Community-based HIV prevention interventions that combat anti-gay stigma for men who have sex with men and for transgender women

Abstract

Men who have sex with men (MSM) have been disproportionately affected by HIV since the onset of the epidemic. Public health discourse about prevention has traditionally focused on individual risk behavior and less on the socio-structural factors that place MSM at increased risk of infection. Anti-gay bias and stigma are key structural drivers of HIV and must therefore be treated as a public health threat. Community-based prevention intervention programs that affirm the healthy formation of gay and transgender identities are strongly needed. Gay affirming school-based interventions and resiliency-focused social marketing campaigns have shown positive impact on health outcomes and should be implemented on a broader scale to challenge anti-gay stigma.