In advance of this year’s National HIV Testing Day (Sunday, June 27), CBRC has created two videos to draw attention to HIV self-testing–a ground-breaking option recently made available in Canada.
Starring Canadian model Travis L’Henaff (who you might recognize from Canada’s Drag Race), the short videos offer a primer on the new INSTI HIV Self Test–a rapid, single-use test kit that detects HIV antibodies in minutes using a drop of blood.
In the first video, L’Henaff speaks frankly on camera about his own experience testing positive and the importance of knowing your status and working to eradicate HIV-related stigma.
Video recorded in English with French and English subtitles
In the second, he demystifies the process of taking the self-test by doing one himself and sharing his own positive result.
Video recorded in English with French and English subtitles
“After you test positive, you have some knowledge and knowledge is power,” says L’Henaff. “You can start to make some informed decisions at your own pace on how you want to tackle your new HIV status.”
In addition to the videos, CBRC’s National STBBI Testing and Linkage Implementation Manager, Chris Draenos, has published a blog post about how this new self-testing technology has the potential to reach people who experience barriers to testing.
If you are interested in receiving your own INSTI HIV Self Test kit, CBRC is making 15,000 of them available for free to those who participate in our 2021 Sex Now survey. Participants can opt-in to request up to three kits to either use on themselves or give to those in their sexual or social networks. Click here to learn more.
