Reducing HIV Vulnerabilities and Promoting Resilience among Heterosexual African, Caribbean, Black (ACB) Men in Ontario.
In this program of research, we engaged and mobilize self-identified heterosexual ACB men who are: aged 16 and over; residing in Toronto, London, Ottawa, and Windsor; and HIV-positive or HIV-negative (i.e., never diagnosed with HIV). Issues pertaining to heterosexual men and HIV were identified as a research priority by participants in an ACB research think tank.15 This priority status acknowledged an obvious gap in knowledge and understanding of issues related to ACB men’s health.
The objectives of our program of research, community engagement, capacity building and KTE in Ontario, which closely align with CIHR objectives, were to:
(1) mobilize self-identified heterosexual ACB men to address sociocultural and sociopolitical conditions that contribute to HIV related health disparities;
(2) examine social and behavioural vulnerabilities to HIV among self-identified heterosexual ACB men, including their social identities related to race, class, gender and sexualities;
(3) identify the individual and structural factors that promote resilience and reduce HIV-related risk and vulnerability among self-identified heterosexual ACB men;
(4) build individual, community, and organizational capacity and leadership to address HIV/AIDS disparities among self-identified heterosexual ACB men and ACB communities (including students, postdoctoral fellows, and engaged members within ACB communities) through research, programming, and policy; and
(5) generate, appraise and share new knowledge, and support its translation into intervention, practice, and policy locally (in Ottawa, Toronto, London and Windsor), provincially and nationally.
weSpeak Program
Publications
Journal Articles
- Correlates of Casual Sex Amidst Vulnerability to HIV Among ACB Heterosexual Men in Ottawa and Windsor, Ontario Canada
- HIV Exposure through Heterosexual Contacts: Analysis of Demographic, Behavioral and Structural Risk Factors among Black Men in Ottawa and Windsor, Ontario
- The Influence of Mass Media and Pop-culture on Young Heterosexual African, Caribbean, and Black Canadian (ACB) Men in Windsor, Ontario. European Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(4), 59-64.
- Love, Judgement and HIV: Congregants’ Perspectives on an Intervention for Black Churches to Promote Critical Awareness of HIV Affecting Black Canadians
- Black PRAISE: engaging Black congregations to strengthen critical awareness of HIV affecting Black Canadian communities.
- An Intersectional Approach to HIV Vulnerabilities and Testing Among Heterosexual African Caribbean and Black Men in London, Ontario: Results From the weSpeak Study.
- Sexuality and Sexual agency among Heterosexual Black men in Toronto: tradition, contradiction, and emergent possibilities in the context of HIV and Health.
- Sexual Debut Among Heterosexual Men of African and Caribbean Descent: Are the Youth Initiating Sex Earlier than the Older Generation?
- Access to healthcare services among heterosexual Black men in Ontario, Canada.
- What does a decolonizing/decentralizing methodology in examining sexual lives entail?
Conference Presentations
- HIV vulnerability and resilience among heterosexual African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) men in Windsor, Ontario: a perspective of service providers.
- The dangers of mass media and pop culture in relation to HIV vulnerability: a case study of young African, Caribbean and Black Canadian (ACB) men in Windsor, Ontario
- Attitudinal Factors Associated with Condom Use Among Heterosexual African Caribbean Black (ACB) Men in Ontario
Fact Sheets
- Anti-Black Racism and Dominant Masculine Expectations: Impacts on Heterosexual Black Men’s HIV Vulnerabilities.
- Black Masculinities: Resistance and Resilience
- Addressing Structural Violence in HIV Prevention: Multi-Level Approaches are Needed.
- Toward a Housing and HIV Strategy for South West Ontario.
- How Criminalization is Affecting People Living with HIV in Ontario.
ICOVAC project
BMKSN project
Other resources
Videoclips
Understanding racism
Where to get help on racism issues
If you are experiencing racism at work, store, healthcare Centre, etc; the following links will provide you useful information on building resilience against racism.
Benefits
- Government of Canada
- Canada Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB)
- Click here to register or log in to: Ontario Benefits
Taxes
Managing crime and violence
Information on Crime or conflict management such as neighborhood conflict, marital conflict, violence and other criminal activities.
Windsor Police
Social services
weSpeak Program
Reducing HIV Vulnerabilities and Promoting Resilience among Heterosexual African, Caribbean, Black (ACB) Men in Ontario.
In this program of research, we engaged and mobilize self-identified heterosexual ACB men who are: aged 16 and over; residing in Toronto, London, Ottawa, and Windsor; and HIV-positive or HIV-negative (i.e., never diagnosed with HIV). Issues pertaining to heterosexual men and HIV were identified as a research priority by participants in an ACB research think tank.15 This priority status acknowledged an obvious gap in knowledge and understanding of issues related to ACB men’s health.
The objectives of our program of research, community engagement, capacity building and KTE in Ontario, which closely align with CIHR objectives, were to:
(1) mobilize self-identified heterosexual ACB men to address sociocultural and sociopolitical conditions that contribute to HIV related health disparities;
(2) examine social and behavioural vulnerabilities to HIV among self-identified heterosexual ACB men, including their social identities related to race, class, gender and sexualities;
(3) identify the individual and structural factors that promote resilience and reduce HIV-related risk and vulnerability among self-identified heterosexual ACB men;
(4) build individual, community, and organizational capacity and leadership to address HIV/AIDS disparities among self-identified heterosexual ACB men and ACB communities (including students, postdoctoral fellows, and engaged members within ACB communities) through research, programming, and policy; and
(5) generate, appraise and share new knowledge, and support its translation into intervention, practice, and policy locally (in Ottawa, Toronto, London and Windsor), provincially and nationally.