BRIAN GORRELL: 10 years with HIV, AND IN CONTROL

BRIAN GORRELL, laughing, loving and living!

Dear Readers,

On February 27th 2011, I reached and celebrated my 10th year with HIV.

It’s been a while since I last updated my HIV/AIDS results page, which I guess some will take as a sign that all is well. 

And you would be correct.

I’m happy and healthy today and full of positivity, humour, love and light.

I’ve never felt stronger nor have my feelings for the future ever been this inspiring. My family is wonderful and my relationship continues to bring the challenges and gifts that most do.

There are many reasons for my happiness, the most important one being that I started my ARV therapy a while ago and the results have been amazing. I was waiting for my drugs to take hold before I wrote about the experience. Before I stopped taking my drugs, my virus was undetectable and had been for five years. So a drug holiday made sense to me.

So this was my second time starting them and I was nervous about side effects and my sleeping patterns being affected as they were before when I was on the ARVs. But this time, I had no problems with my body adjusting to the medication and the side effects were very light on my system.

I take my drugs every other day. I do not nor have I ever taken my HIV drugs every single day as I and we are told to do.

I DO NOT encourage you to do this without seeking your doctor's advise and consent. Everyone's circumstances are different and at the end of the day your doctors know best. But do mention it to him/her and ask if it's feasible in your situation, just like I did. When I mentioned it to my own doctor, he told me to do whatever I felt comfortable with as long as my numbers remained stable and my undetectable status stays the same. Taking my pills every other day DID NOT have an adverse effect on me. My HIV is UNDETECTABLE and I have been taking my pills every other day for many months, since the beginning actually.

I’ve always worried about the constant onslaught of HIV drugs on my system. Taking my drugs every other day was MY decision and I’m thrilled I made it. I withheld 1,477 pills from going into my body and yet I still managed to have my HIV undetectable status. My organs are thanking me I’m sure. I will need them all in tip top shape for the future!

When I started the combination therapy again, I remember obsessing, wondering, and asking myself, “Had I fucked up by stopping them when I moved from Australia to Canada?" HIV positive people hear stories all the time about how you’re NOT supposed to stop taking your pills. Back then, I really had to take control over my life and part of that was starting fresh with no worries about my drugs and keeping them cool while I travelled with my boyfriend.

My drug holiday meant taking away the daily reminder that you are indeed different than everyone else around you. You have HIV and the handful of pills remind you of that everyday you put them to your mouth.

It can get very distressing and depressing.
I nearly forgot that I have HIV while I was off my medication.
It was wonderful.
It was truly wonderful.

When I made the decision to stop them I said, “Fuck it”. I thought, at the time when my life was so hectic, that finding a fridge just to keep my medication chilled while I traveled throughout Asia would be a nightmare. I was tired, depressed and about to travel but my body was rock solid and I felt healthy despite my hectic life.

So I stopped taking my HIV drugs because I WANTED to stop.

I felt a need. A strange feeling, almost like I wanted control again over my life.

And the sense and feeling of being ‘undetectable’ certainly offers you that springboard you require to leap forward into a pill free existence, something that I thought at the time was manna from heaven.

I also WANTED to give my 150 pound body a break from the drugs I was on while I was still in my thirties. Sleeping was difficult with the medication the first time and I just needed to sleep so badly. I wanted to give myself a break from having to think about the pills.

Pills = HIV I thought.
And they still do. However, I feel different now about the medication than I did before I took a break from it.

Fuck HIV and the medication I remember thinking back then. But now, I feel great about them both being together once again.

One cancels out the other?
We all hope and pray.

I just want to be healthy and happy.

My pills are making me happy this time. Maybe it’s because I’m older and I don’t feel so brave. I need the security of being undetectable more now than ever. When you get married, things change dramatically inside of you. Suddenly you are not the only person who needs to be considered when it comes to your health, happiness, and future in general.

I’m still comfortable about having made those decisions to stop my medications before I came home to Canada. However, as a result of this decision, within a year after stopping my HIV drugs, my HIV virus was no longer undetectable as it had been five years. It was once again bombarding my system with great effect. And my CD4 count and viral load numbers reflected that. The first was very low and the second was very high. It really sucked. Fucking virus.

Mother fucker.

My fabulous ARV drug holiday bubble was suddenly burst and I was once again drenched in fear.

