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GET IT ON FOR NATIONAL CONDOM WEEK! May 6 - 12, 2002
MPS Back National Condom Week
Condom is most popular form of contraception
Indian prostitutes march for rights on May Day
HIV/AIDS On-line Treatment Info in Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese & English
BT LAUNCHES KALEIDOSCOPE - A GAY, LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL EMPLOYEE NETWORK
All
Party Parliamentary Group on AIDS Update
Sex Workers get Union branch of GMB
What it means to be gay - homosexuality and HIV in India
TRANSPORTATION OF SEX WORKERS TO BE CRIMINALIZED
House Members Ask GAO to Account for All Condoms Containing
Nonoxynol-9 Distributed by US Government
Prostitutes working in a Berlin brothel have been offered
employment contracts
GREEN PARTY CALLS FOR DECRIMINALISATION
GET IT ON FOR NATIONAL CONDOM WEEK! May 6 - 12,
2002
May 6 - 12 is the UK's National Condom week, sponsored by Durex. Visit their site at www.durex.co.uk for more information, or why not check out our newly updated information page on Condoms, with some fun pics and links.
Leading MPs will be highlighting the importance of safer sex to millions of
teenagers and young people during National Condom Week 2002 (6-12 May).
The Durex-organised education campaign, backed by Lembit Öpik MP and Meg Munn MP, aims to inform young people about the importance of safer sex in helping prevent both sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancy.
The annual initiative, now in its fifth year, coincides with recent Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) figures showing that STIs such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis have increased by up to 145% between 1995 and 2000.
Lembit Öpik, vice-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Youth Affairs and Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said: "The message of National Condom week is simple - if you are having sex, make it safe.
"Time and time again, experience has shown that sensible education and honest talk does more to cut pregnancies and STIs than pretending there isn't a problem."
Schools, colleges, GP surgeries, clinics, health promotion units and pharmacists throughout the UK organise educational displays and events as part of the week. Their activities are supported by thousands of sexual health resource packs including fact sheets, posters and postcards issued by Durex.
Sheffield MP Meg Munn, member of the Department for Education and Skills Select Committee, said: "National Condom Week is a great chance to draw attention to sexual health in Sheffield and throughout the UK.
"The week is not only stressing the importance of clear education about condoms and addressing young people's needs, it's also keeping safer sex issues high on the agenda."
Younger people are more likely to take risks than older generations. The 2002 Durex Report shows that almost three in 10 16-20 year olds (28%) have had sex with a new partner without a condom in the last 12 months.
Amanda Tucker, Durex marketing manager, said: "The recent STI statistics are very worrying and emphasise the urgent action needed to tackle these sexual health issues.
"People need to know how common STIs are - and the fact that they are rapidly increasing. They also need to know that the only way to protect themselves from both unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections is to use a good quality condom - hence the need for events like National Condom Week."
PHLS (November 2001)
Courtesy Myriad Public Relations.
Condom is most popular form of contraception
A nationwide
campaign to tackle unwanted pregnancies and sexually
transmitted diseases is being launched for the start of National Condom
Week.
The condom is the most
popular form of contraception among people in
Britain with 30% using it as their main method.
More than 160 million
condoms are used in the UK every year, up from
138 million 10 years ago.
Young people between 16
and 20 years old are more likely than any other
generation to have unprotected sex according to the National Survey of
Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles carried out in December 2001.
Figures from the Office
of National Statistics show that there were
almost 100,000 teenage pregnancies in 1999.
The Department of Health
plans to halve the rate of teenage conceptions
for the under 18s by 2010.
A total 8,111 women under
the age of 16 became pregnant in 2000. Nearly
a third of the women were 14 years old or under and just over half of
the pregnancies ended in abortion.
In 2000, chlamydia was
the most common bacterial STI with 64,000
diagnoses made - its highest rates are among women aged 16 to 24.
Between 1995 and 2000 cases of gonorrhoea increased by 102%, chlamydia
by 107% and syphilis by 145%.
The Public Health Laboratory
service shows that a higher number of
people contract HIV through heterosexual relationships than through
homosexual relationships.
Figures from the Public
Health Laboratory show that 44,744 people in
the UK have been diagnosed with HIV and an estimated 11,000 are infected
with the virus but are as yet undiagnosed.
Story courtesy Ananova:
http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_581918.html
back
to top
Indian prostitutes march for rights on May Day
CALCUTTA, India, May 1 (Reuters) - Nearly 2,000 sex workers staged a May Day
parade through the red light district of the eastern Indian city of Calcutta
early on Wednesday to demand legalisation of prostitution and working benefits.
"We want our rights," the prostitutes shouted as they marched through
largely deserted streets in the early hours of the morning carrying flaming
bamboo and jute torches.
Most of the
marchers were women clad in colourful sarees but there were also a few men
and some children of the sex workers also joined the parade.
The sex workers chanted slogans protesting against laws outlawing prostitution.
There are at least 40,000 sex workers in Calcutta, the capital of Communist-ruled
West Bengal state, police say.
Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
HIV/AIDS
On-line Treatment Info in Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese & English
Keith Wong (Toronto, Canada)
ACAS Launched Groundbreaking web site on Asian Language HIV/AIDS Treatment Information
Asian Community AIDS Service (ACAS) has launched their ground breaking website on World AIDS Day 2001 that provides the world's most up to date and comprehensive HIV/AIDS treatment Information in Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and English.
This important resource was developed as part of an action research project funded by the Ontario HIV Treatment Network(OHTN) that aims to improve treatment access for East and Southeast Asian Canadians with HIV/AIDS. The project's planning started in 1999 in response to increasing documented problems faced by Asian People with HIV/AIDS (PHA) with language barriers in accessing health care services. An international literature search revealed there is major gap in patient-oriented treatment information in Chinese, Vietnamese & Tagalog.
"Asian PHAs have
suffered major access barriers in getting treatment information, and that
had led to people delaying diagnosis and treatment, therefore suffering worse
health outcomes.This project is an important step in bridging the gaps of
access to such important health information"
says ACAS executive director Keith Wong, who is part of the multidisciplinary
Advisory Committee that guides the project. The committee includes PHAs and
volunteers from all three target communities, as well as physicians, nurses,
pharmacist and treatment information specialists.
To ensure the cultural appropriateness of the materials, a detailed needs
assessment study was carried out to identify Asian PHAs' needs for treatment
information and sheds light on factors that affect Asian PHAs' access to,
choice of, and adherence to HIV treatments and medications. The results of
the research then guided the development of treatment information in 4 different
languages: English, Chinese,Tagalog and Vietnamese.
30 treatment related topics in 6 areas were developed. These include specific information on all the currently available anti-HIV drugs, common complications of HIV, monitoring tests, nutrition, complementary therapies and women & HIV.
"ACAS is very proud of the work on this project. Our website is currently the most up to date Asian language resource of HIV/AIDS treatment information in the whole world. Another remarkable aspect of the project is the leadership and involvement of Asian people with HIV/AIDS at all levels of the project. The process of the project itself has been a very empowering experience for our communities," says Patrick Truong, ACAS Support Program coordinator.
With the new website, Asian PHAs world widecan access HIV/AIDS treatment information in their own language in the privacy of their own homes. In addition, an English speaking health service provider can now locate the treatment information in English and then click to get its Asian language counterpart and download the information for their patients.
http://www.acas.org/treatment
For further information, please contact:
Patrick Truong,
Support Program Coordinator
E-mail:support@acas.org
Keith Wong,
Executive Director, ACAS
E-mail: exd@acas.org
A posting from SEA-AIDSsea-aids@healthdev.net
BT LAUNCHES KALEIDOSCOPE - A GAY, LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL EMPLOYEE NETWORK
News
Release from BT:
http://www.groupbt.com/Mediacentre/Archivenewsreleases/2002/nr0211.htm
On Thursday March 28, BT will launch Kaleidoscope, a support network for its gay, lesbian and bisexual employees. An event to mark the occasion will be hosted between 1pm and 3pm at BT's Mondial House in London.
