Anglican Mainstream

By Hilary White for LifeSite News

LONDON, April 9, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), an organisation in the UK founded ostensibly to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, has set up a website giving graphic information and instruction to homosexual men interested in "extreme" sexual practices. The site, called "Hard Cell", includes photos of male models involved in the various practices described, including "barebacking" - anal sex without condoms; "body mods" like branding, cutting and scarification; bondage and "breath control" or controlled strangulation.

The Terrence Higgins Trust is a registered British charity founded to provide information to stem the spread of AIDS, and "promote good sexual health" and is considered the UK’s leading HIV and AIDS charity, and the largest such charity in Europe.

The site’s graphics, with photos of men in strongly suggestive scenes, is designed to resemble popular homosexual pornographic websites. It gives information on how to conduct "hard sex" "safely" with a view to the various ways such practices can spread sexually transmitted diseases.

The section titled "Safer Drug Taking" also describes various techniques for using illegal drugs like methamphetamine ("crystal meth"), ecstasy, cocaine and heroin, giving advice on how to use the drugs with less risk of spreading disease. One section advises, "Syringes shouldn’t be shared - but if you do, cleaning them between each user means less risk."

The group defended the site saying that research is showing that homosexual men have questions about specific sex-related acts, but do not know where to get reliable information. Will Nutland, Strategic Lead for Health Promotion and Health Improvement at THT, told media, "The website provides up-front information right through from bondage and branding to watersports."

Recent figures show that the rates of HIV infection among active homosexual men in the UK are rising. The Health Protection Agency released its figures on March 28 showing that an estimated 6,840 new HIV diagnoses were reported in 2007 in the United Kingdom.

Over the past 12 months there has been no evidence of a fall in the current high rate of HIV transmission among gay men within the UK. 38 per cent of new diagnoses in 2007 were in this group.

Read the rest of the article HERE.

See also Pink News

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