The Road to Rectal Microbicide Reality

IRMA chair Jim Pickett penned the following article in the Summer 2008 edition of Thrive, a new quarterly HIV prevention, treatment, and advocacy publication from the folks at ACRIA and GMHC.

Excerpt:

We tend to use sex acts as a way to identify populations – equating gay men with anal sex, for instance. Phrases like “heterosexual transmission” assume we are talking about vaginal intercourse, and actually hide the fact that women and men who identify as heterosexual engage in anal sex. This lack of clarity and honesty in discussing how HIV is transmitted between all types of human beings is troubling. It means that a significant portion of the pandemic often described as “driven by heterosexual HIV infection” could actually be caused by unprotected anal intercourse.

Read the full piece here.

Learn more about IRMA and rectal microbicide advocacy on the IRMA website.

Check out the IRMA report, "Less Silence, More Science - Advocacy to Make Rectal Microbicides A Reality."