John Steele, BT Group personnel director, will kick off the launch event by announcing that BT has joined Stonewall's Diversity Champions scheme, which promotes diversity in the workplace. Angela Mason, Executive Director of Stonewall (which works for legal equality and social justice for lesbian, gay and bisexual people), will also speak at the event.
John Steele said: "BT aims to support all of its people fully and already has three networks providing an additional voice for BT's women, ethnic minorities and employees with a disability. Kaleidoscope is an important addition and I know will set new standards for our gay, lesbian and bisexual communities. It will also play a key role in helping to guide BT's marketing activities for its gay and lesbian customers."
Kaleidoscope will start life with nearly 200 members and be run by a steering group of volunteers from across BT Group. Its objectives are to:
* Provide a forum for
mutual support to assist gay, lesbian and bisexual employees in their careers
with BT
* Provide support and advice for employees who might wish to come out in the
business
* Create awareness in BT of the contribution that gay, lesbian and bisexual
people make to the company
* Promote BT as a forward thinking employer that recognises and supports minorities
within its workforce
* Inform BT's understanding of the diversity of its customer base.
Kaleidoscope is an inclusive
network and, although primarily aimed at BT's gay, lesbian and bisexual employees,
is open to any BT people, irrespective of their sexual orientation. All people,
including temporary, agency and contract workers, will be welcome to join.
ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP ON AIDS UPDATE
This Update is produced
monthly for British MPs and Peers who are members of
the All-Party Parliamentary Group on AIDS. Colleagues outside the UK
Parliament are also welcome to receive it by email. To join or leave this
list, send an email to info@appg-aids.org.uk.
Mary Robinson visit
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson came to meet with the
APPG AIDS to mark World AIDS Day. At the meeting, held jointly with the
National AIDS Trust, Mary Robinson said that the APPG AIDS's Human Rights
Inquiry and the Group itself provided "a model for how parliamentarians
can
work together to ensure effective national response, based on respect for
human rights".
Response to DoH Strategy
The APPG AIDS has issued its response to the Government's National Strategy
for Sexual Health and HIV. The response welcomes the Strategy, the targeting
of prevention and the commitment to produce commissioning guidelines. It
raises concerns about the ending of allocations for health authorities, the
role of PCTs and the problems of translating wishes into action. Please
contact the Group for a copy of the response.
Ringfence concessions
Members of the APPG AIDS have raised the issue of the future of HIV
prevention work after the end of the allocation and the move to Primary Care
Trust commissioning. In December and again in January, parliamentary
questions have confirmed that the AIDS (Control) Act Reports will be
required from all PCTs and will require information on spending including
on
vulnerable groups.
Disability Discrimination
The Private Members Bill introduced by Lord Ashley of Stoke to
reform disability discrimination legislation has passed its second reading
in the Lords. The Disability Discrimination (Amendment) Bill includes
measures to extend the definition to cover people with HIV from the point
of
diagnosis. The Government has indicated that it supports correcting this
long-standing anomaly but the Private Members Bill is unlikely to become
law. Its Committee Stage in the Lords is on 6 March.
Global Fund update
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on AIDS hosted a reception to mark World
AIDS Day at the end of last year. Held jointly with Population Concern, the
event focussed on the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Macharia
Kamau of the Transitional Working Group reported on progress so far. The
Fund is about to issue its first grants to country programmes totally
US$700million. These first grants are seen as crucial in deciding whether
the Fund is effective and encouraging richer countries to increase their
pledges. It has been noted that pledges have dried up since 11 September
last year.
SADC Parliamentary
Forum
Simon Wright, the Group's Policy Adviser, travelled to Windhoek, Namibia in
February to take part in a workshop on the role of parliamentarians in
addressing HIV/AIDS. MPs from 11 Southern African countries took part and
concluded that MPs should establish all-party committees on HIV/AIDS and
that MPs should use their position to challenge stigma.
Early Day Motions
Neil Gerrard MP has instigated two Early Day Motions relevant to HIV/AIDS.