Although I'm ok with all of my HIV therapy decisions, I knew it was time that I start them again. When you are told that your virus is again detectable, your life is jolted back into your HIV reality. Your entire world shifts once again, and action MUST be taken immediately. You just feel it. You want to live.

For a long time.

And when the day comes and you are told that your virus is undetectable, you want to keep it that way.

For a long time.

And so I took action and now I'm back on my new ARV therapy. And once again after some time, my HIV is undetectable. It took eight months for my numbers to get back to normal. Now I have a solid set of results I can hopefully take forward with me for another five or so years.

I’ve recently had my eyes thoroughly checked by my ophthalmologist and the results came back with perfect 20/20 vision with no signs of trouble. I’ve also had my hearing checked, my teeth cleaned again (4X a year).

I somehow managed to stop biting my fingernails which was a life long habit. I NEVER thought I would ever stop biting my nails. But I did. It truly is amazing. One of the biggest achievements of my life and only a chronic nail biter would relate to the pain and suffering involved when one tries to stop such a habit.

************************

The drugs will keep us alive.

But don’t forget they only work if we take them.

DOH: HIV among Pinoy adolescents 'tomorrow's epidemic

The Department of Health (DOH) said the rise in the number of Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases among Filipino adolescents could become "tomorrow's epidemic."

On Wednesday, during the United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF) presentation of the "State of the World's Children," DOH National Epidemiology Center director Dr. Eric Tayag said that in 2010, one out of three HIV patients is from the 15-24 year old bracket.

The number of Filipino adolescents who are HIV-positive increased drastically in the last four years, from 44 cases in 2006 to 484 in 2010.

Patients who contract HIV before they are 24 years old will most likely develop Acquired Immune Deficiency syndrome (AIDS) before the age of 40, Tayag said.

Thus, the continuous rise in the number of HIV-positive adolescents will translate into an increase in the number of AIDS patients in the country, he added.

According to the UNICEF report, the Philippines is one of only seven countries where HIV cases increased by more than 25 percent from 2001 to 2009.

The other six countries are Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

A total of 6,015 HIV cases have been reported in the country from 1984 to 2010.

The highest number of new HIV cases was recorded in 2010, where 1,591 new cases were reported.

HIV/AIDS in PHL has an 'adolescent face'

UNICEF's "State of the World's Children" report for 2011 focused on adolescents, who make up almost one-fifth of the world's population.

UNICEF data showed that more than half of the world's adolescents, or about 330 million, are in Asia.

In the Philippines, there are about 20 million people between the ages 15 and 24.

UNICEF country representative Vanessa Tobin said there is no doubt that HIV/AIDS in the Philippines has "an adolescent face."

"We know from research and findings around the world that youth need sound and accurate information on sexual and reproductive health to protect them from teen pregnancy, risky sexual behavior, STIs (sexually transmitted infection) and HIV," she said.

"We cannot be complacent anymore about the rate of new HIV infections among adolescents," she added.

The DOH also said the youth have a higher risk of acquiring HIV because of: 

substantial peer pressure for risk-taking; 

the limited opportunities to learn about preventing HIV infection; and 

the lack of skills to communicate their health needs.

Adolescents in the country also have very little or no access to sexual and reproductive health services, the DOH said.

Tobin said an effective way to educate young people about the risks of HIV and AIDS is to use a consistent message over a period of time and from different sources.

"It is important to get sources from health centers and their parents, but it is more likely they will listen to their friends," she said, adding that information from peers is okay as long as the information they are given correct information.

Preventing HIV

Tayag said the DOH is now concentrating their efforts on HIV risk groups, particularly the youth, to prevent the spread of HIV.

The DOH said it will continue to champion the ABCs of preventing HIV:

abstain

be faithful, and

use a condom.

However, he said they will focus on the promotion of condom use as a way to prevent HIV transmission, especially among the youth.

"Ayaw na namin magpaligoy-ligoy pa. Tapos na ang debate sa paggamit ng condom," he said."Sana malinawan ang lahat na ang HIV epidemic sa ating bansa ay maaring lumala pa sa mga susunod na taon."

(We don't want to beat around the bush anymore. The debate about condom use is settled. Everyone should know that the HIV epidemic in the country will get worse in the coming years.)

HIV risk groups

The DOH identified three risk groups from which a majority of the country's HIV patients come from: 

men who have sex with men (MSM);

female sex workers, and

injecting drug users.

