CHAPS

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CHAPS is a national Department of Health funded programme which supports the national strategy for HIV and Sexual Health. It aims to reduce incidence of HIV transmission between men who have sex with men.

CHAPS came about as a group of concerned third sector agencies in 1996 to directly address the increasing rates of HIV transmission between men. Since then, it has launched some fantastic campaigns, and really led the sector to further knowledge of what men want and will respond to, what works, what doesn’t and to set best practice. CHAPS (formerly known as the Community HIV and AIDS Partnership Strategy) operate in all areas of England and are represented by regional strategic partners.

In partnership with Terence Higgins Trust West, The Eddystone Trust takes a lead in strategic representation and seeks to ensure the HIV prevention needs of men who have sex with men in the West Country are voiced at this national level.

All partners agree on a single collaborative document called Making it Count which sets out what we will do, where, when and why. At the national CHAPS conference in March in Manchester, Making it Count 4 was launched alongside the briefing sheets for professionals. Making it Count will set the tone of our interventions for years to come. Significant changes include the ten choices aimed at men that enables and seeks to empower men to make choices about preventing HIV transmission through sexual contact. Combined with the briefing sheets, which are designed to bring the latest scientific research and data in a snapshot to other professionals, it is a snappy refreshment of an important and very relevant strategy. Making it count and the briefing sheets have been written by Sigma research and NAM alongside The Eddystone Trust and other regional and national partners.

At its heart, Making it Count 4 seeks to promote the best sex with the least harm to men. It does not seek to further inequality, stigmatise or make value judgements about individual sexual behaviour, but it does seek to improve men’s health, sense of empowerment over their sexual well being and to offer professional and workers working alongside men who have sex with men ideas, strategies and evidence based interventions.

The CHAPS partnership aims to:

the highest quality services to MSM (Men who have sex with men)
To maintain an overview of CHAPS
To safeguard the values and principles of CHAPS

The CHAPS partnership supports delivery of activities, at both local and national levels, that make significant contributions to aims of The CHAPS partnership achieves this by delivering activities in the following areas: