AsiaOne: Sex, drugs and the hard facts (Nov 9)

Sex, drugs and the hard facts

In town last month to promote her work, Elizabeth Pisani, the London-based 44-year-old epidemiologist, is as unflinchingly honest in real life as she is in the book.
Tan Hui Yee

Tue, Nov 11, 2008
The Sunday Times

The speaker takes the microphone to address the handful of people at the corner of Page One bookstore. Please, he asks those milling around, take your seats for a session with the author.

No one stirs until a small, pixie-faced woman leans over the mike and announces: 'Sex and drugs in the corner! Sex and drugs in the corner!'

Peals of laughter break out. The seats fill up. The woman is Elizabeth Pisani. Her newly released book, The Wisdom Of Whores, gives an insider's view of the bloated Aids industry and it literally has a lot to do with sex and drugs.

In town last month to promote her work, the London-based 44-year-old epidemiologist is as unflinchingly honest in real life as she is in the book. The former Economist journalist, who spent more than 10 years tracking and fighting the spread of the disease in organisations such as the World Bank, UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation takes no prisoners as she attempts to pin down exactly what is wrong with the system.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (Aids), she says, is 'completely preventable' with a condom and a clean needle. The HIV virus, which causes it, is spread mainly through sex, and drug addicts using infected needles.

But bureaucrats, religious leaders and politicians are squeamish about providing or promoting the use of the two relatively cheap items. Some even insist on making abstinence central to HIV prevention programmes.

'But discouraging sex is never a winning game. Sex is a lot of fun and people will go a long way to get it,' she says.

'Abstinence has no effect on preventing the spread of HIV. It sometimes delays the spread of HIV by about a year and a half, but it doesn't seem to have any effect at all on the overall levels of HIV.'

She also pokes fun at unrealistic pro-abstinence groups, one of which suggests on its website that people 'visit a nursing home' instead of having sex.

'Hmmm, visit a nursing home or have an orgasm? Now let me see...If we base our prevention programme around things which are so obviously absurd, we're going to get nowhere,' she declares.

'Absurd' is also the word she uses for the Singapore Government's move earlier this year to criminalise anyone who has reason to believe that he may be infected with the HIV virus and yet has sex with another person without first informing that person of the risk.

She says: 'I can't imagine a situation when you're in Batam for the weekend with your golf buddy and you're in the brothel, and you think: Oh, you know what, actually I won't have sex with this girl because otherwise if I don't tell my partner I might get into trouble. Or I will use a condom because otherwise...People don't think like that. It's impossible to regulate your way out of this problem.'

'Nothing,' she declares, 'gets in the way of common sense like erections and addiction.'

In her book, she suggests instead that the enforcement of condom use be put in the hands of those in power. The Thai government, for example, registered great success when it threatened to put out of business brothel owners who were lax in enforcing the use of condoms.

The scientist in her will not let political correctness get in the way of plain facts.

While she is derisive of religious zealots who try to paint Aids as a gay disease, she is equally critical of gay men who are lax in their use of condoms.

She writes in her book: 'HIV is not divine retribution for unprotected anal sex with lots of other people. It is simply a consequence of unprotected anal sex with lots of other people, in the same way that lung cancer is a consequence of smoking, and obesity is a consequence of eating fast food, drinking supersized Cokes, and getting in your truck to drive the 800 yards to church instead of walking.'

In Singapore, where heterosexual sex is the main source of HIV infection but gay sex accounts for the fastest-rising source of reported cases, 'the gay community should be very worried', she tells The Sunday Times.

'To say 'Oh, this isn't a gay problem' doesn't help reduce the stigma because in the end what you get is more disease.'

However, she notes that Section 377A of Singapore's penal code, which criminalises sex between men, makes it more difficult for gay men to seek the information they need to protect themselves.

Globally, the budget for Aids in developing countries has grown from a mere US$300 million (S$449 million) a year in 1996 to US$10 billion last year, but vast amounts of money are wasted because governments, for ideological or political reasons, are not focusing enough attention on the groups which need them most - gay men, sex workers and drug injectors.

For example, the United States, which budgeted US$4.2 billion for HIV in developing countries this year, does not allow federal funds to be used on clean needles for drug injectors.

Wastage also stems from the fact that many countries prioritise Aids treatment over other equally or more pressing health threats.

'Why should someone with HIV get free treatment when someone with lung cancer doesn't? The reason that distortion exists is because there is a massive international lobby for free HIV treatment. So developing countries, where a big proportion of the health budget comes from donors - and Indonesia is a classic case - very often spend a big proportion of their health budget on HIV.'

Asked about the provocative title of her book, she paid tribute to the transgender sex workers on the streets of Jakarta who provided her with the greatest insights after she went there seven years ago to work on HIV prevention.

She mentions in particular Ms Ines Angela, a sex worker in Jakarta who pointed out that surveys on sex workers were skewed because researchers were interviewing the least active individuals.

Ms Pisani relates, with a chuckle: 'She said, 'Any sex worker who is on the street talking to a research team is a sex worker who is not with a client... I'm never on a street corner, I'm with a client.'

'And I was like...she's right. Oh dear.'

After that, surveys on the sex workers were conducted through their internal hierarchies, with each district's leader gathering interviewees at her home in the daytime, when they were not working.

The other reason for Ms Pisani's choice of title is somewhat more grim. The budget to fight HIV/Aids worldwide has ballooned almost disproportionately in relation to the number of people suffering from the infection. The number of people living with HIV rose by 38 per cent between 1996 and 2006, but spending on HIV in developing countries surged 2,900 per cent over the same period.

This money, in turn, has attracted groups - some not entirely relevant to the cause - into vying for a piece of the pie.

She reflects: 'After nearly 15 years in this ever-better funded industry, more and more money is sloshing around, and more non-governmental organisations, United Nations organisations and international organisations are jumping into the cause. You see people bending over backwards to get HIV money. In the Aids industry these days, we're all whores.'

» Go to www.straitstimes.com for more on Ms Elizabeth Pisani.

The Wisdom Of Whores. Bureaucrats, Brothels And The Business Of Aids, published by Granta, by Elizabeth Pisani, is on sale at $40.66 (with GST) at major bookstores

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Nov 9, 2008.

TNP: HIV Postive? You Deserve It (Oct 30)

'HIV-positive? You deserve it'

Infected man's mum slams him when he reveals condition. He now hides it from friends and colleagues.

Sat, Nov 01, 2008
The New Paper

By Benson Ang

HE is gay and HIV-positive.

In 2004, one evening during dinner, he broke the news to his family. His mother and elder brother were present.

He was advised by his doctor to break the news to his family so that they could react appropriately in case of an emergency.

James (not his real name), 38, said he was shocked by their reaction at the dinner table.

