An online video, produced by GMFA, the gay men’s health charity, is encouraging gay men to think about the assumptions that they make about their sexual partner’s HIV status.

Riffing on a theme that has taken off online over the past couple of months, GMFA produced ‘Sh*t gay guys say about HIV’. Actors in the video articulate some of the contradictory, or plain bizarre, things that some gay men say about HIV.

Matthew Hodson of GMFA, says: “We’ve all heard people come out with statements about HIV that are inaccurate, misinformed or dangerously naïve. GMFA’s website provides frank information about HIV, how it is transmitted and how gay men can protect themselves and their sexual partners. We hope that this video will encourage gay men to think about their own attitudes and behaviour and motivate them to find out more about HIV.”

Terrence Higgins Trust relaunches Hardship Fund for people with HIV in greatest need.

HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust has relaunched a national Hardship Fund for people living with HIV in severe financial need. Funding has been secured from the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the M·A·C AIDS Fund, as well as via Terrence Higgins Trust’s annual Walk For Life fundraising event, to provide £1.5million of grants over a period of three years.

Through the Hardship Fund, Terrence Higgins Trust aims to make it as easy as possible for people with HIV to apply for financial support, should they need it. Applications can now be made through one of over fifty referral gateways across the UK, selected to represent a wide geographical spread and cover areas which have, historically, shown the greatest need. A full list of referral gateways can be found at www.myhiv.org.uk/News/Latest-news/The-Hardship-Fund.

The Awesome Women of Twitter, better known as ‘AWOT’, has announced the launch of its new community blog, Team AWOT.

In its first fortnight it has published a number of notable stories, including two anonymous posts about rape (following the Unilad debacle), a story about street harassment and an account of one woman’s experiences as a stripper. The blogs have drawn a keen audience already and the site has attracted over 2,000 unique visitors since its launch on 2^nd February.

“The blog is an extended part of the group conversation,” explains Ashley Fryer, who founded the network. “AWOT started because there’s this extraordinary community of women on Twitter, who’ve really become part of each other’s lives. In a way, the awesome women of Twitter have always existed – we’ve just put a name on it and moved it into the real world.