“May 19 is National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and World Hepatitis Day. This blog post is one of a series on the impact of HIV and Hepatitis B in Asian & Pacific Islander communities. As A&PIs, you may not believe that you are at risk for these diseases, but you are. Follow our posts throughout the week for different perspectives and stories from our community.”

1,139,964,932 – That’s the population of India. That’s not counting the Indians outside of the motherland.  And that’s not counting other South Asians such as Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, and Nepalis.

So how does a country get that big???  Sex, unprotected sex…and lots of it!!! So, don’t you dare believe those Bollywood movies that tell us that people wait till marriage just to kiss!

 And with so much unprotected sex going on, HIV is definitely an issue. 

An estimated 2,500,000 people are living with HIV in India, and about half of them aren’t even aware of their HIV status.  Compounded by stigma, taboos around talking about sex, and misinformation about HIV transmission, infections are still rising in many parts of the country.  HIV is a problem, not just for truck drivers and sex workers, but for everyone.

But why should I care about what’s happening over there?  After all, I live in the US. I don’t have to worry about it, right?  Wrong.  HIV infection rates among Asians & Pacific Islander men and women are rising, and that includes South Asians.

 A few years ago, I conducted a focus group about HIV with South Asian students. Most were born in the U.S., and all of them were attending a prestigious university, so it didn’t surprise me that they had a good idea of what HIV was and how it was transmitted. 

But here’s what did surprise me.  They talked a lot about how their peers would party, drink, do drugs, and ‘hook up’. And yet, very few of them (by a show of hands) felt that this was related to risk for HIV or other STDs.  In fact, only 1 of the 16 in the room had ever had an HIV test.  When I asked them if they felt comfortable talking about sex and HIV with their friends, most said that it was a subject that never came up…although they acknowledged that they wished that their parents had talked about it more with them.  

So though we're American Born, most of us aren't that confused. Many of us may take pride in the fact that we straddle two cultures – and that we’ve learned to take the ‘good’ and leave the ‘bad’ from both. But where does this put us in the context of HIV?? Are we communicating with our friends and our partners about HIV and what puts us at risk?  Are we talking to our friends and families about stigma related to HIV? Are we getting tested for HIV?  Are we actively addressing homophobia and stereotypes around sexuality?

We are lucky to have so many visible South Asian leaders here in the U.S.-  in health, business, technology, entertainment, and the arts.  Now it’s your turn to be a leader.  It’s not easy to talk about sex and HIV. But it has to be done if we want our community to be safe.  So talk about HIV – with a friend, a family member, or partner. 

Start the conversation and get tested!

*ABCD - American Born Confused Desi :)