World AIDS Day on December 1st is a day to commemorate all those who have lost their lives to AIDS, to celebrate the lives of people living with HIV, and to reflect on our battle against HIV/AIDS and the progress made within the last decades.

A lot of this progress made was thanks to awareness and education around HIV/AIDS, antiretroviral therapies (ART) that suppress the virus in those who have it, and the discovery of the prophylactics (infection preventors), PrEP and PEP. In many parts of the world, there are systems in place where people can get these medications easily.

The Ribbon Project created the iconic red ribbon to show compassion for those with AIDS and their caregivers. Today, it is the ultimate symbol of AIDS awareness. (Photos from Visual AIDS)

Undetectable = Untransmittable

One major thing to celebrate on world AIDS day is the mantra: Undetectable = Untransmittable, known famously as U=U.

What does that mean? Well, let’s break it down:

Undetectable: People who are HIV-positive and are taking HIV medications (ART) have a viral load in their blood so low that it is not detected during tests. They are, then, undetectable.

Untransmittable: Studies show no risk of HIV transmission from an HIV-positive undetectable person to an HIV-negative person. This means if someone’s status is HIV-positive and undetectable, they cannot transmit the virus during sex anally, orally, or vaginally to another person.

Connection is key

ROMEO is more than a platform for dating or hooking up, it is also for reaching out and connecting with people from your community, wherever you are.

Are you looking to connect with a fellow ROMEO about subjects like HIV, PrEP, or anything in between? There are tons of Groups you can join on www.romeo.com (Groups are not accessible on the app, but on a web browser).

Go to the Groups tab and start searching. Whether you want to reach out in your local area or beyond, you can find your community through Groups (More on this on our Groups info page).

We spoke with ROMEO user slomi who is the admin of HIVpositiveLiebe (translation: HIV positive love), a Group that’s been active for 14 years, with 1.6K members. Here’s his story:

The group was founded in November 2008 by my predecessor. I then took over the group about a year later as the then-admin wanted to withdraw. At that time, we had approximately 500 members.

Since I have been HIV positive since 1996 myself, I thought it was good to create a platform or a "protected" space for positive people and their friends. Even today, it is important to have or create such a space.

One still encounters exclusion or is stigmatized in connection with HIV, and unfortunately this also is within our community. Yes, our group name is HIV positive love [...] because everyone has a right to love, affection, and tenderness.

– Slomi, group admin HIVpositiveLiebe

You can find ROMEO Groups around HIV and PrEP in many parts of the world: PrEPNU in the Netherlands, HIV+ Zagreb and Positivanforum in Croatia, HIVaquattrocchi in Italy, PrEP Info-DE, Leben_mit_HIV, and HIVpositiveLiebe in Germany, HIVclubIndia in India, and HIV-Europe all over Europe. Remember, you can also create your own Group on the website!

Tips from ROMEO

• If you are sexually active, schedule STI screenings regularly (not only for HIV, but other infections as well).
• Ask your local sexual health organizations about PrEP if you have access.
• You can select your preferred Safer Sex practice on your ROMEO profile, read more about it on our Safer Sex info page where we also have more tips for you!

On your profile, you can set your safer sex preference as: PrEP, Condom, PrEP + Condom, TasP (treatment as prevention), Safe, or Let’s Talk.

LGBT starts with L

Many gay men in the U.S. will remember the impact of lesbian women during the AIDS crisis. Lesbians stood by and cared for the gay men around them who were living with HIV. This was during a time of total silence from governments and societies when it came to the epidemic.

At a time when people thought AIDS was a gay disease, lesbian groups actively protested against the government’s lack of action when it came to AIDS research. Check out this amazing collection of interviews with queer women who were on the front lines during the crisis in the U.S..

It’s far from over

HIV-related deaths, although have dropped significantly in the last decade, are still a huge threat to millions.

Though millions of people have accessed antiretroviral therapy in late 2021, 9.7 million people were still left waiting. This means HIV/AIDS treatment access is still a major issue for many people.

97% of global PrEP users are in just around 30 countries, meaning protection against the infection is still not accessible through PrEP to the majority of people. (Source: WHO 2021, HQ UCN/HHS/TPP)

We celebrate the victories and keep fighting for more progress and access to everyone.

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