Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand how the decisions of Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) to use HIV prevention services are affected by experiences of intersectional stigma and social support from people in their social networks. When we talk about intersectional stigma in this study, we mean experiences Latino MSM have that are related to racism, homophobia, and people’s beliefs about what men should look like and how they should behave. 

What did we do?

What did we learn?

We learned that the different things that LMSM identify with play an important role in how secure, resilient, and empowered they are.

For LMSM who have a lot of pride in and closely identify with their sexuality and heritage had less internalized stigma and were more resilient that those who didn’t. They also showed less anxiety and depression and were more likely to be doing things to prevent HIV for themselves. In other words, pride protects!

Certain things were associated with anxiety and depression like internalized HIV stigma, and being less connected to Latino/gay/masculine identities. This tells us that destigmatizing HIV and creating space for LMSM to be themselves could help to alleviate depression and anxiety. We also saw that LMSM that experienced those things were also less likely to get HIV tested or take PrEP. So similarly, destigmatization and safe space creation may also help LMSM to be better empowered to protect themselves against HIV.

What does it matter?

According to the CDC, 70% of HIV-positive diagnoses were among gay and bisexual men with the majority of those men being Hispanic/Latino in 2022. Despite HIV being treatable with medication, stigma surrounding the disease still continues to affect how people access treatment and HIV prevention measures. Particularly for Latino MSM, there are unique cultural and social factors that also affect their mental health, identity, and self-empowerment to be proactive against HIV. In order to understand how we can help the LMSM community to have better HIV outcomes, it is important that we study where the barriers are in accessing HIV care.

So what now?

For those in the LMSM community,

Know your identity matters and your physical and mental health are worth protecting.

Take preventative measures against HIV like regular testing, using protection, and taking PrEP if you are sexually active.

Lean on your community! Find sources of encouragement, pride, and support and do the same for those around you.

For allies and community members alike,

Advocate for policy that increases access to healthcare and protects against LGBTQ+ related discrimination.

Spread kindness, acceptance, and awareness. We all have the power to make the world better with our words.