“ Reunion says NO to serophobia and YES to life! “It is with this strong slogan that the Collective of Reunionese Actors Committed to Sexual Health (CARESS) 974 sets the tone for Sexual Health Week.
This campaign, financed thanks to the ARS of Reunion, which takes place from November 28 to December 3 in the four corners of the island, aims to demystify HIV/AIDS among the population and break all taboos to end to serophobia. On the program for this very active week, awareness and information campaigns, free screenings and talks, among others.
Did you know ? With adequate treatment, a person living with HIV/AIDS can live quite normally and as long as everyone else, have sexual intercourse and even start a family.
Fight against serophobia
With the progress of medicine and treatments, in particular the TasP revolution, for Treatment as Prevention (treatment as prevention), the presence of HIV in the body is so low that it is no longer detectable. The virus is then intransmissible, sexually or in any other way. Thus, the only symptoms that have hard skin remain taboos and prejudices!
“ Serophobia causes most HIV carriers to suffer for nothing, much more than the symptoms of the infection, which practically no longer exist. This can lead to a feeling of shame, guilt, guilt. While HIV infection is an infectious, viral disease, which no longer causes, in rich countries and in the overwhelming majority of cases, symptoms or disease. It is for this reason that we have chosen the theme of the fight against serophobia this year. We wish, in parallel with our campaign of free screenings, to break the taboos around HIV / AIDS to finally put an end to serophobia “, highlights Dr Catherine Gaud, president of CORÉVIH, which is part of CARESS 974.
This collective, launched last May, brings together several Reunionese associations committed to promoting, informing and raising awareness of sexual health, with a positive approach to sexuality. These are ASETIS, ARPS, Family Planning 974, RIVE, CeGIDD Nord-Est, CeGIDD Ouest/CEPS du CHOR, CeGIDD Sud, COREVIH Océan Indien, the OTE Network and OriZon.
Several members of the collective will be stationed across the island to interact with the public, answer questions, carry out free screening tests (see program) and inform about new screening methods. : HIVTest, self-tests . A “Health Bus” will also criss-cross the south of the island with this in mind.