In the 15-24 age bracket, the most common mode of HIV transmission is in men who have sex with men (65 percent).

Profile of the risk groups

At the UNICEF press conference, the health department presented the profile of adolescents in the three identified risk groups.

Men who have sex with men (MSM):

Data showed that 80 percent of HIV cases are men, a majority of which are among men who have sex with men (MSM) between the ages 20 and 29.

Among HIV-positive MSMs, the mean age of their first sexual encounter with another man is 15 years old.

Only 24 percent have correct knowledge of HIV and HIV prevention.

In the past 12 months, 58 percent of adolescent MSMs had anal sex without using a condom, and only 20 percent used a condom during their last sexual activity with a man.

Data also showed that adolescent MSMs go through at least one or two sexual partners in a month.

Young females in prostitution:

On average, the adolescent females were 16 years old when they were first paid for sex.

Only 10 percent of sex workers aged 15-24 years old regularly bring a condom when they engage in sexual activities for money.

A female sex worker will go through four to seven partners in a month.

Only 55 percent of the interviewed females used a condom during her last sexual activity with a customer.

Fifty-nine percent feel that their activities are putting them at risk for HIV, but only 5 percent have ever had an HIV test.

Injecting drug users:

Among adolescent injecting drug users, only 24 percent have a correct knowledge of HIV and HIV prevention.

Most were 16 years old when they first used injected drugs.

Almost 70 percent of injecting drug users shared syringe and needles during their last injection, and among those interviewed, no one ever had an HIV test.

Only 30 percent used a condom during their last sexual activity, and 52 percent also accept payments for sex. 

– VVP, GMA News

One in five unaware that HIV can be passed though unprotected gay sex

by Jessica Geen (http://www.pinknews.co.uk)

A survey suggests that one in five people do not know that HIV can be passed on through unprotected gay sex.

The poll of 1,944 people, by the National AIDS Trust, also found that the same number did not realise that unsafe heterosexual sex could lead to transmission of the virus.

African and Caribbean people were least likely to know that unprotected gay sex was a route of transmission – 49 per cent compared with 20 per cent overall.

This is the fourth year that the charity has published the annual survey ’HIV: Public Knowledge and Attitudes’.

Researchers said it was particularly concerning that more people now wrongly believe that HIV can be caught through kissing (nine per cent) and spitting (ten per cent). These figures have doubled from 2007′s survey from four per cent and five per cent respectively.

Less than half of the public (45 per cent ) believe HIV can be passed from person to person by sharing needles or syringes. Only 30 per cent were able to correctly identify all the ways HIV can and cannot be passed on.

Sixty-seven per cent of people said they had sympathy for those with HIV and 74 per cent believed they should have the same level of support and respect as people with cancer.

Eleven per cent had no sympathy, rising to 30 per cent towards those infected with HIV through unprotected sex.

Almost half of people (47 per cent) thought that there are no effective ways of preventing a pregnant mother with HIV from passing HIV on to her baby.

Evidence shows that the right treatment gives an HIV-positive mother a 99 per cent chance of having a healthy baby.

Deborah Jack, the chief executive of National AIDS Trust, said: “It is certainly positive to see the majority of the public have supportive attitudes towards people with HIV, but there are still huge gaps in awareness of what it means to live with HIV in the UK today.

“It is extremely important that inroads are made in terms of educating the general public so we can eradicate the prejudice which still exists around HIV. In addition to improving knowledge of HIV, intensive work also needs to go into tackling the often deep-seated judgments and beliefs held about HIV and the people affected.

“The government made a concerted and effective effort to tackle this stigma in mental health, and now it is time for HIV to be addressed in the same way.”

FR ROBERT REYES TALKS TO BB GANDANG HARI

 FR. Robert Reyes said, his homophobia is gone, and is wary that the church may take it against him. Though the conversation did not really hit the eye of the social stigma, let it be understood that being gay is not synonymous to perversion. 

Kudos to both for having been open minded and unbiased. I pray more people would see like Fr. Reyes in society....

BEING BULLIED AND TEASED- Stand against it!

Chris Colfer shares a very personal message for LGBTQ youth in response to the recent suicides that have occurred: "I know what it's like to be bullied and teased every single day and I know that it may seem like there is no chance of happiness left. But I promise you, there is a world full of acceptance and love just waiting for you to find it. So please before you take a drastic action that could be your last, call The Trevor Project."

