I read a post on Trevorade Trevorade called Refusing to Have Sex With HIV-Positive People: Why It’s Not a Prevention Strategy, and Why It’s Harmful to Our Communities
Now, Trevor was talking about the Gay Male arena, but he was discussing how refusing to have sex with HIV positive men is not necessarily safe, and how it increases the stigma against HIV Positive people. While the statistics are slightly off, it reinforces two items.
1) Condoms are very effective against HIV transmission.
2) The Stigma against HIV positive people leads to either fewer people being tested, and/or fewer people disclosing their status.
The latter is what I tend to fight against. For me, if one is engaging in sexual activities with those who are untested, or do not know their current status, refusing to fuck someone who actively discloses their status is increasing the stigma against those with an STI. As Trevor discusses, sereosorting (or only having sex with someone of the same HIV status) is effective for those who are having longer term relationships with condom use being sporadic or not there. But, with condoms being used consistantly, the risk of HIV transmission is low.
For someone who knows their status, they can be taking active steps. An individual with a low virus count, who is taking anti-HIV drugs, may be a safer risk than the person that does not know their status.
Granted, if one is having orgies within closed circles, and/or within the “typical” swinger settings (aka, mostly straight with female bisexuality welcomed and male bisexuality severely), then the chances of encountering an individual with HIV is much lower. But, still, the risks of getting HIV from a sexual encounter are fairly low. (See my previous post about STI transmission rates and this article from Poz.com for more information.)
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