By Frankie Edozien

TORONTO — As delegates to the XVI International AIDS Conference, walked the halls and talked of HIV prevention strategies, conversations invariably led to the recent study in Orange Farm, South Africa that found that circumcision had an astounding 61 percent chance of preventing female-to-male HIV infection.

One of the biggest donors to HIV/AIDS research, Melinda Gates, even touted circumcision during the opening ceremonies fueling the ongoing debate on its efficacy

That adult male circumcision could be a preventative procedure, permeated so many conversations that it was surprising to some that there was only one panel discussion on the issue among the myriads presented during the conference, held Aug. 13-18. Delegates reported that in Botswana, many men were lining up to get circumcised if it meant protection from HIV.

Kawango Agot, a researcher from Kenya, presented findings that concluded circumcision has “shown some protective effects for women and if it’s not helpful for women, it’s not helpful at all.”

She conducted two studies of men who used government facilities and were not in a controlled trial. “Forty-seven percent chose circumcision because of protection against sexually transmitted infections.” Her colleagues on the podium seemed to agree that the power of circumcision as a prevention tool is a forgone conclusion.

While international organizations are waiting for the results of two more studies before officially beginning to praise its benefits, Agot said there are 13 more studies going on in nine African nations. A study by Dr. Robert Bailey of the University of Illinois, Chicago is expected to be completed by 2007. His study in Kisumu, Kenya, began with nearly 5,000 people, but now has 2,784 subjects.

Dr. Douglas Schaffer of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research said his study of residents in rural Kenya, where 77 percent never used condoms, showed that the procedure “offers a degree of prevention for men in the Rift Valley.”

Kyeen Mesesan, graduate student at the Yale School of Medicine, presented findings from a study in Soweto, South Africa, and concluded that if the male circumcision program was continued, 32,000 new infections could be prevented in 20 years.

“Circumcision is already having a tangible effect on the epidemic there,” she said but warned that “if risk behavior continued [among the newly circumcised] the benefit of the program could be diminished.”

Dr. James Kahn, professor, Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, worked on the much-talked about South African random control trial that concluded that 61-percent preventive efficacy in adult male circumcision represents a cost-effective tool in prevention methods.

At a cost of $55 per adult male, the cost-saving in HIV treatment could be $8,000 or more. Four of the five experts who spoke to delegates at the conference were white researchers from the United States. A point not lost on the multicultural delegates. I’m happy to see your face up on the panel,” Nesha Haniff, a Jamaican researcher, said to Agot.

“How can you roll out a plan that tells us to say to black men what to do with their penises from research that’s from a predominately white and western sector. It’s impossible,” she said.

Haniff said later: “It is my great frustration that the lead scientists on almost all these projects are western, white and almost always predominately male. Our culture and perceptions and realities are constantly being left out and structured like a purely logical scientific problem.

Many questions were left unanswered. Details on the science itself on why circumcision is preventive were sketchy. “I want to be able to explain why it works. They haven’t told us that. Just that it works,” Haniff said.

Some social scientists lamented the fact the studies failed to consider the cultural implications of asking black African men to consider circumcision. Others said scientists were confusing the issue by suggesting condom use instead of the surgical procedure.

“We are saying that if the studies conclude that it is beneficial, it has to be incorporated into the whole spectrum of prevention strategies, including condom use, abstinence, faithfulness, other risk reductions, needle exchange and everything else,” Agot said.

The New York Post

By FRANKIE EDOZIEN

In 2004, after living with her companion for 25 years, Bronx resident Carol Cordero decided it was time to tie the knot.

But she received the shock of her life when the city clerk’s office refused to give her a marriage license, saying records showed she was already married.

“I went ballistic,” Cordero, 46, said.

She argued with the clerks and supervisors, demanded to see the marriage certificate, was turned down and ended up hysterical on the Grand Concourse.

“I went to this cop in the street, and I said, ‘Listen, you have to help me.’ ”

It turned out Cordero had been a victim of identity theft. Cordero, a clerical associate with the Department of Transportation, couldn’t afford a lawyer, so she turned to her union, District Council 37, for help.

Jocelyn Smith, a DC 37 lawyer, told The Post that a mountain of evidence was produced to show that her client wasn’t married and that the license issued in Cordero’s name was riddled with falsehoods.

