Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence teach about AIDS

World AIDS Day, advocating awareness, will roll around again on Dec. 1.
According to teaching materials provided by the World AIDS Day website, there are over 36

million people living with HIV worldwide, nearly half of which are women.
HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is an incurable virus that if not treated can lead to AIDS,

or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, according to HIV.gov.
Here on campus an event is taking place on World AIDS Day with the Spokane Regional Health

District and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will be attending.

“Our purpose as Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is to bring joy and expedite people’s guilt that they may carry wherever we go,” said Sister Rae Lynn d’Butts. “As well as advocating for HIV/AIDS, as well as honoring World AIDS Day as a memorial day of the year.”

Sister d’Butts will be on campus on Dec. 1 to advocate for World AIDS Day and hand out condoms and information, as well as providing glitter blessings and celebrating the second anniversary of their mission house in Spokane.

“We will also have Play Fair safer sex pamphlets,” Said d’Butts. “Developed in San Fransisco by a sister, it was the first safer sex pamphlet in the world oriented towards gay men.”

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, with their organization The Traveling Red Veil, have a purpose house here in Spokane that is celebrating it’s two year anniversary on World AIDS Day.

“The Sisters do something for the community as a whole that other organizations are not able to do, they challenge the status quo,” said d’Butts. “They were the first to hold fundraiser for HIV/AIDS in 1981…. something nobody else has done.”

The Spokane Regional Health District will also be attending the event, and offering their services. According to the Spokane Regional Health District website they offer HIV and syphilis testing for at risk individuals, access to PrEP, an HIV prevention drug, and even partner notification services for those with the illness.

Agustin Martinez, ASG Outreach Programmer who set up this event said that he is trying to raise awareness for different issues every month, and the timing of World AIDS Day is perfect.

“[The event will] hopefully raise awareness that HIV/AIDS is still alive and needs to be addressed,” said Martinez. “There is still stigma and other diseases that are not addressed, we want to make people more aware of their behaviors.”