His dejected mother, in her 70s, first stared at him and asked: 'How did this happen?

He replied: 'Through sex.'

She shot back: 'Then, you've only yourself to blame.'

His brother kept silent throughout the conversation.

There was a deafening silence for the rest of the dinner, interrupted only by his mother's questions regarding the illness.

Frightened

From then on, his family members were so frightened of the virus that they even washed and stored the plates and utensils he used separately and kept them in a different place.

James, who works in the service industry, said: 'I know that sharing cutlery cannot transmit the virus. But because they had not much knowledge of this, I just played along to reassure them.'

This less-accepting attitude towards HIV-positive people was revealed in a recent Health Promotion Board (HPB) survey. This is the first large population-based survey of its kind, according to HPB.

Since the first HIV case in Singapore was detected in 1985, only one person has dared to come out as HIV-positive. The late Paddy Chew went public with his condition in 1998 and eventually died in 1999.

Which goes on to show that even after 10 years, the stigma associated with HIV patients still hasn't gone away.

Said James, who works in the service industry: 'It was a double whammy - telling them that I was gay and HIV positive.

'I think my mum was just devastated and traumatised. It took several months before she came around to accepting my condition.'

A year later, he moved out of his family flat to his own three-room flat.

It took his family about two years to come to terms with the illness and be comfortable with mixing their cutlery with his.

His mother began talking to him more frequently and things went back to normal.

He said he tested positive for HIV in 1996 through unprotected sex with a former lover.

So how did he manage to keep this secret for eight years? He said: 'This is nothing. People have kept secrets for their whole lifetime.'

The only people who know about his illness are his family, partner, and the HIV-positive people he came to know through an Action for Aids (AfA) support group. James joined the group in 2002 when he started on his medication.

Why did he take six years to start on medication when he knew he was already HIV positive?

He said: 'I felt healthy and was ignorant of the disease at that time.

(Page 1 of 2)

'It was only when I had a chest infection in 2002 that reality hit me.'

He said he has not revealed his condition to any of his friends and colleagues, despite having lived with HIV for 12 years.

He said: 'Singapore society is still very unaccepting of gay people, let alone those with HIV.'

So why isn't he revealing his status?

He says he is just being 'practical', since in Singapore, there are no laws protecting HIV-positive people from discrimination by their employers.

This was verified by three lawyers The New Paper spoke to.

James said that employers who may not know much about HIV may just terminate such employees out of fear.

He claimed that some of his HIV-positive friends told their bosses about their condition, and ended up being sacked 'for the minutest reason'.

He takes anti-retroviral drugs at home instead: twice daily - in the mornings and evenings - to combat the spread of the virus.

He does not have full-blown Aids, but sometimes experiences side effects from his medication, such as nausea, diarrhoea and skin problems.

And although he shops, eats, sings karaoke and goes to the movies with his HIV-negative friends, most of whom are gay men, none know about his condition.

James said: 'I haven't got the guts to tell them. I just act buat-bodoh (blur) when the subject comes up, because I don't know if they can really accept it or not.

'I just don't see the need to tell them, especially since news tends to have a roll-on effect.'

James suspects that he contracted the disease through unprotected sex with a former lover.

'But I can't be sure, so I don't want to point fingers.'

A few months later, he became 'very sick', and had to be hospitalised for six days.

A blood test confirmed his HIV status.

Life goes on

'At first, I felt down. But life goes on.'

He says he does not want to 'perpetuate the cycle' with his current partner of three years, who is HIV-negative. They use condoms.

Prior to sharing his secret, James said he asked his partner leading questions to see how accepting the latter was of people with HIV.

James revealed the truth only when he felt it was safe, a few months into the relationship.

James said: 'My partner cried. But two weeks later, he told me, 'No worries. We will go through it together.'

'This made life much easier.'

Added James: 'I'll never have a job again if I were to come out publicly in Singapore. I'll have more to lose.'

This story was first published in The New Paper on Oct 30, 2008.

HIV/AIDS Talk at Kampong Kapor Methodist Church

ST Forum: Corporate Social Responsibility (Sept 18)

Sep 18, 2008
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Let's get down to business
THESE articles in The Straits Times deserve commendation: Miss Li
Xueying on religious diversity last Friday ('Tackling religious
taboo'), Mr Wong Kim Hoh on transsexuals ('When papa became mama',
Sept 6) and Miss Tan Hui Yee on migrant workers ('Standing up for
foreign workers', Sept 10).

They are expressions of corporate social responsibility of your
newspaper and are in line with the goals of major corporations,
business tycoons and religious leaders. Your publication is
world-class in promoting social responsibility in this part of the world.

It's time Singapore incorporates social responsibility in our culture.
We have read much about our necessity to import foreign talent so that
Singapore can become a financial, medical and research hub, and make
its contribution to the global society. While appreciating foreign
talent with great skills, we must not ignore foreign workers with less
skills who work among us here.

The construction industry is highly dependent upon workers in this
region who come here to work in tough, physically-demanding
conditions. They build our buildings, lay our roads, clean our
environment and yet find it so difficult to rest from their daily
labour with proper housing. Our domestic workers have left their own
homes and family to work in ours, looking after our children and aged
parents, and yet do not have a fair contract and time to rest.

People with different sexual orientations are being discriminated
socially and economically even though they are our own fellow citizens.

Foreign sex workers come here to secure an income to feed their
families in their poor rural societies. How do we show kindness, care
and concern when we turn a deaf ear to the cries of such people in our
midst?

Some corporations and a few churches are actively engaged in the
alleviation of poverty, elimination of HIV/Aids - especially in the
African countries - and reduction of global warming. Our own business
establishments need to exercise corporate social responsibility.

Each of us can make a difference and work together to build a kind,
caring and compassionate society.

Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao

KKMC and TRAC Board of Outreach and Social Concern presents "Churches Living with HIV/AIDS

Greetings!

Kampng Kapor Methodist Church (KKMC) and the TRAC Board of Outreach and Social Concern will be organizing an HIV Awareness Seminar entitled “Churches Living with HIV/AIDS” on 25 Oct.2008 from 2 to 5.30pm at KKMC.

On that day, KKMC will launch a book entitled “Overlooking the Overlooked” mainly based on the papers delivered at our HIV/AIDS Seminar with the same title, organized on 29 September 2007. The publication of the book was sponsored by the Chen Su Lan Trust and will be a gift to the Christian Community to raise consciousness of the issue of HIV/AIDS. Dr Yap Kim Hao‘s “compassionate outreach to people living with HIV” will be acknowledged in the foreword of the book.

