GLBT/HIV Facts

APA
- All major professional mental health organizations have gone on record to affirm that homosexuality is not a mental disorder.

APA
- Homosexuality was once thought to be the result of troubled family dynamics or faulty psychological development. Those assumptions are now understood to have been based on misinformation and prejudice.

APA
- Pedophilia is almost exclusively found in men, and the great majority of these men identify as heterosexual.

APA
- Even among people who sexually abuse children of their same gender, most are attracted to adults of the opposite gender .

APA
- GAY, LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL YOUTH ARE UP TO 6 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO
ATTEMPT SUICIDE DURING ADOLESCENCE THAN HETEROSEXUAL PEERS

APA
- GAY, LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL YOUTH ARE ALSO UP TO 6 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE SERIOUS SUBSTANCE USE OR MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS (DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY) THAT ARE KNOWN RISK FACTORS FOR BOTH ATTEMPTED AND COMPLETED SUICIDE

APA
- EVEN AFTER CONTROLLING FOR THESE OTHER KNOWN RISK FACTORS, STATUS AS GAY, LESBIAN OR BISEXUAL MAY CONFER AN INDEPENDENT RISK FOR ATTEMPTED SUICIDE RELATED TO DIFFICULTIES EXPRESSING A MINORITY SEXUAL IDENTITY IN A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT PERMEATED BY ANTI-HOMOSEXUAL BIAS

APA
- OTHER POSSIBLE SOCIAL RISK FACTORS FOR ATTEMPTED SUICIDE INCLUDE GENDER NON-CONFORMITY, EARLY AWARENESS OF HOMOSEXUALITY, LACK OF SOCIAL SUPPORT, SCHOOL DROPOUT, FAMILY PROBLEMS, SUICIDE ATTEMTPS BY FRIENDS OR RELATIVES AND HOMELESSNESS

APA
- The children of unmarried gay and lesbian parents do not have the same protection that civil marriage affords the children of heterosexual couples.

APA
- Numerous studies over the last three decades consistently demonstrate that children raised by gay or lesbian parents exhibit
the same level of emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning as children raised by heterosexual parents

APA
- optimal development for children is based not on the sexual orientation of the parents, but on stable attachments to committed and nurturing adults. The research also shows that children who have two parents, regardless of the parents sexual orientations, do better than children with only one parent.

APA
- the issue of changing sexual orientation has become highly politicized. The integration of gays and lesbians into the mainstream of American society is opposed by those who fear that such integration is morally wrong and harmful to the social fabriC

APA
- The American Psychiatric Association opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as reparative or conversion therapy, which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder

APA
- Numerousstudies have shown that the children of gay parents are as likely to be healthy and well adjusted as children raised in heterosexual
households. Children raised in gay or lesbian households do not show any greater incidence of homosexuality or gender identity issues than other children.

84% of glbt students are harassed
85% of americans under 30 support hate crimes laws
there are 1 million gay and lesbian veterans living in the United States
hate crimes against glbt americans are on the rise
80% of catholics agree with the statement "Marriage is about love and commitment, Regardless of how i personally feel about gay people getting married, i don't think it's my place to judge these people's love for and commitment
to each other"
1 out of every 10 people are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender

Having sexual intercourse—vaginal, anal, or oral—with an infected person.
Sharing needles or syringes with an infected person.
Women infected with HIV can pass the virus to their babies during pregnancy or during birth. They can also pass it on when breast-feeding.
If a woman is infected before or during pregnancy, her child has about one chance in four of being born infected. Taking AZT during pregnancy can reduce this risk.
Some people have been infected by receiving blood transfusions, especially before 1985, when careful screening and laboratory testing of the blood supply began. However, the risk of infection from blood transfusions today is extremely rare.
One cannot become infected with sweat, tears, sneezes, coughs, or urine.

80% of persons have no signs or symptoms
SYMPTOMS: jaundice, fatigue, dark urine, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea
HCVis spread through sharing needles or "works" when"shooting" drugs, through needlesticks or sharps exposures on the job, or from an infected mother to her baby during birth.
Deaths from chronic liver disease: 1%-5% of infected persons may die
There is no vaccine to prevent hepatitis C.
Do not share personal care items that might have blood on them (razors, toothbrushes).
Consider the risks if you are thinking about getting a tattoo or body piercing. You might get infected if the tools have someone else's
blood on them or if the artist or piercer does not follow good health practices.
Combination therapy can get rid of the virus in up to 5 out of 10 persons for genotype 1 and in up to 8 out of 10 persons for genotype 2 and 3.
Drinking alcohol can make your liver disease worse.
Number of new infections per year has declined from an average of 240,000 in the 1980s to about 26,000 in 2004.
Much like HIV and AIDS, it lasts a lifetime, and kills slowly - giving the virus plenty of time to spread.

Hepatitis C is believed to be transmitted only by blood
virtually any source of blood or blood products seems to be capable of carrying the virus, even if the source is indirect - like a used razor, for example. This makes hepatitis C far more transmissible than most other blood borne viruses - including HIV.
Disorders of the thyroid, intestine, eyes, joints, blood, spleen, kidneys and skin may occur in about 20% of patients. Primary liver cancer can also develop from hepatitis C, a late risk factor which seems to be present 30 years or so after infection.
HCV is not spread by sneezing, hugging, coughing, food or water, sharing eating utensils or drinking glasses, or casual contact.
Less than 3% might die from the consequences of long term infection (liver cancer or cirrhosis) Hepatitis C is a leading reason for
liver transplant
treatment for Hepatitis C which includes a longer-acting form of interferon has been found to cure more patients and cause less side effects. This is a 50/50 chance.