Beyond Representation: Why Black History Month Matters in Sexual Health and HIV Prevention

What does meaningful inclusion look like in sexual health and HIV prevention? In this blog, Rutendo Chitiga, Education and Wellbeing Coordinator, explores the importance of representation, community partnerships and culturally relevant engagement, and reflects on the lessons learned from Brook’s recent HIV prevention outreach work.

As a woman of colour working in the public health sector, Black History Month holds personal significance for me. It is a time to celebrate our histories, recognise our contributions and reflect on the experiences that have shaped us. It is also an opportunity to consider what representation, inclusion and meaningful change look like in our everyday working lives. 

Like many people from underrepresented backgrounds working within largely white professional environments, I have become increasingly aware of the importance of whose voices are heard, whose experiences are understood and who is involved in shaping decisions. 

Working in public health, particularly in sexual health and HIV prevention, has reinforced my belief that health inequalities cannot be understood in isolation from the social, cultural and historical contexts in which people live. Our backgrounds, experiences and relationships with institutions can influence how we access healthcare, how comfortable we feel seeking support and whether we believe services are designed with us in mind. 

For me, Black History Month is about more than looking back. It is about recognising the work still needed to ensure everyone can access sexual health services with dignity, confidence and without fear of judgement. 

Why Representation Matters 

I recognise that my perspective is my own, and no individual can speak for everyone who shares their ethnicity or background. However, lived experience can offer valuable insight, raise important questions and help identify issues that might otherwise go unnoticed. 

In public health, this matters. Addressing health inequalities effectively requires diverse perspectives within our teams, meaningful involvement from the communities we serve and a willingness to listen when people tell us that existing approaches are not meeting their needs. 

Representation is important, but it cannot be the end goal. People from minoritised backgrounds should not carry the responsibility of educating organisations or addressing structural inequalities alone. Inclusion must be reflected in organisational culture, decision-making, resource allocation and the way we work together. 

Taking HIV Prevention Beyond Traditional Settings 

One of the things I value most about working in sexual health is the opportunity to explore different ways of connecting people with information and support. 

HIV prevention is not simply about sharing information or encouraging healthier choices. It is about creating opportunities for conversation, challenging stigma and making services easier to access. 

UK Health Security Agency data continues to highlight inequalities in HIV diagnosis. In England, late diagnosis remains a significant concern, particularly among some Black African heterosexual populations.

These disparities should encourage us to examine barriers to testing and care rather than make assumptions about individuals or communities. 

Brook’s Gilead-funded HIV prevention project, which concluded in September, provided an opportunity to take this work into community settings and explore new ways of engaging Black, Asian and other minoritised ethnic communities. 

Through outreach activity, our WhatsApp channel and attendance at community events such as the Botswana Independence Day and Nigerian Independence Day celebrations, we created additional opportunities to share sexual health information and raise awareness of HIV prevention outside traditional healthcare settings. 

These approaches matter because people engage with services in different ways. Some may have concerns about stigma, confidentiality or discrimination. Others may simply be unaware of the support available to them.

Meeting people where they are and providing accessible information can open conversations that might not otherwise take place. 

The WhatsApp channel offered a familiar and accessible way to share information, while community events created opportunities for face-to-face engagement, relationship building and signposting. Together, these approaches enabled us to take HIV prevention messages into trusted community spaces and reach people who may be less likely to engage with traditional services. 

Importantly, attending cultural celebrations highlighted the value of working alongside communities rather than expecting communities to come to us. Public health is often most effective when it is visible, accessible and rooted in trusted relationships. 

Beyond Black History Month 

Black History Month provides an important opportunity to celebrate Black achievement, reflect on inequalities and recognise contributions that have too often gone unacknowledged. 

However, the values it represents should not be confined to a single month. Because celebrating Black history is not only about recognising the contributions of the past. It is also about ensuring that diverse voices, experiences and communities help shape the future of public health. 

For organisations working in public health, this means continuing to build inclusive workplaces, listen to diverse voices, strengthen community partnerships and regularly evaluate whether services are reaching everyone who needs them. 

It also means recognising that meaningful inclusion requires more than good intentions. It requires action, reflection and a willingness to change. 

As a woman of colour working in this sector, I see Black History Month as both a celebration and an invitation: to recognise how far we have come, acknowledge the work that remains and consider what each of us can contribute to creating a fairer future. 

The Gilead-funded project demonstrated how community outreach, partnership working and culturally relevant engagement can support HIV prevention efforts beyond traditional healthcare settings. I am proud to have been involved in work that sought to improve engagement with communities that may face barriers to accessing sexual health information and services. 

Although the project has now come to an end, the learning, relationships and insights gained will continue to inform how we engage with communities in the future.