Stephen Bates Joins OnlyFans to Promote HIV Prevention
In a groundbreaking move, Stephen Bates , a Greens MP from Brisbane , has created an account on OnlyFans , making him the first Australian politician to use the platform renowned for its adult content. However, Bates's approach is purely educational, leveraging this unconventional platform to promote public health policy.
Free Access to HIV Prevention Drugs Advocated
Bates's OnlyFans account, which is free of charge, steers clear of not-safe-for-work content. His inaugural post focuses on advocating for the Green Party's key initiative, which is to secure free accessibility to HIV prevention drugs, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) , for anyone holding a prescription. "Ending HIV is too important to fly under the radar," Bates articulates in his video, underscoring the critical need for attention on this public health issue.
Impact and Efficacy of PrEP and PEP
PrEP is heralded for its 99% effectiveness in preventing HIV transmission amongst gay and bisexual men when taken daily. Currently, about 100,000 Australians are prescribed PrEP and PEP. A shift toward making these drugs freely accessible could substantially contribute to the Australian federal government's goal of eradicating HIV transmission by 2030.
Financial Aspects of HIV Prevention Policy
Under the existing Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) , PrEP users are subject to a monthly fee of $31.60, with proposals suggesting a reduction to $25. The Green Party's proposal, backed by fiscal estimates from the parliamentary budget office, suggests a requisite $18.4 million investment over the forward estimates to abolish these fees entirely.
HIV Statistics and Trends in Australia
The urgency of Bates's campaign on OnlyFans is driven by the recent statistics showing 722 HIV diagnoses in Australia in 2023—an increase from the previous year but still part of a downward trend from pre-Covid levels.
Engaging Broader Audiences on Health Policy
The decision to use OnlyFans, a platform that typically deducts a 20% fee from its transactions and is popular among adult content creators, illustrates a strategic attempt by Bates to engage a broader audience in impactful health policy discourse.
This initiative also serves to highlight the financial barriers individuals face with current PBS pricing and showcases Bates’s ingenuity in using modern digital platforms to foster discussion on intersecting issues of public health and government policy.
