Skip to main content
< All (RED)itorial Posts

Why LGBTQ+ People Remain At Heightened Risk of Contracting HIV

June 10, 2022
Learn

Updated June 29, 2023

HIV is both preventable and treatable, but stigma and discrimination allow the virus to continue to thrive. Despite significant progress, discrimination based on factors such as gender or sexual orientation continues to limit many people’s access HIV prevention and treatment services.  

The LGBTQ+ community remains at heightened risk of contracting HIV because of this discrimination. Gay men are 28 times more likely to contract HIV than heterosexual men and transgender women are 14 times more likely to contract HIV than other adult women. Despite some global progress around health equity, being gay or transgender is still criminalized in many countries. Even in places where there are not laws outlawing homosexuality, people living with HIV that are LGBTQ+ still face many obstacles to living healthy, free lives. 

“It’s so exhausting being a human being. But when you’re an LGBTQ human being – that’s really exhausting.” – Thulasizwe ButheleziSbongiseni Khumalo, the center’s program manager, agrees. Affectionately known as Sbo, he serves as friend and mentor to the young people coming to the center. He says: “Stigma isn’t just about reactions on the street. Some areas can be risky, some friendly. It’s more a structural issue in society. In religious communities, many are disowned for their sexuality. Civil society is building a bridge up from local structures, to district and ultimately the national scene to help change attitudes.”The center, established by Nonhlanhla ‘MC’ Mkhize, a leading activist voice from Durban’s LGBTQ community, provides testing, counselling and referral services. Last year, the center moved from Durban’s central business district to the residential neighborhood of Morningside. This changed the demographic of its users, which Nonhlanhla says is defined more by class than race: “There are lots of sex workers in this area, and so the girls also come to us for testing and support. Our trans community has also grown.”“As a new democracy, we’re at a point in time when 80 percent of the work we’re doing now is spent fighting human rights barriers, whereas previously, we were just fighting HIV as a disease.” – Nonhlanhla “MC” Mkhize She says: “Our progressive constitution helps us in South Africa, but it’s only 25 years old and most people don’t know their rights.”“What this center provides is not only services and support. We’ve given people the agency to go beyond these walls and change things. Lots of the talented young people that come here have become peer educators and motivational speakers. They’re doing interesting things.”

People like Sbongiseni “Sbo” Khumalo, an employee at the The Mosaic Lesbian and Gay Center in Durban, South Africa, have seen firsthand how stigma can be a barrier to crucial healthcare for many key populations. In his role as program manager, Sbongiseni serves as a friend and mentor to the young people who come to the center.

“Stigma isn’t just about reactions on the street. Some areas can be risky, some friendly. It’s more a structural issue in society. In religious communities, many are disowned for their sexuality. Civil society is building a bridge up from local structures, to district and ultimately the national scene to help change attitudes,” says Sbo.

By providing testing, counseling, and referral services, The Mosaic Lesbian and Gay Center acts as a lifeline for the LGBTQ+ community to access healthcare without feeling discriminated against or marginalized.

While the fight against HIV has advanced, and testing and treatment is more widely available, human rights barriers remain a major impediment to ending AIDS. Sbo and the Mosaic Lesbian and Gay Center are just one example of how the Global Fund invests in community leaders to overcome obstacles that prevent the LGBTQ+ community from accessing health care, including HIV prevention and treatment services. 

This Pride Month, and every month, we are proud to support community leaders like Sbo and programs like The Mosaic Lesbian and Gay Center that are helping to ensure everyone, everywhere can safely and freely access the health care they need—regardless of sexual orientation or gender. Join (RED) and help fight for a more just and inclusive health system for all.