Imagine trying to teach HIV prevention without being able to say “penis,” “condom,” or “semen."

[TheMightyFavog]

http://www.utne.com/Politics/HIV-AIDS-Epidemic-Southern-United-States.aspx

When Juanita Davis, director of HIV prevention and education for the state of Mississippi, visits church or school groups to teach about the virus, she arrives armed with Mounds bars, 5th Avenue bars, and lots of Sugar Babies.

She brings the sweets not to bribe her audiences to pay attention, but rather to help illustrate, with physical analogies, the things she is not allowed to say in the places she visits. Imagine trying to teach HIV prevention without being able to say “penis,” “condom,” or “semen.”

(snip)

Conservative attitudes about sex and sexuality are just one hurdle HIV fighters face in the South. Extreme poverty is another. Kathie Hiers, chief executive officer of AIDS Alabama, says, “ the most people living with HIV/AIDS, the most rural areas, the most people without health insurance, and the highest death rate.”

She cites poverty as a key element in the spread of HIV across the South, pointing out that as the economy tanked across the country, people in the region had less distance to fall before hitting rock bottom.