The Trevor Lifeline: 866-4-U-TREVOR 866-488-7386 866-488-7386

Toll free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

VISIT: http://www.thetrevorproject.org

FOLLOW: http://www.twitter.com/trevorproject

LIKE: http://www.facebook.com/thetrevorproject

SUBSCRIBE: http://www.youtube.com/trevorprojectm

STOP HATE CRIMES

Davao Lass with AIDS Fights Her Toughest Battle

By Carlos H. Conde (source: Bulatlat.com/MindaNews )

DAVAO CITY -- The moment she heard the news, Sheila got furious. "You bitch! How could you withhold something like this from me for so long? Do you think you are God?" she yelled into the phone. The person at the other end, a government doctor, kept silent. The doctor knew that, at that point, arguing with Sheila was pointless because she, understandably so, was terribly upset.

It was June 1, 1998, and the then 23-year-old Sheila (not her real name) had just learned that she had contracted the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS (Aqcuired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

"The doctor later tried to appease me,” Sheila says. She told me that the infection has a window period, as though that should make me feel better." A window period is the time the body needs to develop HIV antibodies, which act like soldiers protecting the body from intruders such as viruses. The start of the period varies in those infected, from as early as three months up to as late as six months upon infection.

A week earlier, Sheila (her picture on the left) had taken an HIV test in Manila but was told that the test results would take longer to come in. So she decided to go back home to Davao City. "But at the back of my mind, I knew something was wrong. I knew that they knew something. I got scared and I thought of my two children. They were still so young!" she says. For one full week, Sheila was depressed. When an aunt noticed that she had been crying much too often, Sheila told her she might have the virus. The aunt asked her to call the doctor and badger her for the test results.

Death sentence

"It was like a death sentence," Sheila, now 27, recalls. After the call, Sheila walked aimlessly around downtown. Her mind was blank. She only realized how far she had gone and how tired she had become when the rains fell and she was soaking wet. "Then I thought of my two children," she says.

But the thought of her kids failed to soothe Sheila. She sank into depression and paranoia (she was convinced government men would whisk her off to the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, where persons with AIDS are taken care of) and rarely, if ever, got out of their house in a poor community somewhere in downtown Davao City.

When she realized she had to work in order to feed her kids, she learned one other bitter thing: she could never work again, at least not in the sex industry.

As it turned out, her fellow prostituted women and their pimps and managers had learned of Sheila's test results way before she did - and promptly spread this. The result was that Sheila was shut out.

She asked the government doctor to allow her to work again as an entertainer but she was told that that would never happen. "I promised to her that I will never have sex with customers again, but she said, 'That's impossible. If your client points a gun at you, how can you resist?'"

"I went to see the manager of the bar I had worked in but he wouldn't take me. I pleaded that I could do the dishes if he wanted but he said no," she says. Before Sheila left, the manager gave her P500. "I felt so useless," Sheila says.

Without any education or any skill that would land her a job, Sheila went downhill from there. She tried washing clothes for neighbors but she could only do so much of it. Besides, the money was simply not enough for the children, not to mention her siblings who were also young.

She also couldn't rely on the father of her child because he was jobless. "He works sometimes as a tricycle driver but most of the time, he was good for nothing, which is why I broke up with him a long time ago," Sheila says.

Back from the pits

Then a friend mentioned that an NGO could help. First, the NGO approached City Hall for P2,000 so Sheila could start a sari-sari store business. When this venture failed, she was taken in as a staff by the NGO, doing such tasks as filing newspapers and cleaning the offices. Sheila is still with that NGO today, happy that she was brought back from the pits.

But the virus has grown stronger. She has had oral candidiasis, herpes sores, oral fungal infection, among others. Also, for one whole month, she suffered fever. "My lymph nodes were swollen all the time," she says.

The lymph nodes are the part of the immune system where antibodies are produced. When the nodes swell, it means the immune system is working very hard to fight off infections. Contrary to popular belief, the reason why it takes long from infection to full-blown AIDS is not because the virus is dormant or takes a long time to spread. The reason is, every second of the day, the body's immune system is producing antibodies to fight off the virus, thus the constant swelling of the nodes. Eventually, the antibodies get overwhelmed by the virus, whose ability to multiply is phenomenal, thus crashing the body's immune system. This explains why persons with AIDS contract all sorts of infection, even the most common ones such as cold, and have a difficult time recovering from these illnesses.

