Arranged marriages for British Asians ‘could boost HIV’
UK Asians and other ethnic minorities are being warned not to have unprotected
sex, particularly if they travel back to the Indian sub-contintent.
The Naz Project, which supports Asians and other ethnic minorities in the
UK, fears spread of HIV in the UK asian community could copy what is happening
on the Indian-sub continent.
The project has highlighted the case of Surrinder who arrived from the Indian
sub-continent three years ago after an arranged marriage, unaware her husband
was HIV positive and had infected her.
Her husband was considered hardworking, trustworthy and had good prospects,
so her family had not considered questioning her husband about his sexual
health.
Five-and-a-half million people are now
believed to be infected in India and, because of the close links between the
UK and the Asian sub-continent, fears are growing that Surrinder’s case
could become more common.
Parminder Sekhon, of the Naz project, said: “There is a risk that communities
here will begin to mirror the communities there, like some of the African
countries have done.”
Janet Mortimer of the Health Protection Agency said that although current
tests were not showing high HIV levels among UK Asians, anyone travelling
to a high-risk area should take sensible precautions.
A group of women from rural Gloucestershire has stripped off for a nude calendar
to raise money for survivors of rape and genocide in Rwanda.
The church group, in Horsley, has already received hundreds of orders for
the calendar.
“Ten years ago in Rwanda, thousands of women and girls contracted HIV
or Aids because of a systematic campaign of rape during the genocide,”
said Mary Blewitt, director of the Survivors Fund: “Today they are at
risk of dying of Aids, simply due to the lack of affordable medical treatment.”
Copies are available from www.survivors-fund.org.uk
• www.naz.org.uk
Blair to target those on incapacity benefit
With
less than a year before the next general election, confusion has emerged at
the highest levels of Government over its policy on disability benefits.
The Prime Minister, in a speech he made in Budapest in October, said that
people on incapacity benefit “should be working.”
Two days earlier in the House of Lords, Baroness Hollis, Minister for Work
and Pensions, said: “There is no abuse. The amount of fraud in disability
benefits is extremely limited.
“You cannot bully people off incapacity benefit. If you change the structure
of the benefit, you do not necessarily get more people into work,” she
added.
John Knight at the Leonard Cheshire disability organisation commented: “Rather
than accusing recipients of ‘languishing on benefits’ he should
take a closer look at research by the Department of Work and Pensions which
shows fraud amongst claimants is less than half of one per cent.
“This means that the vast majority of claimants need, and deserve, the
money. Any policy that makes already poor people poorer is bad, cheap and
ill-thought through. This continual harassment of disabled people is nothing
other than crude electioneering.”
It is unknown how many of the estimated 50,000 people with HIV in the UK are
on benefits but last year a Department of Work and Pensions spokesman told
PN that only 3,000 people living with the virus were in receipt of Disability
Living Allowance (DLA).
Diminutive Australian pop singer Danni Minogue has signed up to be an HIV
ambassador for the Terrence Higgins Trust. She will become THT’s ambassador
for young people and joins the fight against the spread of HIV in the UK.
“I’m passionate about young people being able to make an educated
decision about their future health and happiness,” Minogue said. THT
said she would be a valuable tool in its fight against HIV and Aids. Minogue
joins celebrities such as Sir Elton John, Dame Judi Dench and Richard Branson
as a patron and supporter of THT’s work.
'Promiscuous 10 per cent blamed for sexual health crisis
A reluctance to engage with the "promiscuous 10 per
cent" in society is at the heart of Britain's sexual-health crisis, according
to Professor Mark Bellis, director of the Centre for Public Health in Liverpool.
He defines ‘promiscuous' as those who started their sex lives at an
early stage, and have multiple sex partners.
Studies show that one in 10 young people have had sex by the time they are
14; those who start young are less likely to use condoms and girls are more
likely to become pregnant earlier.
Professor Bellis said: “At national level, the choice to guarantee the
delivery of high quality sex education is evaded, often to avoid offence to
a sensitive and vocal minority." The team have also criticised the portrayal
of strong sexual images in films and television, where there is usually no
attempt to promote safer sex.
Failure to address this sexually active group results in 10 per cent of sexually
active adults in Britain contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs),
Bellis said.
The Family Planning Association (FPA) criticised Bellis saying: “Anyone
can be unlucky enough to get an STI. Current high levels cannot be blamed
on one group alone. I don't think the 10 per cent rule holds up."
UK businesses start to tackle HIV prejudice at work
Top
names from British business took part in a conference on HIV and other hidden
disabilities in the workplace last month. Representatives from BT, Unum Provident
and Times Newspapers attended the conference co-hosted by the Positive Futures
Partnership, MS Society and Mind.
Delegates heard how recent amendments to the Disability Discrimination Act
1995 (DDA) had widened the range of professions covered to include fire-fighters,
prison officers, police, barristers and those working on ships and aircraft.
Previously, organisations with fewer than 15 employees were exempt from the
Act - now all employers must comply.
Andrew Little, director of the Positive Futures Partnership, said further
legislation was currently before the House of Commons which would ensure disabled
status started from the point of HIV diagnosis. He said: “It's not that
positive people are disabled per se, but there is a recognition that discrimination
is often based on the knowledge of a person just living with HIV.”
Research shows that well over 50 per cent of people living with HIV will not
disclose their status to an employer for fear of discrimination and stigma.
Kris Evans, a positive person who faced discrimination at work, told the seminar:
“One senior manager told me: ‘everything is confidential…unless
it's juicy'.”
Michael O'Donnell, of Unum Provident, said there was a “big economic
argument” for pushing through changes because of the current skills
shortages.
Chris O’Connor
