Young Nigerian Gay Men And MSM : A Qualitative Study

This proves that there is a higher risk of destructive behavior and victimization among the LGBT community. But why are these destructive behaviors present? Dr. Michael Benibgui, PhD, notes in his dissertation that, “if early experiences regarding the LGB community are negative, they may arouse internalized homophobia and self-devaluation” (18). As an effect of these attitudes toward the LGBT community, these “self-devaluating” feelings are exposed.

The mental health of individuals in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) community is something that is a serious problem. For most of the history of the United States and many different parts of the world LGBT people faced much persecution and in some cases even death. This constant fear of discovery and the pressure that one feels on oneself when “in the closet” can lead to major mental distress. Research has shown that people who identify as LGBT are twice as likely to develop lifetime mood and anxiety disorders (Bostwick 468). This is extremely noticeable the past couple years in the suicides of bullied teens on the basis of sexual identity and expression. The stigma on simply being perceived as LGBT is strong enough to

Based on the discussion from the Williams Institute, it is evident that there continues to be a prevalence of discrimination among groups that are not viewed as culturally acceptable in our county. In this article, it is reported that people are more likely to experience hate crimes based on their sexual orientations. For instance, 44% of people reported experience physical violence (without a weapon) because of their sexual orientation, and 80% had been verbally harassed (Herek, 2009). Although the Hates Crimes Statistic Law became effective in 1990, the stigma surrounding the LGBTQ community continues to affect their everyday life. It may defer a person by identified their sexual orientation for the fear of being discriminating in the workplace,

Victimization of LGBT community members is elevating as time passes. Researchers attempt to determine the prevalence of the violence committed against members of the LGBT community (Rothman, Exner, & Baughman, 2011). Many people that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender that are victims of hate crimes have participated in studies where they insist that the crimes committed against them are based on their sexuality; not class, color, gender, or any other factor. In a qualitative study, Meyer (2009) conducted open-ended interviews with people who were victims of hate crimes. The participants were recruited at LGBT advocacy organizations. Those who presumed that their hate crime was due to multiple systems of oppression such as class,

Every day in the United States, a young person, under the age of eighteen faces homelessness, and most often it’s because of others. In a report by The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, it was noted that 26% of LGBTQ youth were kicked out of their homes when they came out (Ray, 2006). The Urban Justice League reports numbers as high as 78% of LGBTQ youth that “were removed from or left their foster care placements because they were un-welcoming or hostile towards their sexual orientation and/or gender identity ” (Feinstein, Greenblatt, Hass, Kohn, & Rana, 2001). The United States is an independent, individualistic country; we prize the freedom of expression, but do we really? One of the most significant, if not the most important, social structures is the family. Gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals who are aware of their sexuality, must create an alternative self to present to family and friends, especially if there is an understanding, verbalized or implicit, that homosexuality is not tolerated, or simply wrong. Many gay, lesbian and bisexual men and women would rather go with the flow, assimilate, not make waves, rather than to express their own gay identity, and risk ostracism.

In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people

Most can have problems finding some where to stay. Because LGBT persons often have great difficulty finding shelters that accept and respect them. Transgender people are often forced to classify themselves as a gender with which they do not identify. These individuals are particularly at physical risk in shelters. This risk comes from a lack of acceptance. Ex. Transgender women (born with male genitalia but identify and live as women) forced to take shelter with heterosexual men are frequently subjected to verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. Transgender individuals are often turned away from shelters and in some cases signs have been posted barring their entrance. (American Journal of Public Health, 2002) In some cases, suicide rates of LGBT people have escaladed in the past few years of feeling neglected. Suicide attempts by LGB youth and questioning youth are 4 to 6 times more likely to result in injury, poisoning, or overdose that requires treatment from a doctor or nurse, compared to their straight peers. (CDC, 2011) The STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) is growing among LGBT groups also. It is another problem they are facing. STDs have been increasing among gay and bisexual men, with recent increases in syphilis being documented across the country. In 2012, men who have sex with men (MSM) accounted for 75% of primary and secondary syphilis cases in the United States. MSM often are diagnosed with other STDs, including Chlamydia and gonorrhea infections. (National Center for HIV/AIDS, 2014) And LGBT are also being discriminated against being hired for a job. Employers are not hiring LGBT people because they do not agree with their life choices and will not hire

Frequently, the lives of LGBTQ+ people are worsened by stigma, and when one has HIV and/or is considered a minority one will encounter greater public prejudice, discrimination, loss of self-worth, and negative implications for one’s health and well-being. The Orlando Immunology Center (OIC) served as a venue for this presentation sponsored by Dialogo and Two Spirit Health Centers, and was facilitated by Robert Katz who examined stigma in its various guises and how it impacted people’s mental health and physical illness. To date, the literature on stigma and health outcomes has focused primarily on harmful health-related behaviors that are associated with perceived discrimination. This presentation suggested that when people experience discrimination,