We have put together exciting topics and speakers for the coming HIV/ AIDS seminar, “Churches Living with HIV/AIDS” – 25 Oct. 2008:

1) From Breaking The Conspiracy of Silence to Sharing a Spirituality of Life
Rev Dr Donald Messer,
Executive Director

2) Spiritual and Holistic Approaches to
the HIV/AIDS Crisis
Centre for the Church and Global AIDS

3) How A Church Without Walls
Embraces the Outcasts
Mr Jeremy Choy,
Board member of City Harvest
Community Services

4) Hospitality and Acceptance
for the marginalised
Ms Geraldine Subramaniam, Administrator
Ministry of Catholic Aids Response Effort (C.A.R.E.)

5) How to Care for People
Living with HIV
Ms Ho Lai Peng,
Principal Medical Social Worker,
Communicable Disease Centre
Tan Tock Seng Hospital

Thank you.

Still in One Peace
Gabriel Liew
http://www.kkmc. org.sg

Journal of Communication Inquiry: It's the Gays' Fault

This version was published on October 1, 2008
Journal of Communication Inquiry, Vol. 32, No. 4, 383-399 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0196859908320295

It's the Gays' Fault

News and HIV as Weapons Against Homosexuality in Singapore

Debbie Goh
Indiana University, Bloomington, dgoh@indiana.edu

As homosexuality in Singapore is illegal and suffers from social stigmatization, the local media avoided the topic until recent acknowledgment by a top-ranking official of the presence of gays in Singapore opened the floodgates for media publicity. The flourishing underground gay scene triggered the international media to name Singapore as Asia's new "pink" capital. Although it acknowledges homosexuals, the Singapore government still does not condone their activity and public declaration of Singapore as a gay haven spooked the government, who sought a subtle approach to discipline and control the public behavior of homosexuals: through discourse about homosexuality in the national newspaper. Drawing from Foucault's repressive hypothesis on sexuality, this article examines news coverage of the government's blaming of homosexuals for the rise of HIV/AIDS cases in Singapore and argues that Singapore's national daily, in framing homosexuality as promiscuous and contrary to traditional values, served as a platform for the government to reestablish control and subvert homosexuality in Singapore.

Key Words: news framing • homosexuality • control • Singapore • Foucault

ST: Indian gays hold rare march for their rights (July 1)

July 1, 2008
Indian gays hold rare march for their rights
Coming-out pride rallies show how attitudes in nation are changing rapidly
By Ravi Velloor

NEW DELHI - AT FIRST glance, the 500 or so marchers in central New
Delhi looked like they were rallying for communal harmony.

'Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isai,' read the placards they carried, using the
Hindi word for Christian.

Below those words were another rhyming line: 'Homo-hetero bhai bhai.'

Bhai-bhai in common Hindi translates as 'brotherhood'.

The marchers were holding an unprecedented public demonstration in the
national capital on Sunday for gay rights, showing sympathy towards
those clustered as LGBT - short for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender.

In the technology hub of Bangalore, dozens of gays came out of the
closet to hold what is commonly known as a pride rally. So, too, did
gays in Kolkata, where pride rallies have been held since 2003.

Among the marchers in New Delhi was Mr K.R. Gopalan, a retired Indian
Air Force officer whose daughter is a lesbian.

'I came here to support my daughter,' he told reporters covering the
rally. 'I support her decision on her sexuality.'

The coming-out pride rally underscores how rapidly attitudes are
changing in this country regarding practices and ideas that go against
the norm.

India has had its famous gays. The late rock star Freddie Mercury, who
fronted the British band Queen, was born in Mumbai as Farrokh Balsara.
He died of Aids in 1991 and was a homosexual. Writer Vikram Seth
recently acknowledged that he is gay.

But for the most part, homosexuals have remained in the closet,
stigmatised by society. Indeed, India's public laws are often woefully
behind the times, thanks in part to the humbug of politicians and
administrators.

Some years ago, when top character actresses Shabana Azmi and Nandita
Das starred in a movie on lesbianism called Fire, right-wing
protesters succeeded in having the film pulled from many theatres
nationwide.

In Bangalore, perhaps India's most globalised city that was once known
for its swinging night life, the administration now bans live music in
its bars. Mumbai has banned its once-ubiquitous 'dance bars'.

India's laws treat homosexuality as a crime.

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, drafted in 1860, prescribes
punishment for up to 10 years for 'carnal intercourse against the
order of nature'.

Human rights groups, in a challenge at the Delhi High Court, are
asking the judges to declare that India's law does not apply to
consenting adults. The court is set to hear arguments this week.

'In India, gays and lesbians still live highly closeted lives,' said
Mr Vikram Doctor, 40, a member of the Queer Media Collective, a group
of journalists who aim for a more balanced treatment of gay and
lesbian issues.

'There is still violence. There are still many desperate suicides by
gay couples. There is still harassment. And there is still intense
pressure to marry those they do not want to be with. But today, we
have a voice. This march has taken on a momentum of its own.'

The penal code is rarely applied, but hangs as a threat and a tool for
corrupt policemen to occasionally extort money.

This time around, gay rights activists probably have a better chance
of being heard. One reason is that there is growing realisation in
India that driving homosexuals underground may be hindering the drive
to combat Aids.

Mr Ashok Row Kavi, a pioneering gay rights activist in India, noted
that homosexuality is gaining acceptance in the West after years of
struggle.

'It is going to be a bitter fight here as well because modern India is
a product of many other cultures,' said Mr Kavi, who works as a
consultant for UNAids.

velloor@sph.com.sg

ST: 3.1% of men who have sex with men found to be HIV-infected in landmark HIV testing project in Singapore (May 23)

3.1% of men who have sex with men found to be HIV-infected in landmark HIV testing project in Singapore

Singapore – May 23, 2008 – 3.1% of men who have sex with men (MSM) were found to be HIV-infected in a landmark project to make HIV testing more accessible to the MSM community. Nine hundred and sixty MSM volunteered for the free and anonymous testing service at MSM frequented venues, of which 30 tested positive for HIV.

This HIV prevalence among MSM is one of the lowest in the region.

The objective of the initiative was to enhance HIV awareness, encourage HIV testing and gauge the acceptability of community based HIV-testing among MSM in Singapore. The project was conducted by AfA at venues and establishments frequented by MSM between December 2007 and February 2008, using the OraQuick test.

The effort was warmly received by people who participated in the outreach. Both members of the community and business owners were quick to praise the initiative, which was titled Take the Test. Take Control.

One participant remarked "Getting an HIV test can be a scary experience, but knowing one's status is really quite a liberating experience." It was his first HIV test, as it was for 27% of those who participated in the project.

"These findings suggest that while MSM are at high-risk for HIV infection, scaled up and targeted AIDS campaigns that include clear messages emphasizing correct & consistent condom use during anal intercourse and regular HIV testing have been effective in keeping the HIV prevalence among Singaporean MSM relatively low," says Mr Daniel Tung, Action for AIDS' MSM programme director.