The first, no.470, draws attention to the need for a concerted effort to
address the international epidemic and calls on the Government to commit
significant new funds to the fight. The second, no.741, relates to mothers
in the UK who are asylum seekers and calls for them to be provided with milk
tokens on the same basis as mothers on income support. At present, HIV+
mothers who are asylum seekers get no state help for alternatives to
breastfeeding their babies.
Forthcoming events
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on AIDS is working with HelpAge
International to hold a briefing for Members of Parliament on the UN World
Summit on Ageing in Madrid. The briefing will be held on 18 March. Whilst
the briefing and the Summit are much wider than HIV/AIDS, HelpAge
International have been working to ensure that the outcomes take account of
the epidemic. On 6 March, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on AIDS is
hosting a parliamentary launch of the Stop AIDS Campaign, the joint campaign
run by most of the major development NGOs. The Campaign will be seeking to
influence public opinion and the UK government.
Simon Wright, Policy Adviser
All-Party Parliamentary Group on AIDS
www.appg-aids.org.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20-7219 6916
Fax: +44 (0)20-7219 0072
Postal: Office of Neil Gerrard MP
House of Commons London SW1 0AA
Sex
Workers get Union branch of GMB
From: Catherine.Benson@slam-tr.nhs.uk
........GOOD NEWS!!! GOOD NEWS!!! GOOD NEWS!!!.......
The International Union
of Sex Workers have managed to persuade the GMB (one
of the biggest unions in the country) to open a branch for sex workers from
the 02/03/02. They recognise that it will not be an easy path to tread and
that they will have to fight many people (including the criminal underworld)
on many issues (including legislation and stigma) but they say " ...where
there is exploitation amongst groups of people and where those people have
come to us for our help, we will not turn our backs on them and we will do
all we can to help."
This means that those
women (and men) wanting to join the union and for those who
don't, the issues of ASBOs, employment contracts and decriminalisation
(there position is not detailed yet but they have said "clearly the existing
laws are ridiculous and we will support moves to get rid of them") will
be
tackled by the union ensuring that their legal representatives, political
clout and drive are addressing these issues. There will obviously be some
initial things the union wants to cut its teeth on and they state that other
issues like decriminalisation will be longer term goals but that the union
will try its hardest to make sure that these issues are kept on the main
agenda and their fight will continue. As one person from another union at
the meeting stated, " As an allied union, I would just like to say that
we
would like to commend the GMB for taking this on, we feel that it is very
important and it is to the union's credit that they are going to fight for
these women's rights."
This may be the most important
positive move to have happened to sex workers
in Britain for at least a couple of centuries! Please encourage people to
join, they do not have to put their real names on the forms and where it
asks for employment status all workers need to put is 'sex workers branch'.
They can also print off the forms to fill them in from the web site
www.gmb.org.uk <http://www.gmb.org.uk> and pay in cash at the nearest
GMB
base (telephone 020 8947 3131 headquarters for nearest office). Direct debit
is available but the correct details will need to be given, the union
assure us that all details are kept as highly confidential.
What it means to be gay - homosexuality and HIV in India
from SEA-AIDS
2002
sea-aids@healthdev.net
What it means
to be gay - homosexuality and HIV in India
Does homosexuality vary around the world? Do different patterns of
homosexual behaviour demand new approaches to HIV prevention? Research
from the UK University of Plymouth and the University of Amsterdam in the
Netherlands considers the sexual behaviour of men in India and asks
whether the standard approach to fighting HIV can be effective in this
setting.
Many gay men in the West define themselves by their sexuality: you are
either gay or straight. But the situation in India is more complex. There
are several patterns of homosexual behaviour. The standard model of
collective action against HIV is impractical here.
While homosexuality in India is taboo and covert, it is not uncommon for
men to have sex with men. They do not necessarily consider themselves to
be homosexual. Girls in India are expected to be feminine and submissive
but there is less pressure on boys to demonstrate masculine traits.
