Re: AIDS patient stoned to death in Orissa

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends ,

The news about an AIDS patient stoned to death in Orissa, made real

sad reading.

Firstly because it reflects that the way HIV /AIDS education was

handled at great costs. What we need is a humanizing of health

care. So much could have been done regarding the gender

sensitization too by addressing the " D " for the Dignity of the

partner, beyond focusing on the sex act, focusing on the persons,

not as commodities.

With the number of agencies involved in HIV being unprecedented, why

is HIV & AIDS used interchangeably, why is there so much victim

blaming?

If there is stigma against persons with leprosy, plague, T.B, it

has been because of the past conditioning, when these diseases did

not have any treatment .

HIV entered people's vocabulary in the last 2 decades. Why is the

communication regarding how HIV spreads, failing to convince the

readers of Billboards & viewers of TV spots that " HIV does not

spread by touching "

Has the condom and sex bit been overdone whereby the stigma of the

disease is worsened with moral judgment and the rejection of a

person associated with that? Was confidentiality breached? Will

people be able to access ARV in such a climate, If medicines & CD 4

facilities are made available?

It could be little of this & something more. The fact that the " Y "

chromozome comes from the father is well known by the educated.

Yet, the mother is blamed for giving birth to a daughter and made to

feel guilty resorting to sex determination and Female Foeticide to

avoid the sense of rejection.

It must be recognized, that the increasing dehumanization and

increasing violence in the society. This further decreases

Tolerance, Care and Compassion. These are the essential societal

buffers against dehumanization and such situations of violence.

Dr. Mira Shiva

e-mail: <mirashiva@...>