Schools have a very important part to play in supporting HIV prevention for young gay men. This does not mean that schools are a good place to do prevention work which is just aimed at young gay men, because they are not generally places where they feel safe and secure about being identified. But in whatever HIV prevention schools do through their health education provision there should be acknowledgement that in almost every group of young people there will be at least one young gay person and therefore the HIV prevention should acknowledge their needs and experiences. Moreover, all young people, whether they are gay or heterosexual, need to know about and to understand the experiences and particular risks that young gay men may be at. This can help reduce stigma and prejudices which still exist about gay men and HIV and means that heterosexual young people do not grow up thinking that the disease only affects them.
Raising the issue of homosexuality can be difficult because it is politically sensitive. One good reason to make sure homosexuality is covered is because in every school there will be young men who either know that they are gay or might have a sexual relationship with another man at some point in their lives. If they do not receive information about condom use, sources of advice and support and so on, which is relevant to them it can place them at additional risk of becoming infected with HIV. Other good reasons are:
All young people have a right to accurate information about sex and sexuality
The primary purpose of sex education is to enable young people to have control over and get satisfaction from their sexual lives and relationships. In order to do this they need information which is relevant to them, regardless of their sexual orientation. If sex education does not include coverage of relationships and sexuality other than those between men and women it not only excludes young gay men, lesbians and bisexual people, but also does not prepare young people to live with, tolerate and understand people who are sexually different from themselves. It is practically impossible to discuss issues like gender, sexual identity, HIV and AIDS and sexual feelings and relationships properly without dealing with sexual differences and orientation.
Young people are already talking about homosexuality
Even when formal teaching and learning in a school does not cover issues to do with knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about gay men, lesbians and bisexual people, this does not mean that young people do not talk about it. In fact, young people talk about sexual difference a lot, but are often not well informed. Bringing some discussion into the formal context of sex education and other relevant subjects like lessons on literature and history provides teachers with an opportunity to correct misinformation and explore the basis and effects of prejudice and discrimination
Reducing sexual risks
Providing young gay men with information about safer sex which is relevant to them can help enable them to reduce the risks they might run of becoming infected with HIV. Young heterosexual people may also believe that HIV is something which only affects gay men and therefore be taking additional sexual risks. Providing accurate information about risky activities rather than groups which are at risk of HIV can help redress this.
Reducing stigma and bullying
Young people can be very prejudiced about homosexuality and particularly towards gay men. It is very common for homophobic comments to play a part in bullying. Many young gay men have terrible experiences of school as a result. Schools need both to have policies about behaviour which make it clear that this is unacceptable and to address the misconceptions on which prejudices are generally based through positive teaching.
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