Govt urged to empower HIV positive people<\/p>\n
Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
AIDS activists are urging the government and the public to
\nempower HIV positive people to take control of their lives.<\/p>\n
Chris W. Green, the field manager of the Spiritia Foundation,
\nwhich works with those with HIV\/AIDS, said the HIV positive had
\nskills and a capacity that could be explored to help HIV\/AIDS
\nprevention programs.<\/p>\n
\"They can become a subject who can actively campaign instead
\nof being an object whose personal background will always be
\nexposed,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Retno Windrati, the community support coordinator at the
\nPelita Ilmu Foundation, said people living with HIV often refused
\nto share their experiences in public.<\/p>\n
\"They don't mind talking about the dissemination of the virus,
\nbut not about their personal lives,\" she told the Post.<\/p>\n
The involvement of HIV positive people has been difficult to
\nrealize because only a few of them are active in the AIDS
\nprevention movement, she said.<\/p>\n
She said an unsupportive environment and the vulnerable
\nposition of the HIV positive -- such as being afraid to reveal
\ntheir identities for fear of losing their job or their friends --
\nprevented them from getting involved in the HIV\/AIDS campaign.<\/p>\n
To overcome the unsupportive environment and to address the
\nfear of stigmatization, those with HIV, the government and
\nsociety must collaborate with other parties, Green said.<\/p>\n
His foundation attempts to create a confidential atmosphere
\nfor people living with HIV\/AIDS to meet and to share their
\nexperiences living with the virus.<\/p>\n
\"Such meetings might be in groups, one-on-one, or by
\ntelephone, letter or e-mail,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The foundation has also held twice annual meetings for people
\nfrom around the country who are living with HIV\/AIDS.<\/p>\n
He said the meetings were also open to limited numbers of
\nfamily members, partners, friends and caregivers of people with
\nHIV\/AIDS.<\/p>\n
Green and Retno said that to put a human face on those with
\nHIV, the country should provide access to care and support at the
\nlocal level, and promote an objective and nondiscriminatory
\nattitude among decision-makers and the public toward HIV\/AIDS
\ninfected people.<\/p>\n
The unfair treatment of people with HIV is not unusual. Forty-
\ntwo HIV positive people interviewed by the foundation said they
\nhad been discriminated against by community members or health
\nworkers, Green said.<\/p>\n
Sometimes the health workers also ask the families of HIV
\npositive people to discriminate against them, he said.<\/p>\n
\"They separate their dining utensils, bathroom, bedsheet,
\nbedroom and others. This is because they get misinformation,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Retno said there was one case in which a hospital marked the
\nbedsheets used by HIV positive people. And there are still
\nfamilies who isolate HIV positive family members, she said.<\/p>\n
And sometimes media exposure can take its toll. A local
\nnewspaper in Sulawesi once published a photo of two HIV positive
\npeople who had just gotten married, and the couple was then
\nchased out of their village, she said.<\/p>\n
And in the West Java town of Krawang, she said, an HIV
\npositive mother and her baby were almost expelled from the
\ncommunity.<\/p>\n
\"They only accepted the baby and the mother after our staff
\nhugged the baby to show that it was not dangerous,\" she said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-urged-to-empower-hiv-positive-people-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}