We have come a long way since the AIDS epidemic of the 80’s and 90’s. Some of the groups that the HIV intervention programs focused on are men having sex with men and transgender women. In fact, that is how the fight against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises “unnatural sexual” relationships began as liberation is key to queer people’s health. Despite the advancements since, queer people are still bullied in schools and rejected by their families, resulting in them turning to high-risk activities for relief and escape. On the other hand, the intervention programs have not caught up with technological changes posed by dating apps. 

We are embarking on an LGBTQ miniseries about all things queer in India today. For our first episode, reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee spoke to policy researcher Avinaba, HIV activist Firoz Khan, and a young person living with HIV, Vishwas*. Avinaba is a genderqueer person and a research fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the co-founder of Pleqsus India foundation. Firoz Khan is a gay man who works with Alliance India on HIV outreach. Vishwas* is an alias for a 22-year-old bisexual man who contracted HIV as a young teen. We spoke to them about the need for a more comprehensive HIV intervention plan.

Additional reading:

(UNAIDS) - India
Sex, Drugs, And Illness: How Chemsex Is Harming India's Gay Men
Safe custody? - Indiascope News - Issue Date: May 31, 1994 
Less Than Gay 
Substance use and risk of HIV infection among Men who have... : Medicine
Findings from the 2017 HIV estimation round & trend analysis of key indicators 2010-2017
Government apathy leaves India's AIDS programme in crisis
Chemsex and the failure of new HIV prevention strategies in India

We have come a long way since the AIDS epidemic of the 80&rsquo;s and 90&rsquo;s. Some of the groups that the HIV intervention programs focused on are men having sex with men and transgender women. In fact, that is how the fight against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises &ldquo;unnatural sexual&rdquo; relationships began as liberation is key to queer people&rsquo;s health. Despite the advancements since, queer people are still bullied in schools and rejected by their families, resulting in them turning to high-risk activities for relief and escape. On the other hand, the intervention programs have not caught up with technological changes posed by dating apps.&nbsp;
We are embarking on an LGBTQ miniseries about all things queer in India today. For our first episode, reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee spoke to policy researcher Avinaba, HIV activist Firoz Khan, and a young person living with HIV, Vishwas*. Avinaba is a genderqueer person and a research fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the co-founder of Pleqsus India foundation. Firoz Khan is a gay man who works with Alliance India on HIV outreach. Vishwas* is an alias for a 22-year-old bisexual man who contracted HIV as a young teen. We spoke to them about the need for a more comprehensive HIV intervention plan.
Additional reading:
<a href="https://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/india" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/india&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624374643955000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHVnOuTLLB04TDwvEPnrRIu55kt-A">(UNAIDS) - India</a> <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/koshankamesh/sex-drugs-and-illness-how-chemsex-is-harming-indias-gay-men" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.buzzfeed.com/koshankamesh/sex-drugs-and-illness-how-chemsex-is-harming-indias-gay-men&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624374643955000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH6FGr27PChqMol3xuq9SICK5f7_Q">Sex, Drugs, And Illness: How Chemsex Is Harming India's Gay Men</a> <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19940531-tihar-jail-bans-condoms-809220-1994-05-31" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19940531-tihar-jail-bans-condoms-809220-1994-05-31&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624374643955000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE4y5VK1UsyqLZ5E3qJi7d5AOdbKQ">Safe custody? - Indiascope News - Issue Date: May 31, 1994</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1585664/less-than-gay-a-citizens-report-on-the-status-of.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1585664/less-than-gay-a-citizens-report-on-the-status-of.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624374643955000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEPWazUZujQI40qWH5p7CaWibuFhA">Less Than Gay</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://journals.lww.com/md-journal/Fulltext/2020/08280/Substance_use_and_risk_of_HIV_infection_among_Men.6.aspx" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://journals.lww.com/md-journal/Fulltext/2020/08280/Substance_use_and_risk_of_HIV_infection_among_Men.6.aspx&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624374643955000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEK9-fYxroLkgSxHIuMOSHt5i78uw">Substance use and risk of HIV infection among Men who have... : Medicine</a> <a href="https://www.ijmr.org.in/article.asp?issn=0971-5916;year=2020;volume=151;issue=6;spage=562;epage=570;aulast=Sahu" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ijmr.org.in/article.asp?issn%3D0971-5916;year%3D2020;volume%3D151;issue%3D6;spage%3D562;epage%3D570;aulast%3DSahu&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624374643955000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE9iqt4Gs5tr1dIS7s7s4nqxnhUgQ">Findings from the 2017 HIV estimation round &amp; trend analysis of key indicators 2010-2017</a> <a href="https://caravanmagazine.in/government-policy/government-apathy-india-aids-programme" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://caravanmagazine.in/government-policy/government-apathy-india-aids-programme&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624374643955000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFbKCYN3LGpggze-GSIJcVrpSyWHQ">Government apathy leaves India's AIDS programme in crisis</a> <a href="https://caravanmagazine.in/sexuality/chemsex-and-the-failure-of-new-hiv-prevention-strategies-in-india" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://caravanmagazine.in/sexuality/chemsex-and-the-failure-of-new-hiv-prevention-strategies-in-india&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624374643955000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHvr3F0xVqHq9-M7GjoVvzcy9v4Mw">Chemsex and the failure of new HIV prevention strategies in India</a>

The Suno India Show’ is a news show by Suno India combining slow journalism with under-represented and under-reported stories. Covering the diverse range of topics like politics, technology, education and society, the host brings in informative interviews and engaging discussions with experts. The show not only shines a spotlight on stories that matter but keeps the listeners up to date with the latest national news.

The Suno India Show&rsquo; is a news show by Suno India combining slow journalism with under-represented and under-reported stories. Covering the diverse range of topics like politics, technology, education and society, the host brings in informative interviews and engaging discussions with experts. The show not only shines a spotlight on stories that matter but keeps the listeners up to date with the latest national news.

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