Information on Cordero’s parents - and even her address - was incorrect. She’d lived in the same place for more than two decades.

“The city fought vigorously,” Smith said. “They took what the alleged bride wrote and filed with them as the gospel truth.”

Smith sued the city twice over the matter. City officials asked Cordero to divorce the “husband” she’d never heard of before handing her another license.

Her children, her fiancé, even her 88-year-old grandmother, all had to swear she was single.

In July, after a two-year struggle, Cordero was finally issued a marriage license.

Because of cases like Cordero’s, City Clerk Victor Robles is changing the rules so that when applicants’ names come up as having licenses already, they can appeal the rejection through the city’s administrative-law judges for just $25, no lawsuit needed.

“We have people who are victims [of identity theft] and can’t afford to hire a lawyer. They never return,” Robles told The Post. “No one should be denied marriage because they can’t pay a lawyer.”

Still, when questions do arise about identity, “people still have to prove their identity was stolen before a judge,” Robles said.

A week after she got the license, Cordero married her longtime companion in front of her family and friends.

“I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy,” Cordero said.

“Thank God I wasn’t having a big ceremony with thousands of dollars,” she added, wondering what she would have done without her lawyer. “Without Jocelyn and her A team, who knows what would have happened.”

Smith said she’d heard of other similar cases and added that Cordero “is not alone by any standard.”

At least two other couples with similar situations had challenged the City Clerk in court recently. They couldn’t be reached for comment.

Many in the clerk’s office believe that the stolen identities are used for immigration scams.

“You can tell a career bride from a real bride,” one City Clerk staffer said.

Robles said that setting up the new appeals process has taken 18 months, but it will be in effect by Oct. 19. The City Clerk issues roughly 70,000 licenses annually.

By Frankie Edozien

African-American gays and lesbians aren’t always visible in traditional gay destinations.

In fact, on any given summer day, black gay presence barely registers at gay resorts like Fire Island, Provincetown or Palm Springs.

Times are changing though, with events for African-American gay men and lesbians growing in popularity. The most prominent of these are big Pride events in urban areas boasting a large concentration of black lesbians and gay men.

DC’s on Fire
Sixteen years ago, three Washington, D.C. locals decided to hold a HIV-awareness fundraiser which they billed the “children’s hour” in their hometown. It has grown into a huge event, FIRE 2006 (www.dcblackPride.org) held at City Center Hotel (1143 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.; 202-775-0800; $109-$139). Scheduled for May 26-29, it’s expected to exceed 21,000 attendees.

The first was “a modest event: 800 people came, and from that it grew to the event now where we have thousands of attendees,” said Earl Fowlkes, the former president of DC Black Pride (www.dcblackPride.org).

“It’s really less of a party and more of a community-building exercise,” Fowlkes said, adding that for many, the event is the first step into the larger gay world and a safe space to be. It also pumps over $1 million into city coffers.

As time went by, the event was replicated in many cities, and black Pride events have become a year-round phenomenon.

March on Atlanta
By the time Labor Day rolls around, guys and girls are headed south to Atlanta — already boasting one of the most vibrant black gay scenes in the country — for In the Life (www.inthelifeatl.com), the area’s annual black Gay Pride, celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2006. Stay at the host hotel, Sheraton Colony Square (188 14th St. Northeast; 866-912-1171; $89-$133).

“It’s last gasp before the summer is over, so they drive in, and they fly in,” Fowlkes said.

Meanwhile, on the West Coast
Sandwiched between these two events on the calendar is a huge black Pride event during Fourth of July weekend in Malibu, Calif. Afro Sole 2006 (323-293-4ATB; www.atbla.com), scheduled June 30-July 3, beckons a large crowd of black gay men and lesbians.

In 2000, many of the organizers banded together to form the International Federation of Black Prides (www.ifbPrides.org), with celebrations kicking off in Philadelphia (www.phillyblackPride.org) in April and concluding in New Orleans (www.neworleansblackPride.com) in November.

Miami sizzles
But it’s not just Pride that brings black gays out to big cities. Many people who’ve done Pride now just take their vacation to party with like-minded gay men. Enter Miami’s Sizzle (www.sizzle2006.com) held May 25-29 at the Hyatt Regency Miami (400 S.E. Second St.; 954/455-3394; $119), a circuit party like no other. It’s a five-day extravaganza with parties, luaus, poolside dances and other parties, with everyone grooving to hip-hop, R&B and oldies.

