Gina Lamar Evans talks about sex for a living—and why awareness is Chicago’s best defense against HIV
In a city with abundant medical resources, one of the greatest barriers to public health is a lack of information, according to Gina Lamar Evans, a Public Health and HIV Training Specialist who has been working in the field since 1995.
According to Evans, advocacy efforts were previously directed almost exclusively at people already living with HIV. Now, these efforts are expanding to include people who are vulnerable to contracting HIV—an important step in preventative care.
“You can take a pill to prevent you from contracting the [HIV] virus, you can take a pill to keep [HIV] virologically suppressed, you can take a shot twice a year to prevent HIV,” Lamar Evans said. “Science has done great—it’s all of the other social determinants of health and all of the phobias that keep us where we are.”
Chicago needs equitable care and awareness
In Illinois, HIV infection diagnosis rates have declined after peaking in 1991—from 24.5 people per 100,000 to an estimated 9.8 new infections per 100,000 people as of 2022.
At the same time, HIV infection and diagnosis rates within Chicago have not declined equitably: race and ethnicity—as well as socioeconomic factors like access to healthcare and quality sex education—have created disparities that disproportionately impact Chicago’s Black communities.
Among women, the disparities are especially stark: in Chicago, Black heterosexual women have rates of HIV acquisition more than ten times the rate of white women, according to an ongoing University of Illinois College of Nursing study.
For birthing parents, the use of treatment can greatly lower the risk of transmission of illnesses to their infants.
Without the use of antiviral therapy in prenatal care, the transmission rate of HIV can be as high as 25 percent to 30 percent, according to some figures. Testing and treatment can lower the transmission rate to less than two percent. When HIV transmission does occur, infants that are provided very early treatment can go into remission, becoming free from detectable HIV, according to findings from research led in part by scientists from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
The key to taking advantage of groundbreaking medical advances, Evans told The Chicago Reporter, is knowing your status.
“There’s just no reason for babies to be born in this country, in this state, in this city, with HIV—when we have resources to stop it,” Evans said. Stigma, as well as a lack of education and awareness, are at the root of the issue, according to Evans. “We aren’t giving the education, and we’re still giving it the wrong way: we’re still telling people ‘don’t do it.’”
The conversation continues
According to Evans, the conversation about HIV and sexual health doesn’t need to resemble a high school science class.
“Nobody’s ever asking me about the atoms or what the virus looks like, or the genotypes or viral loads—they always want to know about relationships,” Evans said.
By reframing the discussion around sex and sexual health, Evans has attracted public attention to events like Monday Night Mingle—a “relationship chat” meet up that happens every first Monday of the month. Lamar also facilitates Candid Community Conversations, a Zoom conversation centered around men’s mental health that takes place every first Wednesday of each month.
The need for extracurricular conversations remains as strong as ever, Evans says, despite advances in technology and access to the internet.
As Chicago Public Schools (CPS) grapple with budget cuts and teacher layoffs, along with the non-mandatory status of sexual health education (SHE) programming across Illinois public school districts, grassroots initiatives could play an important part in bringing people of all ages and backgrounds up to speed on sexual health issues.
Get involved
Howard Brown Health provides access to sexual and reproductive care, including walk-in testing, HIV care, and gender-affirming treatments at multiple locations across the city.
The Chicago Department of Public Health offers confidential HIV/STI partner services, assisting individuals in notifying their partners about potential exposures.
Follow Monday Night Mingle on Facebook to be notified of future meetups, virtual discussions and opportunities to participate in sexual health discussions in Chicago.