HIV/AIDS: WHAT YOUR GOVERNMENT CAN DO - SUSTAINING HIV PREVENTION

From the online web series Being Brendo to the mainstream presence of Drama Downunder raising awareness about
sexual health and STI testing to the sexually explicit but highly-effective Protection condom reinforcement campaign - health promotion
campaigns have played a vital role in Victoria’s ongoing response to HIV/AIDS. With bipartisan support, these campaigns have continued
to respond to the changing landscape of sexual health and HIV prevention in the LGBTI community. In keeping with this legacy, VAC and
Living Positive Victoria have included actions for all political parties to take into consideration as we approach the Victorian State Election.
• Maintain and develop co-ordinated HIV prevention programs for gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM) and increase the
capacity for HIV prevention campaigns targeted at marginalised and low socio-economic individuals and communities - including
funding campaigns that target hard to reach men through social media and apps
• Recognise Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) as a highly effective HIV risk reduction strategy being employed by gay men and MSM in
Victoria to avoid HIV and encourage its approval with the TGA
• Support the introduction of PrEP in Victoria by addressing financial barriers to access and funding consumer support programs
• Increase funding for peer based and community led outreach education initiatives like VAC’s Sexually Adventurous Men (SAM)
Project and Living Positive Victoria’s Positive Speakers Bureau
“We know PrEP is highly effective in the prevention of HIV acquisition. While PrEP has been made widely available in the US, we see the
demand rapidly increasing here in Australia. The next Victorian government should embrace this turning point in HIV prevention and
ensure PrEP is accessible and affordable,” said VAC CEO Simon Ruth.
VAC Director, Health Promotion, Policy and Communications Colin Batrouney went on to say, “We are at a point in the epidemic where
there have never been so many tools to prevent HIV. From rapid testing and early treatment to post exposure prophylaxis, pre-exposure
prophylaxis, undetectable viral load and of course condoms, the elements that comprise effective combination prevention are potentially
very powerful. We need to maintain our health promotion efforts, and this means ensuring that the community is offered every possible
option to end HIV.”
“HIV prevention has undergone recent significant shifts, with the second European PrEP study being closed early due to high effectiveness.
These medical interventions show us that everyone can take responsibility for ending HIV in our community. The increasing role of HIV
positive people is highlighted again and again by the growing evidence about early treatment and maintaining a low viral load to help
reduce onward transmission of HIV. This means that we have more work to do than ever before in making individuals aware of their role in
ending HIV,” says Suzy Malhotra, Health Promotion Manager and acting Executive Officer, Living Positive Victoria. “We call on Government
to continue to support efforts to get the message out to the broadest possible community to uphold Victoria’s world class response to
HIV and AIDS.”
This issue as well as the other issues outlined in the joint election document HIV/AIDS: What Your Government Can Do will be
discussed by members of the Government, the Opposition, the Greens Party and the Sex Party at VAC & Living Positive Victoria’s
upcoming Any Questions? Election Community Forum at 6:30PM on 12 November 2014 at VAC’s Positive Living Centre (51
Commercial Road, South Yarra). Moderated by former VAC Executive Director Mike Kennedy, this event will allow the community
to hear from each party as well as participate in a question and answer session. More information on this event can be found at:
www.vac.org.au/election-community-forum