National AIDS Conference Focuses on Youth

by Andrea DuBrow

At the Ninth National AIDS Update Conference in San Francisco, an unprecedented eighteen workshops were devoted to adolescents and young adults. This was the second year that the conference, held annually in March, included a "youth track" with workshops and plenary sessions held by and for youth; site visits to organizations in San Francisco which serve youth infected with and affected by HIV; and lunchtime discussions focusing on youth. In addition, at a plenary session, a twenty-four year old woman addressed the entire audience of thousands and told her story of becoming infected with HIV. As part of the talk, she asked all of the women at the conference to stand. She then asked women to sit down if their health care providers had engaged them in a serious conversation to assess their risk of contracting HIV. Most women remained standing. Even among a room full of health care providers and AIDS activists, she indicated, women still are not getting the message that they are at risk for contracting HIV. For young women, who are often targeted with pregnancy prevention messages but not HIV risk reduction information, this is crucial.

The majority of the conference focused on the most recent developments in combination therapies of retroviral drugs to treat HIV disease and their effects on people living with HIV. However, the youth track had a different focus. Young people gathered to share their stories of living with the specter of AIDS, whether they are HIV-positive or negative. The disease has taken a toll on this generation, and the young people are bravely fighting a war against HIV, despair, grief, and terror and working valiantly to hold onto their hopes for an end to this epidemic.

At a session entitled "Girl Talk," four young women spoke of their experiences with HIV. Three of the women had been diagnosed with HIV in their early twenties. Each story echoed the previous one—tales of young women struggling with their self-esteem, feeling lost and alone, confusing sex with love, and not having the initiative or the knowledge t protect themselves from unsafe sex. Even more poignant than these women's stories was the discussion that followed. One after another, young women spoke about their own doubts about their self-worth and the jealousy and competition that they feel towards other young women. The women began to explore what it would take to fight against internalized sexism which has led them to believe that they are not powerful, strong, beautiful, and deserving of love. For young adult and adolescent women who often put a tremendous effort into looking "cool" and "together," this was a major breakthrough! It is directly connected to HIV prevention because these women must actively care about themselves, and each other, in order to stop taking risks that could lead to getting HIV.

Several of the sessions at the youth track had an angry tone because young people are becoming fed up with the damaging effects HIV has had on their lives. Yet, they are turning that anger into activism and advocacy. For example, a 27 year-old gay Latino man is an advisor to President Clinton on HIV/AIDS and Youth and recently co-authored a report entitled "Youth, HIV, and AIDS: An American Agenda." Meanwhile, a 27 year-old woman living with HIV is the Executive Director of a San Francisco-based agency that provides pyscho-social support services to HIV-positive youth under age 26. A nineteen year old lesbian Latina is actively involved with the National Latino/a Lesbian & Gay Organization and helped organize a youth conference for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth to come together for support and learn to advocate for themselves. These activists directly contradict the notion of "Generation X"—young adults who do nothing but slack off, watch MTV, and have no goals or aspirations. These people and countless others like them, are representative of the youth and young adults of the 1990's.

One workshop focused on incarcerated and gang-affiliated youth, while another explored innovative approaches to HIV prevention in schools. Youth presenting and attending these workshops insisted that prevention messages 'which simply tell young people not to have sex or to use condoms do not work. Instead, youth need adults to act as their allies by asking them what they need for support and by helping them find resources such as mentors and job opportunities. One young woman encouraged adults to look beyond the tough exterior that many youth put forth and look for the special, precious individual that is inside each young person. Adults may have to persevere with young people and can not expect the youth to willingly show their soft sides to an adult. But the results are well worth it. Supporting, understanding, and developing a close relationship with young people benefits both the adult and the young person.

Finally, in the second decade of the AIDS epidemic, the needs of adolescents and young adults are being considered and youth are claiming their voices and their well-deserved place at the table.

Andrea DuBrow, 25, is a Network board member and has worked with high risk youth and HIV prevention.