Bound for Japan

Sheila was born in this city to a poor family. Her mother was a laundrywoman, her father an occasional house painter. She is the eldest among six children. She was 12 and in her first year in high school when her mother died of cervical cancer.

She stopped going to school because the family simply couldn't afford it. "My father didn't care that much about us. It was like we were leading our own wretched lives," she says bitterly. Because of poverty, Sheila decided to try her luck in Japan. She was only 16.

Unfortunately for Sheila, she was brought to Manila by an illegal recruiter who had promised her a job in Japan. She ended up in a casa in Makati, where a 35-year-old Japanese who worked in a jewelry shop in Tokyo eventually "bought" her for P50,000 from the prostitution house and sent her home to Davao City. "We had planned to get married but he died in Japan even before that could happen," Sheila says, sighing. "I thought he was the key to end my misery, but luck was not just on my side."

Sheila was stuck in Davao, intent on staying away from prostitution. It was here where she met her boyfriend, who impregnated her in 1995, when she was barely 19. It must be noted that this pregnancy and the following one, and the economic difficulty these brought on Sheila, were critical factors in her decision to go back to the sex industry.

No choice

After delivering the first child, Sheila decided to go back to work. "I had no choice," she says. She also made sure that she would be tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. But Davao was just not lucrative enough, so she moved to Cebu, where she stayed for six months. After earning enough money, she went back to Davao, depending on her boyfriend's meager income.

Two years later, she got pregnant again. This time, after giving birth, Sheila stayed put in Davao. "Nobody was supporting me, my children or my siblings. My boyfriend's income as an occasional tricycle driver was just not enough. Besides, he turned out to be good for nothing. That's why I decided to go back again to prostitution," she recalls. She had herself tested and was found negative of HIV.

For a year, Sheila plodded along, entertaining local clients, mostly Filipinos who, she now says, are the hardest people on earth to convince to wear condoms. "If I refuse, that meant lesser income for me. Besides my Filipino clients easily get upset when I ask them to wear condom," she says. The next year, in 1998, she contracted the AIDS virus.

"I would never go into prostitution without a reason. I had planned to stop but I simply couldn't do anything else. I thought the father of my children would rescue me from this hell but, like everything else that happens with my life, I'm just not that lucky," Sheila says. (The father, by the way, tested negative for HIV.)

Sheila says coming out is not yet an option. "I could be interviewed like this but I could never be identified," she says. She has two reasons for that. One is that she doesn't want her sister to be affected in case she comes out. "She is a very good student, she is doing great in school and she is our only hope. She is the only chance for my family to prosper. She also promised to take care of my children when I'm gone. Coming out would devastate her and my children," she says.

The other reason is fear. "If I come out, I'm sure all the men I had sex with will hunt me down and kill me, as if all this is my fault," she says. Bulatlat.com/MindaNews

Fil-Am transgender sues Macy’s for discrimination

Balitang America
www.abs-cbnnews.com

 

CALIFORNIA - A Filipino American is suing her former employer Macy’s department store for wrongful termination and discrimination.

For close to 3 years, Filipino American Jason “Jazz” Araquel, Jr. was at employee at the Macy’s store in the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, California. Araquel is a pre-operative male to female transgender, which Macy’s management knew when she was hired in 2006.

Araquel, who worked in the cosmetics department, was fired in September last year for alleged insubordination and use of foul language. Araquel then filed a lawsuit claiming she was wrongfully terminated, alleging that she was a victim of gender identity discrimination, according to Araquel’s attorney Kelly Chen.

Araquel claims that throughout her employment at Macy’s, she experienced ongoing verbal abuse, being ejected from the women’s restroom, was required to do work assignments not part of her duties, was being held at a stricter standard, and was subjected to constant ridicule from both management and other employees.

She made ongoing complaints to management about being harassed and discriminated in the workplace. Araquel believes her termination was retaliation for those complaints.