Sexual and social stigmas largely affect the health of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population. While many reports from the Institute of Medicine, Healthy People 2020 and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recognize a need to improve the quality of health care, barriers still remain. LGBT patients face legal discrimination, especially with insurance, a lack of social programs, and limited access to providers competent in LGBT health care. Although the Affordable Care Act increased access to care for LGBT patients, unless these patients feel understood by providers and develop trust in the system, they are not likely to utilize care. Healthcare providers need to recognize how these vulnerabilities, as well as persistent racism and stigma linked to sexual orientation and gender identity, make the healthcare needs of LGBT patients more challenging than the general population. Healthcare providers also need to promote cultural competence within this population and broaden their clinical lens to include health promotion, in addition to addressing concerns mentioned above within the population. Additionally, medical and nursing schools need to ensure that future providers are adequately educated by including information about this population in the curriculum.

An important aspect of the interpersonal factor is the acknowledgment of friendships and family in health. For example, if a person in this population has peers that view syphilis as non-threatening, they may believe this as well. Research conducted by the CDC showed that MSM men living in the Los Angeles area, consider “syphilis a ‘dirty’ disease, signifying patronage of male prostitutes, many of whom are from lower SES”. It also seems that men who have sex with men, but do not identify as “gay”, are more likely to engage in unprotected sex due to a disengagement from the gay community or gay friendships. (“Syphilis Elimination Effort”, 2002)

For this health promotion assignment, the subject I have chosen to discuss is sexually transmitted infections (STI’s). STIs are spread from one person to another through intimate sexual contact but can also spread through non-sexual means such as via the blood or from mother to child during pregnancy (World health organisation (WHO), 2016). According to Mudhar (2013) groups that are particularly at a higher risk are young adults, men who have sex with men (MSM), black African and Caribbean communities. With more than one million STI’s acquired everyday worldwide, it is a major public health issue within society (WHO, 2016). Even though the overall health of the population in England has significantly improved over the past 50 years because of the highly valued NHS, health inequalities are still a dominant feature of health across all regions in England and many people still find it hard to accept that serious health inequalities still exist (Marmot, 2010).

Public Health England released a report in 2014 on the data collected about the HIV epidemic in the United Kingdom. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are shown to be the most affected demographic group and are at the highest risk of becoming infected with HIV. In 2013, 40.4% of the 107,800 people living with HIV in the UK were MSM. The main way HIV is transmitted among MSM is through serodiscordant, unprotected intercourse, that is, one HIV-positive and one HIV-negative person having unprotected anal sex. In this case both partners are at risk. The risky partner in this context is considered to be the person whose status is unknown. It is exactly because of this ignorance and the lack of protection that HIV infection is very likely to occur. According to Public Health England, 7,200 MSM, which is 16% of the total number of MSM infected with HIV, were undiagnosed and unaware of being infected with HIV. Despite that since 1990 the proportion of MSM reporting attending sex health clinics and HIV tests has increased, there are nevertheless 2,600 newly infected MSM each year. There might be several social determinants of health that contribute to the disparity in the risk of HIV acquisition and late diagnosis of the infection, including fear of the stigma surrounding HIV, general misinformation about the infection and lack of perceived individual risk. (Public Health England, 2014; Sigma Research 2008)

Can someone be cured of being gay? Is being gay a disease or a pathology? Is being gay a disease or a pathology? In this essay I will try to describe and inform about the gay struggle in the Democratic Republic of Congo, about an anti-gay bill in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the support services the Democratic Republic of Congo give to LGBT people. A British woman held captive in Congo to cure her of being gay, she was told that her family wanted to keep her in Congo so that her sexuality could be “fixed”, Is this something that can be “fixed”? It became apparent that her family were unhappy with her decision to be an out lesbian but they can’t do anything because being Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Trans is legal in the Democratic Republic of Congo, if they are not married it is okay, but if they got married, then they will be broken the law and they will be killed. Homosexuals regularly face prosecution under laws banning public indecency, in a central African state of 77 million people, a report by the US State Department in 2010 found that homosexuality was a “cultural taboo” The republic of Congo’s struggle, some small groups of gays are timidly trying to make a place for

This paper examines the Canadian Blood Service’s (CBS) current one-year deferral policy towards men who have sexual contact with other men (MSM). Homosexual or bisexual men can donate blood and blood products only after not having any form of sexual contact with other men for one year (Canadian Blood Services, 2016). This paper studies how this policy contributes to stigma against MSM. This paper also aims to address this social inequity by promoting an advocacy that focus on donors’ risky sexual behaviors than their sexual identities.

This program is designed to enhance the health and well-being of gay and bisexual men in the Washington metropolitan area by fostering understanding across age, race and ethnicity. Educators support behavior change by linking social activities to HIV prevention efforts. Activities are designed to promote behavior change by embracing and celebrating gay sexuality, relationships and culture. This is accomplished through outreach to clubs, bars and commercial sex establishments, a drop-in center, a bi-monthly informal forum, interactive workshops and TV shows (WWC).