Domestic Violence Among Lesbians, HIV Prevention for Those Already Infected Are Among Topics at Latina/o LGBT Conference in Miami

10/7/2002

From: Ronald Hube of LLEGO, 202-408-5380

News Advisory:

-- Domestic Violence Among Lesbians, HIV Prevention for Those Already Infected Are Among Topics at Latina/o LGBT Conference in Miami

-- Health and Family Are Focuses of the Encuentro; Record Attendance Expected

People infected with HIV have often assumed that unprotected sex with other HIV-positive people is safe, but research findings reported in last month's New England Journal of Medicine warn of the danger of "superinfection"-reinfection with a second strain of HIV. Victor Martinez from Bienestar, a Los Angeles health center for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgenders, conducts a workshop called Why Prevention for HIV-Positive Persons? 9-11 a.m. Oct. 11, during the National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Organization's biennial conference in Miami.

Called the Encuentro (the Gathering), the ninth international conference -- to be held at Miami's Radisson Mart Plaza Hotel and Convention Center -- is expected to draw about 1,500 attendees from throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Latin America, more than any other Encuentro.

Health and wellness is a major focus, with the first day's entire morning (9 a.m.-noon Oct. 10) dedicated to well-being issues. The sessions that morning include It Affects Us All! a program on preventive health for Latina lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women; HIV/AIDS Treatment; and Men's Wellness.

Other wellness sessions during the Encuentro include the policy roundtable Global AIDS-Latin America and the U.S. (2-5 p.m. Oct 10) and By Any Means: Sexual Health and Bisexual Identity (8:30-10:30 a.m. Oct. 12).

Families and youth are also common themes of many Encuentro programs. With more than 5,000 reported cases of domestic violence in the U.S. alone last year in the homes of LGBT people and people with HIV/AIDS, according to a report last month from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, the workshop Yes It Happens: Women to Women Sexual Violence (3-5 p.m. Oct. 11) addresses a timely issue (October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month; the U.S. Senate is considering legislation to create a federal Office of Family Violence within the Department of Health and Human Services).

Other family and youth sessions include a policy roundtable on Family Rights/Immigration Rights (2-5 p.m. Oct. 10), a workshop on Innovative and Comprehensive Approaches to the Support of Latina/o LGBT Adolescents (9-11 a.m. Oct. 11), and a workshop entitled Rescuing Human and Social Values of Gay Youth in Underdeveloped Countries (8:30-10:30 a.m. Oct. 12).

This year's LLEGO conference includes more transgender programs than any other Encuentro. Among them are the workshops Transgenders: Needs, Life and Future (3-5 p.m. Oct. 11), From the Streets to the Sheets, a transgender disease-prevention program (8:30-10:30 a.m. Oct. 12), and Breaking Down the Barriers Between TG and Non-TG Latina Lesbians (10 a.m.-noon Oct. 13).

Other topics addressed during the conference include bisexual issues (Building a National Bisexual Movement, 9-11 a.m. Oct. 11; By Any Means: Sexual Health and Bisexual Identity, 8:30-10:30 a.m. Oct. 12), lesbian issues (Discrimination Towards Lesbians: Results of a Survey in Montevideo, Uruguay, 9-11 a.m. Oct. 11), gay men issues (Ways Gay Men Experience Pleasure-How We Find Out, 8:30-10:30 a.m. Oct. 12), migration and immigration (Exile: Political Exile or Migration Due to Sexual Orientation, 3-5 p.m. Oct. 11; How to Prevent HIV/AIDS in Migrant Populations, 10 a.m.-noon Oct. 13), community and political organizing (a Get Out the Vote policy roundtable, 2-5 p.m. Oct. 10; a workshop on Organizing the LGBT Community in Miami, 9-11 a.m. Oct. 11), and media (policy roundtables on Media as an Advocacy Tool and gay radio programming, 2-5 p.m. Oct. 10).

Keynote speakers include gay Massachusetts state Rep. Jarrett T. Barrios and LLEGO Executive Director Martin Ornelas-Quintero, who will each talk about the topic El Futuro es Hoy (The Future is Now, 1-4 p.m. Oct. 12). Barrios appears headed for election as the country's first openly gay Latino state senator next month.

Other keynote speakers include Cuban-born National Organization for Women Vice President Olga Vives and Puerto Rican gay activist Pedro Julio Serrano -- both will talk about Celebrando en Unidad (Celebrating in Unity, 1:30-3 p.m. Oct. 12). On Oct. 11 from 12:30-3 p.m., Alejandra Sarda, program coordinator at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission's Mexico City office, and transgender activist Julia Garcia will discuss Visibility Through Culture.

LLEGO is the nation's only nonprofit organization devoted to organizing Latina/o LGBT communities on a local, regional, national and international level. LLEGO is home to various programs providing infrastructure development to Latino LGBT communities in the United States, Puerto Rico, Honduras, and Guatemala. LLEGO exists to address social, health, and political disparities based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and ethnicity affecting the Latino LGBT community.

Journalists may obtain passes to the Encuentro by contacting LLEGO Communications Manager Ronald Hube in advance or by registering on-site. Credentials are required.