"However the community must not become complacent, we cannot afford to drop our guard of adopting safer sex practices and specifically 100% condom use for anal intercourse. Complacency has been the case in many other cities that have recently documented alarming increases in HIV prevalence among MSM."

In a post-campaign survey following last year's *Think Again campaign, unprotected anal sex between men was found to have been reduced by between 22-27%compared to the statistics from the Behavioural Surveillance Studies (BSS) conducted by Fridae in 2006.

In the 2006 BSS, 46.9% of MSM surveyed had an HIV test in the preceding 12 months. The proportion of recent HIV testing is a result of community efforts to raise the awareness of the risk of HIV within the MSM community. AfA is aiming for this number to hit 80% by 2011.

To emphasise the message of personal responsibility, AfA, together with gay media company Fridae.com are launching a new campaign – We Can Stop AIDS Now. The campaign focuses on individual empowerment, and shows how HIV transmission can stop today if everyone plays their role. Campaign materials can be found at venues frequented by MSM, or by logging into www.stopaidsnow. info.

Action for AIDS would like to thank the community, business owners and volunteers who participated in this important project, and the Ministry of Health for providing the funding.

CNA: Number of new HIV cases hit record high of 422 in 2007 (April 29)

Number of new HIV cases hit record high of 422 in 2007
By Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 April 2008 1839 hrs

SINGAPORE: Latest figures from the Ministry of Health (MOH) showed 422 new cases of HIV infection were detected in Singapore in 2007, the highest in a single year since 1985. MOH added that 93 per cent of the cases were men.

This brings the total number of reported cases as of end-2007 to 3,482. Out of these cases, 1,534 are carriers showing no symptoms, while 804 have AIDS-related illnesses and 1,144 have died.

MOH said sexual transmission remains the main mode of HIV infection resulting in 95 per cent of the new cases. Out of the 422 new cases, 255 were infected during heterosexual sex. Meanwhile, 130 of them caught HIV through homosexual activity, a 38 per cent rise compared to 2006.

One reason for the increase in this group could be due to more screening.

29 per cent of homosexuals had their HIV detected during voluntary screening compared to just 5 per cent of heterosexuals. Action for Aids said this is a result of greater awareness arising from more intensive and targeted campaigns for men who have sex with men.

Meanwhile, infection via intravenous drug use halved from 14 cases in 2006 to seven last year.

One case saw HIV being contracted through blood transfusion overseas and is the first such reported case in the past six years.

57 per cent of all new cases reported in 2007 were Singapore citizens and permanent residents between 30 and 49 years of age. About one-eighth of the cases were between 20 and 29 years of age.

Ten people aged under 20 were diagnosed HIV positive. Of these, one was a baby infected by his mother during pregnancy.

Action for Aids said: "More young persons are having sex and at a younger age. Programmes meant for young people must address all aspects of sexual behaviour, including homosexuality and condom use, otherwise those most at risk will not be helped."

According to the ministry, 53 per cent of the new cases already had late stage HIV infection when they were diagnosed.

Only 13 per cent of new cases were detected through voluntary screening, while most had their HIV status detected while they were undergoing some form of medical care.

In its annual HIV/AIDS update, the health ministry urged those engaging in high-risk sexual behaviour to use condoms properly and go for HIV testing regularly. - CNA/vm

Fridae.com: Health Authorities and MSM Community must co-operate to combat HIV in Singapore: Minister Balaji (Dec 15)

Health Authorities and MSM Community must co-operate to combat HIV in Singapore: Minister Balaji
By Sylvia Tan

Citing Sydney's success in reducing HIV prevalence rates among MSM, Dr Balaji Sadasivan urged for greater co-operation among health authorities, the NGOs and the MSM community to reduce HIV infection rates.

Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on HIV/AIDS, urged for greater co-operation among health authorities, the NGOs and the MSM community to reduce HIV infection rates.

The Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Information, Communications and the Arts was the guest of honour at the HOPE (HIV Outreach: Prevention & Empowerment) concert held at the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre on Thursday night.

[PIC]According to organisers, the event which featured Los Angeles-based gay Christian pop duo and real life couple Jason and deMarco, and local performers including John Lee, Hossan Leong, Selena Tan, nominated Member of Parliament Eunice Olsen, and hosts Chua Enlai and Mistevious.

"We have waited two years for this," quipped Jason, one-half of the duo who was barred by the Singapore authorities from performing in 2005. Concert organisers Safehaven, a ministry of gay-affirmative Free Community Church, had tried to organise a similar event with the duo but had their application turned down by the Media Development Authority.

The number of new HIV infections is on rise with an estimated 30 percent of the 356 newly detected cases of HIV cases between January and October this year contracted through male-to-male contact. The number will surpass last year's record of 357 of which 26 per cent were MSM.

The former Senior Minister of State for Health told the audience that there has been a resurgence in the prevalence rates of HIV among MSM communities in the west while in some Asian cities, one in four MSM are testing positive for HIV. He cited Sydney as an example of a city which has bucked the trend and which Singapore can take lessons from.

"In Australia... particularly the city of Sydney, the prevalence of HIV has been low and what is more remarkable it has been going down in the MSM community over the last decade," he said.

"The way they seem to have achieved this is through co-operation between the health authorities, the NGOs and the MSM community working together to create a culture of safer sex and regular HIV testing. If we can follow the Sydney model in Singapore and work together – the health officials, the NGOs and the MSM community – there's no reason why we cannot achieve what they have done in Sydney – low prevalence rate, in fact, decreasing prevalence rate."

In July this year, Dr Balaji had gone on a study trip to Sydney, accompanied by health officials and representatives from AFA, Fridae and Oogachaga, a gay and lesbian affirmative counselling agency.

Although it was not advertised in the programme, People Like Us – a group dedicated to public education and equal treatment for gay and lesbian citizens – took the opportunity to honour Reverend Dr Yap Kim Hao with the inaugural PLU (People Like Us) Dignity Award.

Reverend Yap, who currently serves as Pastoral Advisor to the Free Community Church, is known to be an outspoken supporter of the LGBT community - speaking publicly and writing frequently to the press.

The 78-year-old told Fridae in an interview: "I have been doing what comes 'naturally' in my continuing concern for the minorities who are being discriminated because of their race, religion, economic condition, gender and sexual orientation. It is my conviction that God loves and cares for such people more because they are being 'sinned against' by those who are politically powerful and economically dominating."

"The gathering of over 900 predominantly LGBT people at the Hope concert with (mostly) gay talented artistes is a significant milestone in the struggles for gay acceptance in what has often been regarded as a conservative Singapore society. It is to pledge to combat HIV/AIDS and to engage in safe and responsible sex. To be safe is to be responsible for we have to do what we believe to be morally right for ourselves, partners and human community."

