In 2005, Jamaica - a country with notoriety for homophobia predominantly channeled through musical lyrics - received global attention for the killing of Lenford
"Steve" Harvey, a gay man and an AIDS activist.

Lenford "Steve" Harvey's murder was blamed on stigma and discrimination against gays, and led to a huge outcry within the AIDS community.

The witch hunt against homosexuals in the country is regarded as a factor contributing to the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

According UNAIDS, the national HIV infection rate in Jamaica is 1,5 percent among an estimated 2,700,000 people, and AIDS is the leading cause of death among 15- to 44-year-olds. Predominant modes of HIV transmission include multiple sex partners, history of sexually transmitted infections, drug use, and unprotected sex among men who have sex with men.

It is estimated that 33 percent of gay men in Kingston, Jamaica's capital city, are HIV positive, but many of them opt to stay underground, away from public health services due to fear of stigma and discrimination.

"The fear drives gay men underground. Instead of stable, monogamous relationships, they have multiple high-risk encounters," said Anthony Hron of the Jamaican Network of Seropositives (JNPlus) in an interview with POZ magazine, an HIV and AIDS publication.

In Jamaica, as in many parts of the world, HIV and AIDS create a specter of fear, hopelessness, and persecution, which in turn, leads to stigma and discrimination. Paradoxically, the categorization of social groups perceived to be at risk of HIV infection fuels discrimination yet creates a false sense of protection. In Jamaica, gay men are heavily vilified in popular musical lyrics.

In many parts of the world, the social stigma towards marginalized groups, such as sex workers, drug users, women, men who have sex with men, and migrants acts as a barrier to HIV testing or accessing health services.

Like gay men in Jamaica, many people are unwilling to get an HIV test due to fear of stigma and discrimination. Statistics show that of the 25,000 HIV infected people in Jamaica, approximately two thirds don't know their status.

According to Brendan Bain, director of the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training Network, heterosexual men in Jamaica are also reluctant to come forward because it may be assumed they are gay.

It is freedom from fear and discrimination that will finally empower individuals and communities to act, to mobilize their resources,

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