Author and screenwriter Benjamin Law is working with ACON to host a FREE community forum for Asian gay men to discuss key issues like sex, HIV, relationships and PrEP.
ACON, NSW’s leading HIV and LGBTI* health organisation, says all Asian gay men, their friends and partners are welcome to attend this important community forum which will be held on Wednesday 10 February at the Columbian Hotel from 6pm.
PrEP (which stands for pre exposure prophylaxis) is a daily pill that HIV negative people can take to prevent HIV infection. It’s the latest weapon in the fight against HIV. PrEP is helping revolutionise HIV prevention in NSW.
PrEP is yet to be approved for use in Australia, although some gay men here are already importing it from overseas. The NSW Ministry for Health recently announced a PrEP access scheme called EPIC-NSW (Expanded PrEP in Communities – NSW). This will see 3,700 people at high risk of acquiring HIV enrolled in a government subsidised PrEP program. It’s expected to start in March this year.
Benjamin Law is a Sydney-based TV screenwriter, journalist and newspaper columnist, who has a PhD in creative writing and cultural studies. His TV series The Family Law is currently screening on SBS.
ACON’s Director, HIV and Sexual Health Karen Price says the forum will provide Asian gay men with essential information about PrEP: “Lots of gay men, including Asian gay men, are eager for information about PrEP. This forum will provide a valuable space for Asian gay men to discuss the impact of PrEP on their sexual lives and relationships.”
Event MC Benjamin Law says the LGBTI* community has always been diverse: “Perhaps it’s obvious to point out, but there’s even more diversity when you scratch the surface of the individual letters in the acronym. Asian gay men are obviously close to my heart – my heart beats inside one, after all – so I’m stoked and proud to be able to exploring an important issue like PrEP use in a forum like this.”
Light refreshments will be served after the forum.
When: Wednesday 10 February, 6pm – 9pm
Where: Level 2, Columbian, 117-125 Oxford St. Darlinghurst
RSVP: Before 8/2/16 | 02 9206 2080 | asia@acon.org.au
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Media Contact: Michael Badorrek, Marketing, Communications and Fundraising Manager
P: (02) 9206 2001 M: 0431 594 007 E: mbadorrek@acon.org.au