FACT SHEET
Young Canadians Living with HIV or Viral Hepatitis Co-Infection
BARRIERS • Age-related discrimination exists in the delivery of health and social services. People under the age of 18 are often denied housing and employment benefits, and may be denied confidentiality by service providers. Young people also face barriers in accessing affordable and confidential legal advice. • Low levels of sexual health education contribute to poor health outcomes for many young people living with HIV and Viral Hepatitis Co-infection. • Misinformation and scepticism regarding treatment effectiveness among young people with HIV in Canada is one factor causing avoidance of treatment and related support services. • There is a limited availability of youth-specific services that are affordable and convenient, including a lack of youth-specific opportunities to contribute to policy and program development in the HIV response. • Young people with HIV experience treatment adherence, side effects and mental health-related issues, especially for those without access to stable and secure housing.
• Mental health and wellness impacts willingness and ability to manage treatment and overall health. For young people with traumatic childhood experiences, this may be the number one barrier accessing treatment and health services. • Using drugs in coping with traumatic childhood experience can limit the potential success of treatment, as well as overall health of young people living with HIV. • Discrimination against Indigenous young people by service providers and society at large results in mistrust and skepticism of service providers. Resources intended to keep young people safe and healthy are often avoided due to experiences of racism and discrimination. • Racism against Black, African and Caribbean young people has resulted in many people avoiding services among this population-- particularly for young people who are newcomers to Canada who may be subjected to persecution in the immigration process.
Intersections of Stigma homelessness and unstable housing
involvment in commercial sex
mental health
race and culture
sexual preference
HIV and HIV/Hepatitis C Co-infection
substance use
TOOLS FOR ACTION • Involve young leaders living with HIV in designing services for young people. Develop a youth-specific forums and spaces to engage young people in dialogue about treatment access barriers and programs for addressing them. • Advocate and support greater access to youth-specific networks and social support resources that speak to the social realities of young people living with HIV and Viral Hepatitis co-infection. Implement peer-based mentoring and support services and programs for young people. • Eliminate bias, ignorance and discriminatory practices within healthcare settings, including HIV-related stigma, as well as discrimination based on involvement in commercial sex work, drug use, gender, race, culture and age. Educate and train service providers. • Develop and provide adherence support programs and resources for young people that are reflective of the unique challenges facing this population. This may include support for managing side effects of treatment, and support for complications associated with drug use.
• Provide young people the range of information on treatment options and support them through the decision-making process around treatment regimens and treatment initiation. • Encourage young people to get involved in research and study design. Ensure research on HIV among young people is rooted in GIPA principles. • Provide housing and shelter resources for young people living with HIV. This includes providing safe housing for children and young people escaping violent and abusive situations. Support initiatives promoting greater access to housing in your community. • Provide referrals to legal and social supports for young people living with HIV who experience violence or who are at risk of violence if you cannot provide them through your service centre. Provide additional support to young people in following through with referral appointments. • Offer culturally appropriate programming for young people. Incorporate novel and modern approaches for reaching young people. Arts-based approaches have demonstrated success with some young people living with HIV. • Promote specialized co-infection services for young people living with HIV or Viral Hepatitis co-infection who are incarcerated in federal and provincial prisons. Facilitate and help generate resources for legal support for young people facing criminal charges and/or interaction with the legal system. Support community programming that brings harm reduction resources to people living with HIV in prison.
The Canadian Treatment Action Council is Canada’s national civil society organization led by and for people living with HIV and viral Hepatitis co-infection focusing on access to treatment, care and support. www.ctac.ca • www.facebook.com/CTAC.CCSAT • twitter.com/CTAC_CCSAT 555 Richmond St. W. Suite 612, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3B1 • 1-877-237-2822