“Given the sensitive nature and impact of the decision by any individual to change their sex – physically, psychologically and emotionally – it is abhorrent that Macy’s not only sat by and allowed her to suffer in an environment of humiliation and harassment from other employees, but its management actually contributed to her pain and suffering through its ongoing unfair treatment of her and eventually by her termination,” said Araquel’s attorney Eric Castelblanco. (Balitang America)

Lubricants may increase disease risk of anal sex, studies show

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Many Lights For Human Rights - AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2010

The Department of Health–Philippine National AIDS Council and TLF SHARE Collective, Inc. are coordinating the 27th AIDS Candlelight Memorial with the theme “Many Lights for Human Rights: Remember, Honor and Act”.

The event aims to:
(1) increase awareness on HIV/AIDS;
(2) to foster solidarity and support between and among different communities, NGOs, support groups and other stakeholders in addressing HIV/AIDS issues;
(3) to promote respect and uphold the dignity of persons living with HIV/AIDS and their families;
(4) to mobilize communities and individuals towards achieving a participatory and meaningful engagement;
(5) to remember and honor Filipinos who passed away due to HIV/AIDS and to support those who are affected.

This event shall gather key stakeholders in the HIV and AIDS response--public and private organizations, faith-based groups, health, social welfare, labor, commerce and industry as well as civil society and local communities representing the most at risk and vulnerable populations.

For inquiries, please feel free to contact Mr. Marcy Oculto at (02) 751 7047    
(02) 751 7047       (02) 728 8487           (02) 728 8487      or (0908) 230 3783        
(0908) 230 3783     

Homophobia, defined.

1. What is homophobia?It's all the negative attitudes that can lead to rejection and to direct or indirect discrimination towards gay men, lesbians, and bisexual, transsexual or transgender people or toward anyone whose physical appearance or behaviour does not fit masculine or feminine stereotypes.The following are variants of homophobia • Bi-phobia: aversion towards bisexual people or bisexuality; • Gayphobia: aversion towards gay men or male homosexuality; • Lesbophobia: aversion towards lesbian women or female homosexuality.Both on a conscious or sub-conscious level, homophobia surfaces in various ways and can even be internalised.

2. What is transphobia?Transphobia is a negative attitude or feeling, a discomfort or an aversion towards transgender people, transsexuals or people who are transitioning.

3. What is the International Day Against Homophobia?The International Day Against Homophobia is an annual thematic event occurring every May 17. This is a unifying moment during which a great number of activities are taking place. It also represents an opportunity to organize educational and awareness activities. Citizens from all walks of life are invited to reflect on homophobia and its devastating effects.

4. Why is the International Day Against Homophobia so important?Homophobia is an insidious process that channels its effects through subtle, even disguised, ways. No one is safe from hostile manifestations of homosexuality. Like other forms of discrimination and intolerance such as racism, sexism or antisemitism, homophobia has important, sometimes devastating, repercussions for its victims.Because of it, certain people have difficulty accepting and living a sexual orientation that is different from that of the majority, the suicide rate among young gays is much higher than with their heterosexual peers, a great number of gays and lesbians live in secret and in fear of rejection, and transgendered and transsexual persons still live on the fringe of society.If progressive laws such as the Civil Marriage Act legalizing same-sex marriage are today a reality, social equality among all citizens regardless of the sexual orientation or sexual identity remains to be achieved.

5. Why May 17?May 17th is symbolic due to its significance in improving the status of gays and lesbians. In removing homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses on a May 17, the World Health Organisation (WHO) put an end to over a century of homophobia in the medical field. IDAHO organization proposed this date for annually holding a day set aside to fight homophobia. The Declaration of Montréal (July 29, 2006), borne out of the International Conference on LGBT Rights that preceded the first World Outgames, recommended the worldwide recognition of an International Day Against Homophobia on May 17 of each year.

6. What are the goals that should be pursued on that day?• promote the growth of harmonious relationships among people, regardless of their sexual orientation; • further the inclusion of homosexual persons in society;

• encourage citizens to understand sexual diversity;

• strive to put an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation in keeping with the charters of rights and freedoms;

• give rise to a general open mindedness towards diversity, and other related values in our society;

• show the devastating effects of homophobia;

• propose and put in place concrete means to fight homophobia;

• induce all sympathizers to organize activities aimed at fighting homophobia;

• set up a consultation process among its partners;

• converge all anti-homophobia activities on a single day;

• put together an organizational structure capable of insuring the survival and recurrence of the event

