Tackling HIV Stigma at the ASHM Conference

Jack and Joel discuss the ASHM Conference at Albert Park in Melbourne, where the HIV and sexual health sector gathers each year to compare notes on what’s working. This episode digs into why stigma has lagged behind prevention science, from an on-demand PrEP campaign timed to Mardi Gras to new research showing there’s no shared norm any more about discussing HIV status with casual partners. We also examine who gets imagined as “the community” in ending HIV campaigns, and hear about how turning stigma into a measurable indicator may have detached it from the inequalities that actually produce it. Finally, we sit down with the team behind Australia’s first Bi+ Inclusion Framework to talk erasure, double discrimination, and what genuinely inclusive services look like in practice. Chapters 01:03 – Why hasn’t HIV stigma caught up with prevention? 06:13 – What role does party culture play in health messaging? 09:45 – What has PrEP done to condom use and norms? 13:56 – What does health promotion say with no shared norm? 17:30 – What do you do when U=U knowledge isn’t enough? 21:42 – Is community as technology of government too cynical? 26:35 – How does it feel to have your campaigns studied? 30:12 – Do affirming spaces still exist for young queers? 35:47 – What’s working in the sector and how do we scale it? 40:03 – How does bi+ invisibility make services feel unwelcoming? 44:18 – What feedback have delegates given on the framework? All chapter timecodes are approximate. Want more Well Well Well? Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at joy.org.au/wellwellwell. If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through ideas or questions at [email protected] Find out more about LGBTIQ+ services and events in Victoria and South Australia at thorneharbour.org. Produced by: Jack Crnjanin, Joel Parker