The first event was in 2002, at a time when Miami offered gay blacks a trove of hip-hop music outlets — though all underground. It was time for a change. “Miami was becoming more progressive, and the beach has a lot to offer,” said Sizzle organizer Dwight Powell.

“We started to produce a nice quality event for black gay men,” Powell said, estimating that 15,000 out-of-town revelers attended Sizzle events last year. In between the frolicking are HIV awareness workshops and testing.

The event was so popular that pop singer Beyoncé Knowles was spotted grooving with gay pals at last year’ bash. While Sizzle has been a guy thing, many have come with their girlfriends who ended up asking, “Where are the ladies’ events?”

This year’s Sizzle will have five days of women-only parties as well. More information can be found at www.sizzleher.com.

The winter sizzles, too
Even before the Pride party season begins in earnest, there are two winter events in February specifically for gay black travelers.

Denver Meltdown: Gay Black Ski Week (www.denvermeltdown.com) held at the Grand Hyatt (1750 Welton St., Denver, Colo.; 303-295-1234, code sizz; $119), scheduled Feb 17-20, is expected to bring 1,000 people to the Mile High City for skiing on the slopes and dancing in the city.

For the 12th year in a row, many will return to New York’s Catskills for Winter Explosion 2006 (www.winterexplosion.com) featuring a concert by chanteuse Faith Evans. The event is held at Hudson Valley Resort & Spa (400 Granite Rd., Kerhonkson, N.Y.) Feb. 17-20. The weekend rate begins at $400 and includes bus transportation from major cities.

Being Queer in the African/Black Diaspora

By Frankie Edozien

For more on this topic, visit African & Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario.

TORONTO — In virtually all African and Caribbean communities today, homophobia is so rampant that it remains a challenge — 25 years into the HIV pandemic — to do outreach to gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

But with the ever-rising HIV infection rates, this vast population is slowly coming out of the shadows and is beginning to stand up and demand effective treatment and prevention strategies, activist say.

Activist came together during the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, to demand strategies and urge their compatriots to become public with their gender identification. They participated in a session titled “Being Queer in the African/Black Diaspora.”

They demanded also that heterosexuals join in the fight for equality for their queer brothers.

“You can be met with fines, imprisonment and death. The police can legitimately cut you off on the side of the road, do harm against your body and your spirit and it would be OK,” said Llana James.

James is a Canadian resident who hails from Trinidad and Tobago.

“You cannot fight for rights for one side of you and then leave the other out because we are your children. We made you, we pay for you to show love, pick up our sisters in the middle of the night and we expect the same. When we look at HIV prevention, it is about love. It is about remembering that all black people count,” James said.

Tokes Osubu, who lives in New York City and runs the Gay Men of African Descent, (GMAD) agreed.

“We’re dealing with a human-rights issue. At the end of the day, if we don’t do it we certainly will go to our graves very depressed,” said Osubu, who is 46 and has lived with HIV for 22 years.

“We’re not at home in Canada. We’re not at home in the U.K. We cannot even be at home when we go home,” he said.

During the six-day conference, Osubu made an effort to seek out African delegates and introduce. He also committed to traveling to Africa so he could help in the fight on the ground.

Oludare Odumuye, the head of Alliance Rights Nigeria, the only rights group for sexual minorities in Nigeria, said outreach in Africa’s most populous country for gays is an up-mountain battle.

“We’re not within the national response. There is no funding. There is no recognition of the fact that we do exist. There is criminalization. There is a lot of societal and religious discrimination,” Odumuye said.

We’re here to increase our visibility,” Odumuye added, saying that gays and lesbians abound in Africa. “We want our voices to be heard. AIDS is killing all of us in Africa and we want our voices to be heard.”

Robert Carr, co-founder of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition from Kingston, Jamaica, said it is extremely difficult to do outreach on that island nation, known worldwide for its homophobia.

“It drives people underground at this point. There are very few people willing to embrace a gay identity or a lesbian identity at this point. Its difficult to live openly. Most people end up living in the shadows,” said Carr, who organized and moderated the session. “The more the issue is discussed, the more there is international support for people’s rights.”