Sex has always been a controversial topic, especially here in the Philippines. With major religions advocating for abstinence instead of sex education to tackle issues of over-population, the rise of STDs, teenage pregnancy, and the like, we can see how sex is strongly stigmatized in the country. With the LGBTQIA+ however, this stigma on sex is further amplified. Sex between the same gender is often instantly associated with STDs such as HIV/AIDS. During symposiums on sex education, LGBTQIA+ sex is not comprehensively discussed (if discussed at all) which contributes further to the lack of information on safety practices and avoiding risky behavior.
This stigma also contributes to the prevalence of microaggressions, hate speech, prejudice, and stereotyping which leads to a decline in mental health and even contributes to the increasing cases of suicide and suicide attempts
Stigma, HIV/AIDS, and Mental Health issues all intersect within the LGBTQIA+ community. Therefore, there is a need to raise awareness on these prevalent issues and for this reason, IMGLAD conducted an Online Rainbow Session back on June 30, 2022, entitled HIV/Aids & Mental Health Awareness to provide a space to address and tackle these challenges.
This online session was conducted via Zoom and Facebook Live with Mr. Ivan A. Uy providing valuable insights on the topic of HIV/AIDS Awareness and Mr. Karl Anthony comprehensively discussing Mental Health Awareness. The session was attended by members of IMGLAD Iligan, Rogongon, Kolambugan, SND along with LGBTQIA+ friends and allies from Palawan State University.
Mr. Ivan stated that the stigma surrounding sex and the LGBTQIA+ community is ever so present especially here in the Philippines. The religious context of the Philippines that encourages chastity, abstinence, and heteronormativity is one factor as to why sex and the LGBTQIA+ are so highly stigmatized.
It was stated in the discussion, that there is a rise in HIV/AIDS cases in Iligan City This rise can be attributed to the lack of inclusive sex education which leads to people practicing risky behavior during sex. In addition to this, due to the majority of reported cases of HIV coming from men having sex with men, people typically associate HIV/AIDS with homosexuals.
Mr. Ivan emphasized that HIV/AIDS is a silent killer, and the best way to end the pandemic is by avoiding risky behavior, raising awareness, educating the community, using preventive methods, and getting regularly tested. Mr. Ivan ended his discussion by encouraging the participants to know their status and help END HIV/AIDS.
As previously stated, there is a strong connection between stigma, discrimination, and mental health. Stigma and discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ make the community susceptible to numerous forms of oppression and other manifestations of hate which can trigger anxiety, depression, paranoia, isolation, and can even lead to suicide. During Mr. Karl’s discussion, he shared that the LGBTQIA+ not only face struggles in the outside world, but they also face these struggles within themselves.
Change begins with ourselves, which is why as much as possible, it is important to maintain an optimistic mindset. While there is a need to tackle the issues that lead to the emergence of these mental health issues, having hope that these problems will eventually be solved and working towards solving these issues is how we can continue to go further.
Mr. Karl highlighted that to truly liberate us from these issues, we need to be the positive change within our communities. We need to be empathetic of the struggles of others, we need to be mindful of our words and actions, we need to be understanding of others, and we should do our best to help each other during challenging times. In a society where we are out-casted and forced to live in darkness, let us be each other's light.
During the open forum, following the discussion, participants raised interesting points which led up to the discussion of how to tackle the issue of gender uniform policies in schools that restrict the freedom of expression of LGBTQIA+ identities. Defining the line between preference and stigma also became a center-point of the discussion with Mx. RJ Neyra stating during the forum that while preference does not directly boil down to discrimination, however, discrimination speaks to one’s bias, and when one advertises that bias as a default template for intimacy in the community, then it becomes a problem.
The session concluded with a trivia game recapping the topics discussed during the session.
The issues we face are too heavy to carry alone, but we are not alone. When we educate and raise awareness we make progress toward ending stigma and discrimination. These efforts will slowly contribute toward the acceptance of non-normative identities. Instead of waiting for change, let us be the change. Together, let us End HIV/AIDS and let us also take the steps to better our mental health. #EndAids #MentalHealthMatters
In the spirit of IMGLAD creating safe spaces, these photos are posted with the consent of the participants.
IMGLAD is currently implementing a project entitled "IMGLAD to Consolidate Pride in Mindanao." This project is hosted by Mindanao Peoples' Peace Movement (MPPM) and supported by Voice. This activity is under the project’s three-pronged strategy, Unfurling the Pride along with IMGLAD’s pride month initiative.
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