Masculinity is confirmed by marriage and parenthood, so men do not need to
be explicitly macho or heterosexual in order to assert their 'maleness'.
Displays of affection, body contact and sharing beds are socially
acceptable between men. These create opportunities for sexual contact,
which is seen as a pleasurable activity rather than an expression of
sexuality.
In Madras, South India, homosexuals fall into three sub-groups:
- 'danga' who behave like women and refer to each other as `she' and
`sister' but usually wear men's clothing
- `double deckers', the closest equivalent to Western gays
- `panthi', often aggressively masculine, who have female as well as male
sexual partners.
In the West, men engaging in sex with other men are labelled `gay'. They
belong to a particular social group with a strong sense of social
identity. Early in the AIDS epidemic, gay men became aware of the risks of
HIV transmission within their sexual networks and mounted a response. In
contrast, the research found that in South India:
- Men can engage in sex with other men without considering themselves to
be `gay'.
- The differing patterns of sexual behaviour mean that HIV can be spread
very quickly.
- There is no single identifiable homosexual group to target in HIV
prevention.
The vast majority of HIV prevention activities around the world are based
on the example of gay groups in the West. Yet applying this blanket
approach could be problematic:
- Compared to the numbers of men having sex with men in India, the 'gay
community' is small.
- The development of the gay movement as another `minority group' in the US
is unlikely to be replicated in many countries.
- Gay men in the US have access to money, leadership skills, contacts and
facilities which the poor and powerless do not have.
Policy-makers engaged in the fight against AIDS in the developing world
should not assume that the Western version of homosexuality is relevant.
They need to understand and address country-specific patterns of
sexuality.
Contributor(s): Sheena Asthana and Robert Oostvogels. Source(s): `The
social construction of male `homosexuality' in India: implications for HIV
transmission and prevention' by S. Asthana and R. Oostvogels, Social
Science and Medicine 52 (2001)
Further Information:
Sheena Asthana
Department of Social Policy and Social Work
University of Plymouth Drake Circus
Plymouth PL4 8AA UK
Tel: +44 (0)1752 233235
Fax: +44 (0)1752 233209
Email: s.asthana@plymouth.ac.uk
TRANSPORTATION OF SEX WORKERS TO BE CRIMINALIZED
Dear All
The recent White Paper - Secure Borders Safe Haven - was published on 7 February 2002 (Home Office press notice 038/02). This has now been presented to Parliament as the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill, published 12.4.02. This Bill introduces an offence of trafficking, which will include the transportation of people within the UK for the purposes of prostitution. These provisions are described by the Home Office website as
"Strengthening the law by increasing the penalty for facilitating illegal entry from 10 to 14 years." and "Introducing a new offence of trafficking people into, within or through the UK for the purposes of prostitution, with a tough penalty of 14 years imprisonment, to clamp down on the exploitation of vulnerable people.
This latter provision is of considerable importance to all sex work projects, as it will criminalize those who give lifts to sex workers to enable them to work in different parts of the country, or even possibly, within the same area. It may also criminalize taxi drivers who take women to or from work.
As the Home Office have already ignored EUROPAP-UK's representations on this subject, I can now only suggest that if you are inclined to lobby your MPs on this subject, now is the time to do it.
Hilary Kinnell
EUROPAP-UK/UKNSWP
House Members Ask GAO to Account for All Condoms Containing Nonoxynol-9 Distributed by US Government
From HIVAND HEPATITIS.COM
- andrew hunter
Representatives Mark Souder(R-Ind.), Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.) and Dave Weldon
(R-Fla.) yesterday sent a letterto the U.S. General Accounting Office asking
the comptroller to order a review of all condoms purchased and distributed,
either directly or indirectly through international or nongovernmental agencies,
by the U.S. government since 1989.
