Rachel Evans
The March 16 edition of the gay and lesbian newspaper SX quoted from the Australian Federation of Aids Organisations (AFAO): "Since 2000 the rate of diagnoses of HIV in Australia have risen from 656 a year to 912 last financial year. Current indications are that the calendar year of 2005 will record an even higher number of people diagnosed with HIV."
The Victorian government reported it received 286 HIV notifications in 2005, up from 223 in 2004. Queensland reported a 20% increase in notifications in 2004. NSW reported a decrease in 2004, but rises in 2002 and 2003.
"If that trend continues we could see double the current number of people living with HIV in Australia in the next decade. The reasons for increases in HIV diagnoses are complex and the HIV community sector has responded by producing education materials addressing sexual activities and risk" the president of AFAO, Ian Rankin, told SX.
Gay men accounted for one-third of the new HIV notifications in Victoria. The March 15 Sydney Star Observer reported evidence that "gay men were choosing HIV-avoidance strategies that were less reliable than condom use, such as having protected sex outside a relationship but choosing not to wear a condom with a regular partner".
Kobie Howe, the University of Canberra Student Association's sexuality officer, told Green Left Weekly: "We need greater emphasis on the importance of safe sex, aimed at junior high school years. This is where sexual activity is occurring. We need to target the misconception that HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases are simply a gay male issue, as research suggests women and straight youth are at greater and greater risk of infections."
From Green Left Weekly, March 29, 2006.
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