Contemporary gender regimes and HIV/STI
Presented by Jeannie Shoveller (School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada) ; discussant : Alain Giami (Inserm)
Abstract: In Canada, the USA, and many European countries, HIV/STI diagnoses are
increasing among younger men (born 1980–1999), as compared with decreasing rates of
new HIV diagnoses among men born pre-1980. Yet, < 5% of today’s young men engage
regularly with the sexual health care system. While theorists have written about gendered
aspects of contemporary socio-cultural contexts (e.g., masculinities), little is known
empirically about the effects of gender regimes on today’s generation of young men and
their HIV/STI testing, treatment and prevention repertoires. Even less is known about
today’s clinicians (e.g., doctors; nurses) and their roles in meeting the needs of young
men related to novel HIV/STI approaches.
In this presentation, initial results are presented from an international, longitudinal
comparative study of young men’s HIV/STI testing patterns in Canada, Brazil and France
(funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research). The findings show how today’s
generation of young men and their HIV/STI clinicians conceive of implementation and
ethical issues associated with HIV/STI testing. The data reveal how novel biotechnical
advances, the proliferation of social media (e.g., online dating), and legal frameworks
(e.g., criminalization of HIV) are affecting young men’s engagement with sexual health
services – and their sexual relationships. These results are relevant in settings that are
scaling up biomedical and biobehavioural HIV/STI interventions, including: HIV
pharmacotherapies (e.g., PrEP; TasP); diagnostic advances (e.g., rapid diagnostic tests for
HIV and syphilis; pooled NAAT for acute HIV infection); and, the expansion of ‘opt-out’
HIV testing policies, online STI/HIV testing, and self tests/mail-order kits.
Jeannie Shoveller
Professor Shoveller’s research focuses on social health inequities experienced by young people, with a particular emphasis on sexual health. Since taking up her initial appointment at UBC in 1999, she has served as Principal Investigator on more than 20 studies and has published 100+ peer-reviewed manuscripts. Prof. Shoveller has supervised the training of 50+ Doctoral and Master’s students as well as Post-Doctoral Fellows. She is a founding member of UBC’s School of Population & Public Health’s Senior Executive Committee and until last year, she led the Social and Life Course Theme. In 2005, Professor Shoveller established UBC’s Youth Sexual Health Team, which includes faculty, staff, and students from universities across North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and South America. She is a member of the Editorial Board for the Canadian Journal of Public Health and for the international journal, Youth & Society.