Families affected by HIV in the UK fear disclosing to their children because
they do not want their sons and daughters to be overburdened, new research
has found.Researcher Martha Chinouya, of London Metropolitan University, told
the ninth African HIV Research Forum that many families felt their children
were too young to tell, while others saw their immigration status as the barrier
because they had no parental rights in this country.
“There is a lot of tension about rights and what is in the best interest
of the child,” Chinouya said. “In cases where disclosure has occurred,
there is need for support because experience has shown children assume the
role of carer and become over protective towards their parents.” A separate
study carried out by Dr Gareth Tudor-Williams, chair of the Children’s
HIV Association, found young adolescents infected through mother-to-child
transmission needed more help in becoming independent in society after years
of relying on their parents and doctors. On disclosure, Dr Williams said London’s
St Mary’s Hospital worked gradually with parents who resisted telling
their children they were HIV positive by putting forward positive arguments
about the value of knowing.
“If we take it out of the parents’ hands, it is a recipe for disaster.
We need to help them do it themselves,” he said.
Kwangu Liwewe
T-Cell Chronicles online sequel The success of the anthology T-Cell Chronicles has been followed by an ambitious
online sequel of writing, a place where HIV positive people can express themselves
creatively. Pictured at the opening launch at Brighton’s Fabrica on
30 September are singer Jimmy Somerville, a mysterious handsome and tanned
man and Andrew Hanuman, instigator of the project and health promotion worker
at Open Door in Brighton.
www.tcellchronicles.org
A row has reignited over whether sex parties exclusivey for HIV positive gay
men are fuelling the spread of treatment-resistance HIV.UK tabloids seized
on a new study that appeared in a medical journal last month to condemn so-called ‘poz parties’ and HIV positive gay men in general. Poz parties,
highlighted and defended in a recent article by PN columnist Russell Fleet,
are seen as a place where HIV positive gay men meet other positive gay men
to enable them to have ‘bareback’ sex if they wish. An editorial
in London’s morning newspaper Metro led the charge: “The risks
are increased by the fact that these men lead promiscuous lifestyles.”
Broadsheet newspapers and television and radio reports all joined the condemnation
of gay men with HIV for indulging in “unhealthy sexual practices”.
But the National Aids Trust (NAT) condemned the judgmental coverage, pointing
out that the mere existence of poz parties showed how difficult it was for
people living with HIV to reveal their status. An NAT spokesperson said this
was due to the pervasive stigma of HIV, fear of discrimination within the
gay community and because prevention programmes were mostly aimed at non-positive
people.
The NAT called for more information for people living with HIV to make informed
decisions about how to protect themselves and others. The academic paper that
triggered the furore appeared in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.
The paper was based on a survey of 6,500 gay men in Scotland, which showed
a significant increase in unprotected anal sex, up from 11 per cent in 1996
to 19 per cent in 2002.
Levels of “risky sex” with casual or multiple partners were also
reported to have increased as well as the number of men reporting they ‘knew’
their casual partners’ HIV status. But there was no increase in HIV
testing among the men who reported having unprotected anal intercourse with
casual partners.
Professors Graham Hart and Lisa Williamson, of the Medical Research Council’s
Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at Glasgow University, said gay men
were becoming blasé about practising safe sex.
“Monies have not been going into HIV prevention like they had previously,
in part to fuel the expense
of the drug [ARVs] budget.”
Five
African HIV charities from around the country have won this year’s Embrace
award. The annual £5,000 awards are given by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to
organisations showing excellence in HIV health promotion to African communities
with HIV in the UK. Pictured, left to right, are: Susan Mbugua of the Environment
and Health Action Group, North London; Abigail Chakanyuka of the South London
African Women’s Organisation; Tchafu Mwamba of the HIV/Aids Association
of Zambia; Flavia Ndikuno, of the Inter African Women’s Development
Association; Mark Jones, GSK community relations manager, and Charles Simpasa,
of the Pan Afrique Community.
A new study of African men living with HIV in London has found they face complex
problems due to immigration, poverty and underachievement.Study author Dr
Jane Anderson, of Homerton Hospital, said fewer African men were being diagnosed
than women but most presented late with far more damaged immune systems.
Researchers interviewed 44 HIV positive African men aged 25-59 for the study
entitled I want to survive, I want to win, I want tomorrow to find out more
about their lives.They found a vast majority only became aware of their HIV
status because of ill health or when their partner was diagnosed.Co-author
Professor Lesley Doyal, of Bristol University, said HIV disclosure was one
of the most important decisions the men faced and most decided not to, making
their lives “very lonely”. And contrary to media reports of careless
and reckless transmission of HIV by African men, a number of men said they
now had less sex because they feared infecting potential partners.
“The reality of what the men said about their sexual behaviour was different
from the media’s portrayal,” said Doyal.The report highlighted
that, for most men, having a job and the money that goes with it was
central to their self-image. Around half of the African men interviewed were
employed but many felt they were in jobs well below their qualifications.
