Empower: Youth, Arts and Activism - CATIE

Let’s talkby Ciann WilsonAs I did more presentations, I was shockedto learn that many of my peers wereunaware of the impact of HIV/AIDS inCanada. For example, Aboriginal people,who compose 3.8% of Canada’s population,constitute roughly 7.5% of the country’sHIV cases. Aboriginal people also facesevere discrimination and are more likelyto be incarcerated or homeless. Notably,similar patterns between social exclusionand HIV exist for marginalized groups inother countries. 4 I wanted to illustrate theseriousness of this problem.Hi, my name is CiannWilson and I am anundergraduate student atthe University of Toronto.I stared at the students in front of me. I hadlost track of the number of presentations I hadgiven, any nervousness was now just a figmentof my imagination. I stood in front of otheryouth once again. We were strangers to eachother and yet connected by our vulnerabilityto HIV & AIDS.“Now, if you are 13 to 24 years old, raise yourhands.” I raised my own hand in sequencewith every person in the small, cluttered classroom. “Ladies and gentlemen, we a.k.a. ‘youth’are amongst the highest risk groups for HIV/AIDS in the world. In fact, there are over 10million youth living with HIV/AIDS worldwideand roughly 6,000 youth are infectedper day.” 1 There was disquiet among the classas students gasped, whispered and lookedat each other in shock of what I had just toldthem. The first and most difficult stage of mypresentation was accomplished: I had thestudents’ attention and hopefully their trust.Roughly 40 million people have been diagnosedwith HIV/AIDS world-wide. In Canada, thereare 60,000 people living with HIV; 32,037reside in Ontario and 16,458 live in Toronto. 2Approximately one quarter of people livingwith HIV in Canada are unaware that theyhave HIV.Today I will be doing a presentationon sexual health and HIV/AIDS.Over 50% of grade nine students in Canadaincorrectly think there is a cure for HIV/AIDS. 3Clearly, there is a disjunction between thefacts about HIV/AIDS and what young peopleknow.At the age of 22, learning about the impactof this disease on young people like mechanged my life narrative, its direction andmy view of the world. It began a year ago,when I had the fortune of taking a universitycourse on HIV/AIDS taught by an inspirationalinstructor who instilled in me his passion forHIV activism. When I learned that under- andmis-information were parts of the reason thisdisease affects youth, I took it upon myself toprovide my peers with the information I wasprivileged to receive as a university student.I worked for The City of Toronto’s Parks,Forestry and Recreation Department andvolunteered in high school classrooms for theToronto District School Board, so accessingyouth was easy. I began my advocacy byputting together a power point presentation andorganizing games and activities that made theinformation I sought to disseminate moreengaging for my audience.“Alright folks, this is Jane,” I said as I drew astick figure woman on the white board. “Janeis homeless. What sort of problems is shefaced with?” A young man in the back of theclassroom who had remained silent for muchof the presentation replied: “food, clothing,shelter… the basics.” I asked the young manwhere safe sex would be on his list. The boy’seyes opened in amazement as he digested theinformation. “She wouldn’t be concerned withthings like that... there are more importantthings to think about, like getting a job” hesaid. “Correct, now what if I told you thatJane was a part of the working poor orthat she was black, Aboriginal, or Hispanic?What additional challenges do these factorspresent for her? What if I told you that theseoverbearing concerns drove Jane to engage inunprotected sex, from which she contractedQueer Asian Youth ZineSummer 200510