Fridae.com: Health Authorities and MSM Community must co-operate to combat HIV in Singapore: Minister Balaji (Dec 15)

Health Authorities and MSM Community must co-operate to combat HIV in Singapore: Minister Balaji
By Sylvia Tan

Citing Sydney's success in reducing HIV prevalence rates among MSM, Dr Balaji Sadasivan urged for greater co-operation among health authorities, the NGOs and the MSM community to reduce HIV infection rates.

Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on HIV/AIDS, urged for greater co-operation among health authorities, the NGOs and the MSM community to reduce HIV infection rates.

The Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Information, Communications and the Arts was the guest of honour at the HOPE (HIV Outreach: Prevention & Empowerment) concert held at the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre on Thursday night.

[PIC]According to organisers, the event which featured Los Angeles-based gay Christian pop duo and real life couple Jason and deMarco, and local performers including John Lee, Hossan Leong, Selena Tan, nominated Member of Parliament Eunice Olsen, and hosts Chua Enlai and Mistevious.

"We have waited two years for this," quipped Jason, one-half of the duo who was barred by the Singapore authorities from performing in 2005. Concert organisers Safehaven, a ministry of gay-affirmative Free Community Church, had tried to organise a similar event with the duo but had their application turned down by the Media Development Authority.

The number of new HIV infections is on rise with an estimated 30 percent of the 356 newly detected cases of HIV cases between January and October this year contracted through male-to-male contact. The number will surpass last year's record of 357 of which 26 per cent were MSM.

The former Senior Minister of State for Health told the audience that there has been a resurgence in the prevalence rates of HIV among MSM communities in the west while in some Asian cities, one in four MSM are testing positive for HIV. He cited Sydney as an example of a city which has bucked the trend and which Singapore can take lessons from.

"In Australia... particularly the city of Sydney, the prevalence of HIV has been low and what is more remarkable it has been going down in the MSM community over the last decade," he said.

"The way they seem to have achieved this is through co-operation between the health authorities, the NGOs and the MSM community working together to create a culture of safer sex and regular HIV testing. If we can follow the Sydney model in Singapore and work together – the health officials, the NGOs and the MSM community – there's no reason why we cannot achieve what they have done in Sydney – low prevalence rate, in fact, decreasing prevalence rate."

In July this year, Dr Balaji had gone on a study trip to Sydney, accompanied by health officials and representatives from AFA, Fridae and Oogachaga, a gay and lesbian affirmative counselling agency.

Although it was not advertised in the programme, People Like Us – a group dedicated to public education and equal treatment for gay and lesbian citizens – took the opportunity to honour Reverend Dr Yap Kim Hao with the inaugural PLU (People Like Us) Dignity Award.

Reverend Yap, who currently serves as Pastoral Advisor to the Free Community Church, is known to be an outspoken supporter of the LGBT community - speaking publicly and writing frequently to the press.

The 78-year-old told Fridae in an interview: "I have been doing what comes 'naturally' in my continuing concern for the minorities who are being discriminated because of their race, religion, economic condition, gender and sexual orientation. It is my conviction that God loves and cares for such people more because they are being 'sinned against' by those who are politically powerful and economically dominating."

"The gathering of over 900 predominantly LGBT people at the Hope concert with (mostly) gay talented artistes is a significant milestone in the struggles for gay acceptance in what has often been regarded as a conservative Singapore society. It is to pledge to combat HIV/AIDS and to engage in safe and responsible sex. To be safe is to be responsible for we have to do what we believe to be morally right for ourselves, partners and human community."

ST: The Penal Code (Dec 5)

Dec 5, 2007
THE PENAL CODE
Balancing evidence and rhetoric in law reform
By Kumaralingam Amirthalingam

ONE of the controversial issues arising from the recent Penal Code
reform exercise was the decision not to repeal Section 377A, which
criminalises acts of gross indecency between males.

The controversy was heightened by the fact that 377, which
criminalised unnatural offences, including anal and oral sex as well
as bestiality, was repealed.

The debate was emotional and occasionally went beyond the bounds of
propriety. As the dust settles, we have to deal with the post-reform
framework and see what lessons the experience offers for criminal law
reform.

Two points deserve attention: First, the need to focus on criminal law
principles and the law itself; and next, the need to rely on empirical
evidence and not be blindsided by rhetoric.

The background to the reform shows that Parliament was motivated by
public outrage that consensual oral sex between heterosexual couples
could be a crime. But by repealing 377, Parliament also decriminalised
consensual anal sex regardless of whether the partner is male or female.

Without specifically re-enacting an offence to deal with anal sex
between males, a lacuna in the law may have been created where
private, consensual anal sex between males is unregulated.

Previously, one of the arguments for 377 was that it was necessary to
protect males from non-consensual sodomy or male rape, as there was no
specific law governing such acts. But that argument is no longer
relevant, given the new Section 376(1), which specifically
criminalises non-consensual oral and anal sex.

There is an assumption that 377A includes anal sex as part of the
definition of gross indecency. However, the legislative history of the
two provisions, as well as the existing jurisprudence and
prosecutorial policy, suggests that 377A does not include anal sex.

Section 377A was not in the original Penal Code of the Straits
Settlements (the precursor to the Singapore Penal Code), but was
introduced in 1938 following reforms in England. During the
introduction of the Bill, it was explained that 377A 'makes punishable
acts of gross indecency between male persons which do not amount to an
unnatural offence within the meaning of 377 of the Code' (italics
added). Clearly, 377 and 377A were intended to be complementary but
mutually exclusive provisions.

The fact that the two provisions are aimed at different acts was
highlighted in a Singapore High Court decision, PP v Kwan Kwong Weng,
where the judge held that 377 was limited to anal sex and bestiality,
excluding oral sex, which properly belonged to 377A.

The decision was overturned on appeal, where it was held that 377
could include oral sex in certain serious cases where a higher
punishment was warranted. It should be noted that 377 carried a
maximum life sentence while 377A has a maximum sentence of two years.
While the prosecution had the discretion to prosecute oral sex cases
under either 377 or 377A, there is no local authority where anal sex
has been prosecuted under 377A.

The crucial question then is whether gross indecency in 377A can be
interpreted to include anal sex in the light of the repeal of 377.
Arguably, courts should not interpret 377A in this way, as one of the
principles of statutory interpretation, particularly in criminal law,
is that where there is ambiguity, the penal provision should be
interpreted in favour of the accused.

Had Parliament intended to retain the crime of anal sex between males,
it should have done so explicitly. Indeed, it did just that with the
offence of bestiality, which having existed in the repealed 377 was
re-enacted in a new 377B.

There was much rhetoric during the 377A debate about homosexuality
contributing to the spread of HIV/Aids and gay men being predisposed
to paedophilia. But the available evidence does not support the rhetoric.

