The Downside of U=U: EXCERPT
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Writer and activist George M. Johnson, author of the up coming YA novel, Not All Boys Are Blue (due out in April), took to twitter recently to protest an Instagram account called “TheUndetectableList.” Johnson says that , “Although that account has since been taken down, it is movements like U=U that create an atmosphere for those who may not be undetectable—based on several factors and barriers—to be placed in dangerous positions.”
It is important that people know that HIV positive people who are undetectable can't transmit the virus.
However, the science should have never been made a movement. Let the science be a catalyst to create change. Not create a hierarchy that shuts people out.
— George M Johnson (@IamGMJohnson) January 27, 2020
Johnson writes in The Body: “Just like U=U, D can equal D, meaning Disclosure can equal Death. Much like the ‘It Gets Better’ campaign around bullying, there was no system in place for those who, just by virtue of getting older, being queer or trans, things didn’t get better for. It was treating a symptom of the problem rather than the root cause. U=U is the ‘optimal’ goal for medical professionals, while social justice activists and advocates understand that the picture of health for us has to be painted with much broader strokes to encompass all people.”
Last year, Tamás Bereczky, with the European Patients Academy (EUPATI), penned an article for The BMJ about what he also perceives as the harm caused by this movement.
“Activists in developed countries have said that advocates in regions lacking access to drugs and testing should use the U=U message to call more strongly for improvements,” he wrote. “But this ignores the political, social, and cultural contexts in which people with HIV live.”
Bereczky also goes on to address the kind of bullying that other activists are experiencing globally if they raise questions about U=U as a framework. “The U=U message has spread readily among communities, but political barriers often make it impossible to be more vocal without advocates risking their liberty and physical integrity. Ideological dogma also acts against people with HIV as well as men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, sex workers, and prisoners—that is, the key affected populations.”
The U=U movement misses the mark on the population it claims to be aiming to prioritize at its center. HIV-positive people cannot be responsible for the burden of the work in ending the epidemic. We are often placed in positions where we carry the responsibility and accountability for the sexual health of others. Our “undetectable” status also shouldn’t be used as a badge of honor to tell people it is “safe to sleep with us” or interact with us without fear of contracting the virus.
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Photo by jurien huggins@jurienh on Unsplash.