7. How can I get involved in the fight against homophobia?There are a number of ways people can contribute to the fight against homophobia. The International Day Against Homophobia is the perfect opportunity to make such efforts. There are a few simple ways to participate. For instance, we suggest that:

• parents tell their children that, regardless of their sexual orientation, they will love them just the same; • teachers and instructors talk about homophobia in the classroom;

• libraries clearly display books on homophobia • employers set up programs against homophobia in the workplace;

• trade unions organize awareness activities in the workplace;

• community groups heighten awareness among their constituencies;

• broadcasters present special reports and documentaries on the subject;

• newspapers publish reports and in-depth articles on the subject;

• radio and television stations call upon artists and personalities to speak on the subject, and play songs about tolerance;

• internet diffusers take out or refuse any homophobic content;

• gays and lesbians who wish to do so “come out” of the closet;

• legislators, governments, municipalities and school boards approve a motion in support of the International Day Against Homophobia, and make a commitment to fight homophobia; and that

• people in general make a symbolic gesture in their entourage.

19 of 48 countries in the Asia Pacific region criminalise male-to-male sex

by Laurindo Garcia

 

Nineteen of 48 countries in the Asia Pacific region criminalise male-to-male sex which contributes to over 90 percent of gay and bisexual men in the region being denied access to HIV prevention and care services. Fridae’s Laurindo Garcia reports.

Left to right: Moderator Thomas Abraham, Hon. Ajit Prakash Shah (India),
Hon. Michael Kirby  (Australia), Hon. Dame Carol Kidu, MP and
Minister for Community Development (Papua New Guinea), and
Shivananda Khan, O.B.E, Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM)

On May 17 a panel of high-ranking judges, lawmakers, researchers and community activists gathered at the University of Hong Kong to discuss legal reform and how active participation from the community can help reverse an alarming trend where more than 90 percent of men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Asia-Pacific region do not have access to HIV prevention and care services.
This warning was highlighted during a high-level dialogue entitled “Punitive laws, human rights and HIV prevention among men who have sex with men in Asia Pacific” organised by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in association with the Asia-Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (ACPOM) and the Center for Comparative and Public Law (CCPL) at the Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong.

Research conducted by UNDP and APCOM over the last 12 months investigated the affect that legislation, the judiciary and law enforcement has on responses to the HIV epidemic across the Asia-Pacific region.

While the final report is to be tabled later this year, preliminary findings were released to coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO).

John Godwin, a consultant to the UNDP, elaborated on data which demonstrates the precarious position of the Asia-Pacific’s HIV response. In its report, the UNDP believes the already critical situation is “likely to get worse” if countries fail to act.

Nineteen out of 48 countries across the Asia-Pacific region criminalise consensual male-to-male sex. [*Male-to-male sex is illegal in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Naura and Palau. Sex between adult males was decriminalised in India's National Capital Territory but Supreme Court proceedings are still pending and the application to other jurisdictions has not been determined.] Of these 19 countries, 16 are former British territories where anti-sodomy laws were introduced during colonisation. Despite the ascension to independence by all 16 countries, this remnant of colonialism remains in their penal codes.

Godwin described the disconnect that exists between national AIDS policies and legal frameworks in many countries. He cited how legislation often runs counter-productive to HIV prevention strategies implemented by health officials. This legal gridlock was compounded in some cases where selective enforcement of public order and prostitution laws hamper fundamental outreach activities such as safer sex campaigns and condom distribution.

“Why do people hate homosexuals?”
In an attempt to unravel the reasons behind the disconnect between public health policy and legislation, the Honourable Michael Kirby, former High Court Judge of Australia, posed the question to the audience point-blank: “Why do people hate homosexuals?”
Kirby’s analysis of this subject revealed how the human element has often been at odds with science. Evidence-based, scientific research is the cornerstone of any public health policy. In contrast, Kirby recounted with dismay the number of instances through history where proposed legal reforms, designed to support health policy, had been put down due to talk of “Sodom and Gomorra” and other religious metaphors entering public debates.

Kirby noted, however, that there is progress on the legal front coming from recent court decisions in India, Pakistan and the Philippines on issues of sexual orientation or gender identity. However more work and leadership, by the likes of countries like Hong Kong – who repealed their anti-sodomy laws in 1991 – is required.