It must be emphasised that HIV/Aids is not exclusively a gay disease.
According to official UN figures, globally, women account for half of
HIV infections and in sub-Saharan Africa, young women account for 75
per cent of such infections. In India, as in Singapore, the main means
of transmission is heterosexual intercourse.

While men who have sex with men are among the high-risk categories in
some countries, studies show that criminalisation of sex between men
increases the risk of HIV infection as it, among other things, drives
such activity underground and impedes access to health care, HIV
screening and safe sex campaigns.

That 377 and 377A impede the fight against the spread of HIV/Aids has
been affirmed locally in a recent paper by Dr Roy Chan, the director
of the National Skin Centre and an expert on sexually transmitted
diseases.

In terms of the alleged link between homosexuality and paedophilia,
the American Psychological Association points to a study of child sex
abuse cases which shows that under 1 per cent of the molesters
identify themselves as gay, and that almost 90 per cent of the
molesters have had documented heterosexual relationships.

A court in Texas, in rejecting the testimony of an expert who argued
that homosexuals were more likely to be paedophiles, found that the
data had been distorted, and described the testimony as fraudulent and
misleading.

Following a review of available empirical evidence, a research fellow
at the Australian Institute of Family Studies has concluded that the
link between paedophilia and homosexuality is 'more a societal myth
than a reality'.

Criminal law reform on the basis of ideology and rhetoric, rather than
evidence and reality, is fraught with danger. In the case of 377A,
there is now an ambiguity that is unlikely to be resolved. Parliament
will have no desire to clarify the law by enacting specific laws and,
given that 377A will not be proactively enforced, courts may not have
the opportunity to interpret 377A in the post-reform era.

We are left with a criminal law that makes no sense and which may in
fact be harmful to our efforts to contain the spread of Aids as well
as to combat child sex abuse.

This predicament is largely due to the fact that we took our eyes off
the ball during the debate: Instead of focusing on the proper function
and ambit of criminal law, we focused on homosexuality. In sports
parlance, we played the man rather than the ball.

The writer teaches criminal law and torts at the Faculty of Law,
National University of Singapore. The views here are his own.

DPA: Record numbers undergoing testing for HIV in Singapore (Dec 1)

Record numbers undergoing testing for HIV in Singapore

Singapore - Nearly 6,000 people were tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, during the first nine months of 2007 in Singapore, a record number for the city-state, news reports said Saturday. The figure reflects the increasing options people have to be tested anonymously and quickly, health officials said.

By the end of October, there were 356 people who tested positive, one person less than the total for all of 2006, according to findings reported in The Straits Times.

More than half of those with HIV were in the late stages of infection, the Health Ministry said.

More than two-thirds of those testing positive in the first half of the year got the virus through heterosexual sex, while less than a quarter were exposed through gay sex, the report said.

Nine in 10 of the HIV cases were people aged 20 to 59.

Early testing enables HIV patients to start on medication that can help them live relatively normal lives much longer.

"Diagnosing for HIV is not difficult," Dr Roy Chan, president of Action for Aids, was quoted as saying. "The more avenues we have, the better."

He attributed delays in getting tested to the stigma still associated with the disease.

Speedy tests have become available at 100 clinics since August. More testing sites are planned.

TodayOnline: Once-banned gay pop duo given green light for concert here (Nov 22)

Once-banned gay pop duo given green light for concert here

Thursday • November 22, 2007

Alicia Wong
alicia@mediacorp.com.sg

IN A sign that authorities are prepared to work with civil society groups to tackle the HIV problem, a once-banned gay pop duo has been given the green light to take part in a concert here next month.

And the HIV Outreach, Prevention and Empowerment (Hope) Concert will have as its guest of honour, Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Information, Communications and the Arts).

The gay duo, Jason and deMarco, had a planned performance here cancelled two years ago after the Media Development Authority (MDA) rejected an application by the organiser, Safehaven, a gay-affirmative Christian support group, for an Arts and Entertainment Licence.

The MDA had then cited "alternative lifestyles are against the public interest" as its ground for rejection.

Explaining its change of heart, the MDA said that the organisers had assured the authority that the aim of the Dec 13 concert is Aids education and HIV prevention.

"The organiser for this concert has rated the performance R18 and has given the assurance to MDA that the concert is targeted at the high-risk group," said Ms Amy Tsang, MDA's Deputy Director (Arts & Licensing) of the Media Content Division in an email reply to Today.

Dr Balaji's scheduled attendance at the concert is not surprising since he had earlier touched on the need for the authorities and non-governmental organisations to work together in tackling the spread of HIV.

Out of the 357 new HIV cases reported in Singapore last year, 26 per cent were contracted through homosexual sex.

In an interview with this newspaper in August, Dr Balaji noted that in the Australian state of New South Wales, the number of HIV cases reported each year had, on the whole, been dropping over the past decade.

Dr Balaji had earlier went on a study trip to Sydney, accompanied by Ministry of Health (MOH) officials and representatives from Action for Aids (AFA), gay web site Fridae.com and Oogachaga, a local gay and lesbian affirmative counselling agency.

Referring to the Sydney trip, Mr Paul Toh, AFA's Director for fund-raising and programmes, said yesterday: " I guess the Government has learnt from other developed Western countries how they can cope in terms of managing the epidemics within the alternative lifestyle community."

Mr Toh said while everyone has a role to play in addressing the HIV problem, the Government "bears more weight" because it has the "political will to move things at a faster pace".

Jointly organised by AFA and Safehaven, the HOPE Concert aims to raise awareness on HIV and Aids in the gay community, said Mr Alphonsus Lee, the chairman of Safehaven.

The concert will be held at the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre, which can house a 1,100-strong audience. The one-night only performance will also involve local artists such as Chua Enlai as MC, Hossan Leong and Selena Tan.

Concert tickets are available only through AFA and restricted channels, such as nightclubs, saunas and gay website Fridae.com.

"We are very conscious of the mainstream view of such a concert and we would like to be respectful of their views ... So, we are willing to restrict ourselves," said Mr Lee.

Although this is a "once-off event the official nod for the HOPE concert is "good news" since it will help increase local Aids and HIV awareness, said Mr Bryan Choong of Oogachaga.

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has criticised the Anglican Church and its leadership for its attitudes towards homosexuality.

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has criticised the Anglican Church and its leadership for its attitudes towards homosexuality.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4, he said the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, had failed to demonstrate that God is "welcoming".

He also repeated accusations that the Church was "obsessed" with the issue of gay priests.

He said it should rather be focusing on global problems such as Aids.

"Our world is facing problems - poverty, HIV and Aids - a devastating pandemic, and conflict," said Archbishop Tutu, 76.