The refusal to allow Asylum Seekers to work was bitterly resented. And for
many the future was uncertain, often because of unresolved immigration status.
Rhon Reynolds, of the African HIV Policy Network, applauded the study and
said it gave a voice to people who were rarely heard.“There is a need
to turn this evidence into action and not let it fall on deaf ears,” he said.
Reynolds argued there was an urgent need to lobby to change Government’s
policy on employment and deportation of HIV positive migrants.
Kwangu Liwewe
Plan
to spread HIV back-to-work services Workers from the Ensuring Positive Futures (EPF) partnership met last month
to plan the national roll out of the retraining, reskilling and back-to work-services
for HIV positive people.Pointing at a map where the services are expected
to go are, l-r: Towela Munthali, of THT Cymru; Peter Taylor, of Positive Action,
Exeter; Ian Bowman, of the Crescent, St Albans; Ginny Cranshaw, centre coordinator,
The Ribbons Centre, Southampton; Nicole Perkins, of Positive Attitude, Nottingham;
Allan Anderson, Equal programme manager at Positively Women; Thomas Marsh
(partly hidden), of Shield, and Luke Mallett, of
DHIVERSE, Cambridge.
Less than half seen at GU clinics within 48 hours
Just 45 per cent of people attending genito-urinary (GU) clinics are seen
within 48 hours, a new THT survey has found. The report highlights the fact
that the longer a person remains untreated, the more likely they are to pass
the infection on to others. The government has set a target that by 2008 everyone
should be offered a GU appointment within 48 hours.
Your views on GPs sought
People with HIV often report problems accessing GP services, but now you have
a chance to have a say on whether you would prefer to access your GP anywhere
rather than at a local surgery close to your home. The
survey Your Say is an NHS exercise to find out what people want from health
and social care in the community, including GPs. Have your say at: www.nhs.uk/yoursay/
UK ‘worst in Europe’ for dealing with hep C
The UK is facing a hepatitis C (HCV) timebomb, according to the Hepatitis
C Trust. And it will cost the NHS nearly £2 billion over the next ten
years. As many as 69,000 people in the UK are diagnosed as having the virus
but it’s thought a further 400,000 are infected and don’t know.
Only two per cent of people with HCV in Britain are on treatment, the lowest
percentage among countries in Western Europe.
Bank stops HIV probes
Following a loan enquiry from the HSBC, a gay couple from Porthmadog, Wales,
were asked: “Are you a part of, or have you ever been part of the following
groups; bisexual, homosexual or an IV drug user?” The couple have yet
to decide whether to remain customers but a bank spokesman said they would
stop asking such questions.
HIV prevention money ‘dries up’
Last year London received only a third of the money for HIV prevention than
it did compared with in 1997, according to Sigma Research. This is despite
an increase in HIV diagnoses of 66 per cent during that period; 40 per cent
of which are among gay men in the capital. “Last year I was unable to
trace more than £5-6 million earmarked for HIV prevention,” said
Peter Weatherburn, director of Sigma Research.
Threatened HIV charity wins funding and award
A north London HIV charity is winning its battle to survive despite cutbacks
from local councils. Last month PN reported that Oasis North London had lost
its funding from Camden and Islington councils. But the charity
has just won an award of £211,000 from the National Lottery Fund and
was named Camden Volunteering Organisation of the Year. The councils’ own scrutiny panel has since reported a big increase in the number of people
living with HIV in the borough, already the second highest in the country.
Sacked HIV positive youth worker wins case
Youth worker Scott Watts has won his case for unfair dismissal. He was sacked
from his job as a carer after disclosing his HIV status. An employment tribunal
in Kent found his employers in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act
by failing to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to take account of
his medical condition. The employers claimed they had been exempt from the
Act because their clients, people with behavioural problems, sometimes bit
staff.
Kris Evans
New Zealand legal first on HIV disclosure
A New Zealand court has ruled that a man who did not tell his partner he was
HIV positive should not be prosecuted, because he used a condom. Judge Susan
Thomas acquitted Justin Dalley, 36, saying: “The evidence of health
experts is that the use of a condom for vaginal intercourse is sufficient
for the
prevention of HIV and this can be met without the requirement for disclosure.”
Condom crisis hits Uganda
Thirty-two million quality- approved condoms have been impounded by the Ugandan
government while the US
government increases financing for abstinence-only approaches to HIV prevention.
Religious groups are undermining confidence in condoms throughout the country
and contributing to misinformation about their effectiveness, according to
local activists.
Federal funds withheld from abstinence group
The Silver Ring Thing abstinence programme has seen its federal funding withdrawn
following court action by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU has
claimed that activities, brochures and the Silver Ring Thing website were “permeated with religion” and used “taxpayer dollars to
promote religious content, instruction and indoctrination”.
Australia decides to bar HIV positive visitors
“A recent decision by Australia’s Federal Court means that it
is impossible for short stay visa and student visa applicants with HIV to
enter Australia,” according to Rights Australia spokesman, Greg Barns.
He added: “A blanket ban on people with HIV entering Australia is inhumane.”