The purpose of the review
is to determine whether the condoms were coated with the spermicide nonoxynol-9,
a substance that may increase the likelihood of HIV transmission. As the basis
of their concern, the representatives cite a 1989 study by researchers at
the University of Washington that concluded that nonoxynol-9 raised HIV risk
by causing vaginal lesions and genital ulcers that facilitate viral transmission,
and they ask GAO to determine:
- How many condoms containing nonoxynol-9 were purchased by the government
or with government funding and whether such distribution is still ongoing;
- How many HIV infections may have been caused by those condoms;
- If any effort was made by the government to 'discourage the use and production of nonoxynol-9 coated contraceptives including condoms';
- The overall percentage
of condoms containing nonoxynol-9 sold in the UnitedStates and worldwide;
and
- A complete listing of published studies on the substance and its effecton
HIV transmission.
'If the U.S. government made thousands, or even tens of thousands, of men and women more susceptible to acquiring [HIV], then we have done a huge disservice to people throughout the world. It is, therefore, critically important that a determination be made as to the numbers of people who may have been adversely affected and if this dangerous practice is still ongoing' the representatives conclude. The letter also contained an appendix of studies that determined nonoxynol-9 facilitates HIV transmission (Souder et al. letter, 2/7).
11/02/02
Source Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Policy Report. February 8, 2002.
Copyright by Kaiser Foundation: This summary is from the Kaiser Daily Reproductive
Health Report and provided by www.kaisernetwork.org , a free service of The
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report
is published for kaisernetwork.org by National Journal Group Inc.
© 2002 by National Journal Group Inc. and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Prostitutes working in a Berlin brothel have been offered employment contracts with a 40-hour working week and a profit-sharing scheme, according to a German newspaper.
Bild newspaper said Felicitas Weigmann, the owner of the posh Berlin brothel "Cafe Pssst!", drew up the first job contracts for her staff after the German parliament passed an historic law last year giving prostitutes new employment rights.
In exchange for a regular 40-hour week, prostitutes at "Cafe Pssst!" are entitled to a basic wage of 600 euros per month plus a "profit sharing" payment of 40 euros per client. They can, however, choose to remain free agents without a contract.
The law passed by parliament last year gave prostitutes the right to claim social security, health insurance and a pension It also allowed them to pursue through the courts customers who refuse to pay.
Prostitution is legal in Germany and prostitutes' earnings were always liable to tax. But before the law was passed, sexual services were legally declared "immoral".
Germany has an estimated 400,000 prostitutes, whose services are used 1.2 million times a day.
GREEN PARTY CALLS FOR DECRIMINALISATION
Green Party conference to vote on porn, prostitution, sex industry proposals
"Better to protect people than to uphold Victorian values"
The Green
Party's spring conference in Scarborough this week will consider
proposals backed by top Greens regarding the decriminalisation of all aspects
of the sex industry involving consenting adults.
If the proposals are passed, the Greens will go into the next general election with probably the most radical policy of liberalisation of the sex industry ever offered by a major UK party.
Vanessa Hall, the party's spokesperson on women's issues, who will be proposing the motion, comments: "The law shouldn't regulate sexual activity between consenting adults as long as it doesn't affect other people.
"Prohibitive laws have always failed to stop prostitution, yet have left prostitutes vulnerable to abuse and often violence.
"Prostitutes should not be stigmatised or treated as second class citizens with fewer rights than other people. For instance, in child custody cases a person should not be deemed an unfit parent merely on the grounds that they work in the sex industry."
Sexual freedom
Zero tolerance of violence and exploitation
Ms Hall continued: "There should be zero tolerance of coercion, violence, sexual abuse or trafficking - all of which are, ironically, made easier by the current criminalisation of much of the sex industry."
The proposals would also advocate the ending of all restrictions on, and censorship of, sexually explicit material, except regulations intended to protect children.
They would mean the legalisation of licensed brothels, and the decriminalisation of street prostitution. Issues of nuisance would be dealt with under nuisance laws, rather than under a special category of laws.
Further information, as well as agendas and timetables,
from Spencer
Fitz-Gibbon, 020 7561 0282, or
www.greenparty.org.uk/conference
All journalists
are welcome at conference.
Exclusive interviews with leading Greens, including our MEPs,
GLAs and councillors, by arrangement.
Contact the Green Party press office throughout the conference on 020 7561 0282
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