, this can lead to new infections.

Social pressures often lead gay men to take girlfriends, get married and have children as not to arouse suspicion. In neighbouring Kenya, one study conducted by the country's Gay and Lesbian Coalition suggested about 60 per cent of men who have sex with men are also engaged in relationships with women.

With pressures within a marriage not to use condoms and lack of access to prevention or treatment in the gay community, this increases high-risk behaviour that leads to the spreading of the disease.

Gug says that much of the persecution he faces stems from ignorance and fear.

"We are a small minority; voiceless, persecuted, unknown," he says. "Most people have never ever knowingly 'seen' a homosexual. Why not blame them for the ills of the country?"

But, in doing this, Uganda has targeted its homosexual population in the wrong way. It's through acceptance and prevention that the country can fight HIV/AIDS.

By putting homosexuals at the mercy of the law, they are putting the entire population at the mercy of an epidemic.