Today, I'm proud to share a few recent steps taken by the Obama Administration to advance equality, justice, and dignity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Feel free to share this news with your colleagues and networks, and encourage them to sign up for updates.
Department of Education Releases Anti-Bullying Training Toolkit
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education released a free, two-part training toolkitdesigned to reduce incidents of bullying, for use by classroom teachers and educators. The toolkit is designed to provide classroom teachers with the knowledge and skills to intervene in bullying behavior and to de-escalate threatening behaviors at school. It includes two modules: “Understanding and Intervening in Bullying Behavior” and “Creating a Supportive Classroom Climate.”
The training modules build upon the success of training materials previously released for school bus drivers in June 2011. Since that time, the school bus training materials have been used to train more than 100,000 of the nation’s bus drivers.
Learn more about the new materials and about ongoing federal efforts to prevent bullying, including the recent Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit.
ONAP and CDC Observe National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), men who have sex with men (MSM) represent 2 percent of the U.S. population, yet account for more than half of both new HIV infections each year and Americans living with HIV. Since the beginning of the epidemic, nearly 350,000 gay and bisexual men with AIDS have died, and more than 8,000 still die each year.
September 27th was the fifth annual National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, an opportunity to reflect on the impact of HIV on gay and bisexual men across the country and to recommit to fighting the disease.
In observance of the day, Grant Colfax, Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, authored a blog post describing the progress we have made in recent years to address HIV in LGBT populations, specifically through the National HIV/AIDS Strategy:
In 2010, President Obama released the nation’s first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which called for aligning resources where HIV is most concentrated, and implementing evidence-based, high-impact interventions to reduce new HIV infections, improving HIV-related health outcomes, and reducing HIV-related disparities. The Strategy has focused Federal, State, and local efforts on a combination prevention approach for gay men and other populations at high risk, including increasing HIV testing and HIV treatment, because studies demonstrate that increasing diagnosis rates and reducing viral loads will significantly reduce new HIV infections in disproportionately affected communities.The National HIV/AIDS Strategy also calls for addressing stigma and discrimination as part of a comprehensive response to the HIV epidemic. In keeping with the goals of the Strategy, the Department of Justice has taken steps to enforce civil rights laws that protect the rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS, and has launched a website dedicated to fighting discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.
In addition, the following statement was released by Kevin Fenton, MD, Director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention:
On National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, we honor the remarkable history of gay men’s leadership in the fight against the HIV epidemic. Three decades ago, extraordinary community and public health prevention efforts led to dramatic declines in new HIV infections among men who have sex with men. Yet infection rates are now increasing among young gay and bisexual men, particularly men of color. We must not allow another generation to be devastated by this disease. Together we can, and must, revitalize the passion and dedication that helped turn back the HIV epidemic among gay men during its darkest days.Research and surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remind us that gay and bisexual men remain at the epicenter of the U.S. HIV epidemic. HIV prevention, education and testing for men who have sex with men remain top CDC priorities. As part of CDC’s High Impact Prevention approach to fighting HIV, we are working to ensure resources are directed to the activities that will have the greatest impact in reducing the toll among gay and bisexual men, and other populations at highest risk.One of the most important things every gay and bisexual man can do to stop the spread of HIV is to get tested for the disease at least once a year. If you test negative, you’ll have peace of mind and can redouble your efforts to stay safe. And if you test positive, you can get the medical care and support that you need to keep healthy and protect others from infection. It’s a simple, quick way to reduce the toll of HIV, and can ultimately help us to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS in America.
In Case You Missed It
President Barack Obama views the office of Cesar Chavez before the dedication ceremony for the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Keene, Calif., Oct. 8, 2012. Pictured with the President, from left, are: Arturo S. Rodriguez, President, United Farm Workers; Helen Chavez, Cesar Chavez' widow; Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder of the United Farm Workers; and Paul F. Chavez, Cesar Chavez' Son and President of the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