"God must be weeping looking at some of the atrocities that we commit against one another.

"In the face of all of that, our Church, especially the Anglican Church, at this time is almost obsessed with questions of human sexuality."

Criticising Dr Williams, he said: "Why doesn't he demonstrate a particular attribute of God's which is that God is a welcoming God."

'Extraordinarily homophobic'

Archbishop Tutu referred to the debate about whether Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, could serve as the bishop of New Hampshire.

He said the Anglican Church had seemed "extraordinarily homophobic" in its handling of the issue, and that he had felt "saddened" and "ashamed" of his church at the time.

Asked if he still felt ashamed, he said: "If we are going to not welcome or invite people because of sexual orientation, yes.

"If God, as they say, is homophobic, I wouldn't worship that God."

Dr Williams has been working to limit divisions between liberal and traditionalist Anglicans that came to the fore following Bishop Robinson's consecration in 2003.

Following his plea for compromise, leaders of the Episcopal Church in the US agreed to halt the consecration of gay priests as bishops, to prevent a split in the Anglican Communion.

In the interview, Archbishop Tutu also rebuked religious conservatives who said homosexuality was a choice.

"It is a perversion if you say to me that a person chooses to be homosexual.

"You must be crazy to choose a way of life that exposes you to a kind of hatred.

"It's like saying you choose to be black in a race-infected society."

AFP: Failed AIDS vaccine may have increased infection risk (Nov 8)

Failed AIDS vaccine may have increased infection risk
AFP - Thursday, November 8

CHICAGO (AFP) - - A once-promising vaccine for AIDS may have inadvertently increased the infection risk of people participating in clinical trials, researchers said Wednesday.
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The multinational trials involving more than 3,000 HIV-negative volunteers were cancelled in September after a large-scale study found it was not effective at preventing infection.

Further analysis showed that those who received the vaccine had a higher rate of infection than those who received a placebo, said US pharmaceutical giant Merck, which helped develop the vaccine.

The study volunteers who received the vaccine are being advised of their potentially increased susceptibility, Merck said.

"We are analyzing the data to try to determine if the results are due to immune responses induced by the vaccine, differences in study populations, or some other biological phenomenon we don't yet understand, or simply due to chance," said Keith Gottesdiener, vice president of Merck's vaccine and infectious disease clinical research.

"It will take some time before we understand why the vaccine did not work and why there was a trend toward more cases of infection in volunteers who received the vaccine," he said in a statement.

The experimental vaccine cannot cause infection, Merck said.

It was a modified cold virus used to deliver three synthetically produced HIV genes in the hopes of stimulating a response from the immune system.

Unlike earlier failed vaccines which tried to get the immune system to produce antibodies, the V520 vaccine stimulated T cells, the main disease fighters of the body.

These are the cells which HIV infects and uses to replicate itself, leading to a drop in the number of T cells available to fight off other infections.

It's possible that the volunteers became more vulnerable to HIV infection because the vaccine stimulates an increase in the production of T cells, a spokeswoman told AFP.

The randomized, double-blind trials were conducted in various sites in the United States, Canada, Peru, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Australia and South Africa beginning in 2004.

Volunteers, who were already at high-risk of contracting AIDS, were given prevention counseling in addition to the vaccine or placebo. But dozens became infected anyway.

All but one of the infections among those given the vaccine were in male volunteers and the bulk of those infected were homosexual men.

Those with a higher level of pre-existing immunity to the modified cold virus used to deliver the vaccine were twice as likely to have been infected if they received the vaccine.

The initial analysis found 21 cases of HIV infection among the 392 men who received the vaccine while only nine cases were reported among the 386 men with a high level of pre-existing immunity who were given a placebo.

The results are "both disappointing and puzzling," said Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which co-sponsored the trials.

"Certainly, the failure of this HIV vaccine product was unexpected," he said in a statement.

"But this setback should not and can not diminish our commitment to developing an effective HIV vaccine."

About 12,000 people become infected with HIV every day and vaccines have historically been the most effective tool against infections diseases like polio and smallpox.

While scientists work on developing a vaccine, politicians need to implement proven prevention methods, Fauci said, adding that "Less than 20 percent of the world's population currently has access to proven HIV prevention services."

There are currently about 40 million people living with HIV infection and more than 25 million people have died since the virus was identified in 1981. The majority of the victims are in sub-Saharan Africa.

ST Online Forum: HIV: Laws can bring about marked behavioural change (Oct 16)

Oct 16, 2007

HIV: Laws can bring about marked behavioural change

MS KAREN Tan of the Ministry of Health in her letter, 'HIV law aims to deter irresponsible sex conduct' (ST, Oct 11), admitted that 'public education and prevention must be the mainstay but legislation by itself is inadequate to tackle the problem of HIV/Aids'. It is always not easy to coax people to change their social behaviour but legislation is still the last bastion to drive home the message that the HIV/Aids epidemic can be contained. As early as 2003, the governor of California had been lobbying for the promulgation of HIV laws in his state and a year later California's HIV/Aids laws were accepted by the legislature. Under the Health and Safety Code, the following provisions are enacted: a) All licensed physicians and surgeons or other persons engaged in the prenatal care of a pregnant woman or attending the woman at the time of delivery are to inform the woman of the intent to perform a test for HIV infection; the routine nature of the test; the purpose, risks and benefits of the test; the risks of perinatal transmission of HIV and that treatments are known to decrease the risks of perinatal transmission. b) A three-year sentence enhancement is mandatory for a conviction of rape (including statutory and spousal rape), or unlawful sodomy or oral copulation, if the defendant knew that he was HIV positive at the time of the commission of the offence. c) At the request of the crime victim, the court may order HIV testing of any person charged with a crime. Before issuing a search warrant for the defendant's blood, the court must find that there is a probable cause to believe that blood, semen or other bodily fluids have been transferred from the defendant to the victim and that there is probable cause to believe the defendant committed the alleged offence. A victim may also request HIV testing of the accused in the case of certain alleged sex crimes that are the subject of a police report. d) Any person who exposes another to HIV by engaging in unprotected sexual activity is guilty of a felony when the infected person: i) knows he is infected ii) has not disclosed his HIV-positive status iii) acts with the intent to infect the other person with HIV. The felony charge is punishable in the state prison for a period not exceeding eight years. What are the principles that should guide legal policy on HIV? The law must be used to establish a protective and supportive framework for people affected by the epidemic and not a punitive one. Informed ethical debate can guide the direction of the evolution of the law in this area. The law can be used as an instrument to bring about change in personal behaviour and only by having an informed group of lawyers will the legal and human rights issues associated with the epidemic be properly tackled. The people who remain vulnerable to HIV are those who are denied the means of protecting themselves against the disease because of economic need, for example, or powerlessness to control the basis upon which their sexual relationships take place. Many factors come into play here such as poverty, inadequate health care and health education and cultural values that compel certain practices that expose women to the risk of HIV transmission. Women are often not free to make their own decisions about their sexual relationships or to insist upon measures, such as the use of condoms or fidelity on the part of their partner, that would reduce the risk of exposure to HIV. The HIV policy debate is usually characterised as an inevitable conflict between public health and individual rights. Policies that infringe individual rights such as forcible HIV testing are defended on the basis of an overriding need to protect public health. On a practical level, HIV laws are not easy to enforce. However, there is some evidence that such laws can assist in encouraging condom use, if only because it makes it easier for prostitutes to nsist upon condom use by their clients. The legislation can be an instrument to bring about a marked behavioural change in this way. Law is a product of social and cultural values within a community. It can also be instrumental in defining, reinforcing and actively promoting certain values and practices. By either condoning or outlawing certain forms of behaviour or expressions of cultural values, the law can be a very powerful instrument for shaping and reinforcing these values. The law can and ought to play a proactive role not merely in mediating rights and obligations as between individuals but also in seeking to change underlying values and patterns of social interaction that create vulnerability to the threat of HIV infection. Heng Cho Choon

