Embracing Identity and Advocating for PrEP Access: Ngoc Duong

Hi! My name is Ngoc (she/her), and I joined the PrEP4Teens team this past August as an intern with Northwestern University’s Institute of Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing Before becoming part of this incredible project, I had never been exposed to so much information about HIV prevention, let alone PrEP. Growing up as a Vietnamese first-generation student, where LGBTQ+ identities were often stigmatized, conversations about sexual health—especially topics like HIV—weren’t common, and I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know until I joined this team!

Being bisexual, I’ve faced my fair share of challenges when it comes to fully embracing who I am. For one, my identity was frequently invalidated by comments that tried to define my sexuality for me, such as being told that I was “confused,” or “going through a phase.” For a long time, I didn’t really feel like I had the tools or the language to talk about my sexuality, let alone my sexual health, and these experiences made it difficult to openly embrace my identity—as I’m sure many of us in the community have faced.

But as I’ve learned more about PrEP and its role in HIV prevention, it has empowered me to feel more comfortable opening up conversations about sexual health. While I don’t personally take PrEP, I’ve come to see just how crucial it is for others.

Since joining PrEP4Teens, I’ve also realized how important it is to increase awareness about HIV prevention, especially for young people who might not have access to this kind of information. I know from firsthand experience how isolating it can feel when your identity isn’t fully accepted by the people around you, and how difficult it is to prioritize your health when you’re navigating that stigma. I feel it’s important to advocate for more accessibility and education around PrEP because everyone deserves to feel safe and empowered when it comes to their health.

One of the most important things that I have learned since being on the team is that PrEP (which stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis) involves taking a pill or getting a shot to prevent HIV, but more than just being a pill or a shot, PrEP is also a step towards taking charge of your body, your choices, and your future. If you’re sexually active, knowing that PrEP is available can make a huge difference in how you approach your sexual health, and I hope that’s empowering. PrEP is for anyone that wants to take a proactive step in protecting themselves, however you identify in terms of gender or sexual behavior, and it’s important that we normalize conversations about it, especially in communities where sexual health is still a stigmatized topic.

I’m really grateful to be part of a team that’s working to change the narrative around HIV prevention, and I’m so excited to continue advocating for increased awareness and accessibility of PrEP among youth. I hope that, together, we can create a future where everyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from, has the knowledge and resources to protect their health confidently and without shame!

Want more stories from our team and colleagues? Check out Bryant’s blog here, or Sadia’s here.