Landmark decision by the Delhi High Court

The Chief Justice who presided over the court in Delhi, India was on hand to describe the turn of events that led to a landmark decision in July 2009. The Honourable Ajit Prakash Shah, explained the social impact of his ruling that Section 377 of India’s Penal Code was discriminatory and “a violation of fundamental rights”. He said the case began a “national conversation” with LGBT issues now firmly “out of the closet”, a scenario he described necessary and beneficial.

While pointing out that the loudest voices against the ruling are coming from religious groups, Shah drew attention to a handful of faith-based leaders who have come to support the decision. These pro-repeal religious figures, although modest in number, refer to the constitution as being paramount and acknowledge that the goal of any religion was to develop of an inclusive society that isolates no one.

In addressing issues of “morality” – a contentious issue often at the epicentre of legal debates on LGBT rights issues – the Indian court said governments should "not be guided by public morality, but by constitutional morality", Shah recalled. He went further to explain that by repealing Section 377, the court helped resolve an impasse for the Ministry of Health whose national HIV prevention program had been obstructed by the laws of the land.

While courtroom dramas and landmark judicial rulings provide fireworks which catch worldwide media attention, the long and arduous road to legal reform via the legislative process is often less publicised, but no less significant. The governmental route requires extraordinary effort, as was characterised by a lawmaker who presented her experience over the past 10 years in Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea’s experience

The Hon. Dame Carol Kidu is Minister for Community Development in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and is the only woman member of the 109-member PNG Parliament. Kidu made no qualms in describing her campaign to have punitive laws against homosexuals reviewed in her country as a “rollercoaster ride, with some highs and many lows”. So turbulent has the journey been that Kidu admitted that she had recently considered ending her campaign, but was now reinvigorated after inspiration from the other panellists at the UNDP event.

Kidu’s mission is to correct the “hypocrisy of a situation” where “the criminality of homosexuality has remained, in spite of the fact that the technical criminals have become major players in PNG’s HIV response strategy”. Her submission to parliament points out that without effective measures to ensure safer sex practices, there is potential for a rapid increase in HIV infection among men who have sex with men, as well as the female sexual partners of bisexual men which are common in PNG.

Continued criminalisation of male-to-male sex does not stop it from occurring, Kidu explained, but instead, drives the practice further underground. These men become hidden and “difficult to engage in effective HIV prevention and care programs”. While Kidu was confident that her submission was based on sound evidence and acknowledges the sensitivities that exist among her fellow legislators, she hit a stumbling block in mid-May with progress on the current path now uncertain. Despite the recent setback Kidu, a strident advocate on issues of reproductive rights and sexual health, made it clear that several contingency plans are open for exploration.

Transforming talk into action
 
However the question remains: how can any of these UNDP-sponsored talks amount to significant change for gay men, bisexuals and transgender (TG) people, as well the wider LGBT community?

Dr. Mandeep Dhaliwal, a Team Leader at the UNDP’s Bureau of Development Policy in New York, explained that these findings and the pending report will be a guide to assist advocacy efforts in its 24 in-country offices throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

More to the point, Dr Dhaliwal was adamant that the report and events like these shed light on ideas and examples that can be applied in other countries.

This was illustrated by Shivananda Khan, Interim Chairperson of APCOM and founder of South Asia’s Naz Foundation International which is active on male-to-male sexuality and HIV in the region.

Khan spoke of a range of initiatives where lawmakers and law enforcers are becoming active players in educating the public. He spoke of plans in India where the government will embark on a campaign to destigmatise same-sex relationships. Khan noted several places where sensitisation programs for police officers have had encouraging success at reducing violence and abuses against MSM and TG. Further examples will be released in the final UNDP report to be tabled at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna this July.

The reality is that these things do not happen overnight, as Khan explained. He spoke at length that an active and passionate civil society that demands these initiatives is vital. Khan made it clear that action at government and justice level happens in countries where civil society “comes together and works together as a team, not against each, but with each other”. He made a call to the community to engage and build bridges with all sectors, including religious leaders.

A grim, yet common, thread between all speakers was tales of violence, police abuse, suicides in the face of public humiliation and spiralling HIV infection rates. Over time history has transformed these unfortunate events into catalysts for change in some countries. However the question left to attendees, and the community at large, is: how can significant change be won without further senseless loss of those whom we love.

Laurindo Garcia is a Manila-based correspondent and HIV Programs Manager for Fridae.