{"id":4583,"date":"2024-02-06T14:57:04","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T20:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asociacionpasmo.org\/?p=4583"},"modified":"2024-02-06T14:58:24","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T20:58:24","slug":"lugar-seguro-para-hablar-de-vih","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/asociacionpasmo.org\/en\/2024\/02\/06\/lugar-seguro-para-hablar-de-vih\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI found a safe place to talk about HIV\u201d: C\u00e9sar\u2019s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cesar Fernando is a 30-year-old man living in Quetzaltenango, the second largest city in Guatemala. Cesar identifies as a gay man who takes care of his sexual health. However, it was difficult for him to find healthcare options due to his sexual orientation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy mother is a nurse, so I had heard about HIV, but I was so afraid to take a test because there is so much stig<\/em>ma around HIV and the gay community in Guatemala\u201d,<\/em>Cesar says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the difficulties he experienced, Cesar says that when we wanted to take control of his sexual life and prevent HIV through testing, the treatment he received wasn\u2019t the best. <\/span>\u201cPeople don\u2019t hide their judgements and there is not enough confidentiality around the process.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Cesar set his bad experiences aside and kept looking for a safe place to take control of his own health. In 2022 he virtually met a \u201cCyber-educador\u201d from Asociaci\u00f3n PASMO who offered him HIV prevention services through allied private laboratories<\/a>. Cyber- educadores is a strategy created by pasmo in 2011, allows for personalized, discreet, and online assistance from since the first contact, enabling users get advisory by peers specialized in sexual health without fear of discrimination of any kind.<\/p>\n

With the virtual voucher generated by the cyber-educador, Cesar went to a laboratory that was part of Asociaci\u00f3n PASMO network and got tested for HIV. \u201cThe laboratory was really great. The staff was respectful, friendly, and reassuring. I knew that if my test was positive, they would also take care of me afterwards.\u201d<\/em>. C\u00e9sar described feeling empowered now that he had found a safe place to talk about HIV.<\/p>\n

Cesar believes that everyone should have the chance to take care of their health and now he\u2019s proud of talking about his experience.\u201cEach of us is responsible for taking charge of our health\u201d says C\u00e9sar with a smile. <\/em>dice C\u00e9sar con una sonrisa.<\/p>\n

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If you want the same experience Cesar had with sexual health and HIV prevention advisory, you can follow these steps:<\/p>\n