Happy, Healthy, and Hot: A Young Person’s Guide to Their Rights: Sexuality and Living with HIV

From the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), this guide for young people living with HIV is designed "to help them understand their sexual rights, and live healthy, fun, happy and sexually fulfilling lives. The guide aims to give information on how young people living with HIV can increase sexual pleasure, take care of their health, practice safer sex, have children, develop strong intimate relationships and access support." It explores how human rights and sexual well-being are related and suggests strategies to help young people make decisions about dating, relationships, sex and parenthood.

The guide points out that some countries have laws that violate the right of young people living with HIV to decide whether, when, and to whom to disclose their status. There are tips for talking with partners about HIV status. The guide emphasises interpersonal communication between partners to negotiate safer sex as a mutual effort, not the total responsibility of the HIV-positive partner. Young people living with HIV can take steps to protect themselves, including finding out via the internet or local support groups about country-specific laws and becoming involved in advocacy. Sexual rights for HIV-positive people and for youth, as stated here, include the right to sexual health information and the right to sexual pleasures.

The "tips for making sex safer" include seeking information from a sexual health clinic and getting oneself and one's partner tested, among others. The guide provides prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) information for those HIV-positive people seeking to plan a family, as well as information on safe contraception and abortion. Those looking for support are encouraged to find it from potential sources of support for young people living with HIV, including friends, family, post test clubs, support workers, and people-living-with-HIV networks. The guide encourages youth to seek youth-friendly health services and ask to see another clinician if they feel that the clinician’s personal opinions on HIV-positive people and youth are intruding on service. It recommends seeking PMTCT clinics for those concerned with pregnancy and HIV.