It is alarming the way the women witnesses in recent prosecutions for HIV transmission were portrayed as the weak and innocent victims of sexual predators. Women have fought to gain the vote, financial independence and sexual liberation. With freedom to choose when and with whom we can have sex, comes responsibility. This means being responsible for our own sexual health.
I don’t know whether the boyfriend who infected me with Aids (as it was known then) in 1987 knew he had it, but I take full responsibility for my actions. I wasn’t forced to have sex, raped or powerless. I chose to be in a sexual relationship which I enjoyed. Of course, I knew about Aids but, like many, I didn’t think it would happen to me. I have never felt any anger towards this man and I don’t think prosecuting people in a court of law helps anyone.
I am not stupid or ignorant, I just made the mistake of not taking prevention messages seriously. I don’t blame myself, I don’t blame the health promotion campaigns and I don’t blame the man that infected me. Sometimes shit happens, we learn to live with it, adapt and move on.
Woman with HIV, London
Thank you so much for such an informative and easy to read magazine. PN has been a real companion. I do not belong to any support group and live on my own in the
country, so reading your magazine ensures
I don’t feel isolated, and makes me realise
I am not the only one dealing with problems related to HIV.
I lived and worked in South Africa for 23 years until I was diagnosed in 2001. I fell ill and came back home to Northern Ireland in 2003 after being forced to give up my business. I still have three daughters living in SA as their mother has remarried. When I returned, I was totally rejected by my sisters and brothers, so I live alone and have cut myself off from most people. People here are extremely ignorant about HIV. I feel much better now that I am on medication and hope one day to return to SA to help people there. Keep up the great work and a special thanks to all your team for all
the hard work and devotion they put
into Positive Nation.
S Johnston, Northern Ireland
The column ‘My breast moments’ and the cartoon ‘Fresh boobs for men’ (PN June 2004) was in poor taste for people with enlarged male breasts. It’s sick of Simon Mwendapole to joke about it. It reminded me of my country in Africa, where people joke that people with HIV are “on a slimming diet”.
Please PN, do not crack jokes about our illnesses or the side effects of HIV medication. Simon usually writes good articles, but on this occasion he should have been a bit more sensitive. I found his article neither funny nor fair.
Moses Kaggwa, Nottingham
I am HIV positive and have had mild Gynecomastia (male breast enlargement) for two years so I was saddened with Simon’s article ‘My breast moments’. How can Simon write such trivial and stupid stuff on Gynecomastia? Fresh Boobs, what fresh boobs? He says he did some research on Gynecomastia. Please kindly send me the research methodology and your findings. My consultant is very interested in your research. PN, please kindly check your stuff before you publish it.
A worried Andrew Billson
I am a Zimbabwean national and one of the victims of the current clampdown on migrants with HIV in Britain. I have been at this detention centre since December 2003 and the immigration authority is threatening me with removal anytime now.
I claimed asylum and was refused in 2000. I have finally found a solicitor who is fighting my case on human rights grounds but the immigration authority still wants to remove me to Malawi where I have no home or family.
I was diagnosed in April 2003 and have not started treatment yet. The specialist says my CD4 count and viral load is still good, but I may start next year. I came across PN at a London clinic when I visited (handcuffed) for my check up. Issue 101 was my first and I found it worth reading. Thank you for the magazines I received recently I look
forward to reading more
Lucian Kabvembe,
Harmondsworth detention centre
Just to reassure Jo Cole, (PN May/June, cover feature) Positively Women is for all women living with HIV. Also I would like to clarify that at the time Jo enquired about volunteering at PW, there was no volunteer recruitment planned for that year as the funding for that project was coming to an end, and the service was being reviewed and changed. The project has been replaced with one of volunteer traineeships, which lead to a nationally recognised qualification in a specific skills area. Places on this were advertised in the PW Newsletter and will also be advertised in PN. Good luck with your application.
Elisabeth Crafer, Director, Positively Women