Dr Messer's Talk at FCC on HIV

Video of Dr Messer's talk at FCC on HIV/AIDs now available at http://video. google.com/ videoplay? docid=6469750646 664264876&hl=en

TNP: I may have HIV. Will you still sleep with me? (Sept 30)

I may have HIV. Will you still sleep with me?
Under proposed changes to law, those at risk must disclose sex history to partner
By Ng Wan Ching
September 30, 2007

Tell the truth, says a new legal proposal that seeks to put the onus on those who lead risky sexual lifestyles to come clean with their partners.

Deceive - if there is a possibility that you have been exposed to the Aids virus - and you face up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to $50,000.

Will such a law be effective in stemming the spread of Aids? Or could it drive people further into secrecy?

Imagine saying before sex: 'I may have been exposed to HIV. If you have sex with me, you should accept the risk of infection.'

Under the Infectious Diseases Act now, a person who knows that he is HIV-infected must inform his partner before having sexual intercourse. His partner must agree to accept the risk of infection.

If he doesn't warn his partner, he's breaking the law.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) is proposing to expand the act to include those who, although unaware that they are HIV-positive, have reason to believe that they have been exposed to the risk of contracting HIV or Aids.

This could be from having unprotected casual sex with multiple partners and prostitutes or sharing needles.

Another condition is that he must have had tested negative for HIV and not had sex or engaged in any risky activity since then.

Finally he must take reasonable precautions during sex, such as by wearing a condom.

Said Mr Benedict Jacob-Thambiah, an HIV/Aids educator: 'Who can be bothered? I think this will drive such people underground even more. Because now you are saying they are potential criminals.'

BLAME GAME?

The proposed laws appear to be more intent on ascribing blame rather than to treat HIV/Aids as a public health concern, said Mr Jacob-Thambiah.

Said Mr Brenton Wong, former vice-president of Action for Aids: 'This is putting the law in the bedroom, but how are the authorities actually going to police it?

'This is saying that if you are morally questionable, then you will get HIV. Only if you remove the stigma and make treatment available and affordable will people come forward.'

Dr Stuart Koe, chief executive officer of Fridae.com and a trained pharmacist specialising in HIV medicines, predicts that the new law will rarely be used.

'It will have minimum impact on HIV in Singapore. I think we could use our resources better,' he said. He thinks that to accuse someone of infecting another person with HIV is a
difficult thing to prove in court.

Said Dr Koe: 'Firstly, the chain of transmission is fairly difficult to ascertain.

'Secondly, if it's between a married couple, usually the wife will not want to prosecute the husband for fear of breaking up the family.'

If the Government is willing to go to the extent of changing the law, he thinks it would be much more helpful to change it to protect HIV individuals from workplace and insurance discrimination.

'We should improve their access to treatment and care rather than further alienating them,' said Dr Koe.

Already, there are fears that there is a hidden HIV epidemic.

A study of more than 3,000 leftover blood samples from public hospital patients early this year showed that one in 350 was infected with HIV.

If accurate, this would mean that Singapore has about 9,000 infected adults, much more than the official figures.

Neither the patients in the study nor their doctors were aware of their HIV status. Also, HIV is now a treatable disease like any other chronic disease.

'With treatment, people have stopped dying from HIV. But that message has not gone out. Instead when people find out they are positive, they go underground and they feel helpless,' said Dr Koe.

But Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan points out he has good reasons for the proposed changes.

Every year, 10 per cent of those newly infected with HIV are women. About half of them are married women whose husbands are HIV positive.

Said Mr Khaw: 'I draw the conclusion that they got it from their husbands.'

These are among the people he wants to protect. The new laws will help the Ministry deal with the minority of people who are sexually irresponsible.

For the majority of people, ABC - abstain, be loyal or use a condom - is good enough.

The minority may need CRT - condom and regular testing.

'If you insist on harming yourself by visiting prostitutes and so forth, then do CRT and inform your sexual partner,' said Mr Khaw.

Three cases have been dealt with under the existing laws.

In 2005, investigations unearthed the case of an HIV-positive foreigner from Nigeria who had unprotected sex with several women in Singapore.

He did not inform them of his status before they had sex. He left Singapore before he could be charged.

Earlier this year, an HIV-positive man did not inform his wife of his status before engaging in sex, using a condom.

His wife, who was a foreigner and unwilling to testify against her husband, tested negative for HIV.

He was fined.

An HIV-positive individual who may have had sexual intercourse without informing his partner of his HIV status is also being investigated.

Will the amendments take it a step further in preventing the spread of Aids?

Yes - but only if honesty is a policy that is practised in bed.

HIV+

2,852 people in S'pore HIV-positive, 25 are kids

HIV+

1,547 people in S'pore have Aids

Oogachaga presents: The Legendary Killer: HIV/AIDS (Sep 29 @ PPC)

A Courageous Sharing by an HIV+ Warrior

Do you feel curious about a person with HIV?
Do you think a person with HIV has a future?

Let Oogachaga’s Mandarin Forum uncovers the myths and facts surrounding this notorious yet legendary killer. We will bring you – an HIV+ gay warrior, an outstanding medical social worker and an experienced volunteer from Communicable Disease Centre.

29th September, 2007 (Saturday)
4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Free. Light refreshments available.

Pelangi Pride Centre @ Bianco
21 Tanjong Pagar Road
www.pelangipridecentre.org/contact/contact.htm

(above Ya Kun Kaya Toast & Mox, accessible by lift)

Do register for the event at contact@oogachaga.com. The first 20 persons to register will get their drinks free!

This event is supported by Action for AIDS.