Posts tagged with anti-retrovirals.

Is safer sex a public or private responsibility?

Helen Hsu, June 18, 2009 at 11:43 AM

What would you do if your HIV test came back positive?

What would you do if it were negative?

Everyone who has been tested knows that period of waiting for the results can be utterly nerve-wrecking, and yet knowing one's status is a process of empowerment that makes the stress worthwhile.

My co-worker, Gitaka, a counselor at the VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) centre, came to me slightly distressed today. Now I must say that Gitaka only has two moods - happy and exuberantly happy. He is one of those amazing individuals who had enough lemons thrown at him to grow an acre of land filled with lemon trees, but made a conscious decision to always remain positive.

So Gitaka with furrowed brows is a rare sight. He had just been in a session where the client was not at all concerned with the possibility of being HIV positive. The man had unprotected sex with three partners in the last 12 months, knowing one of them was HIV positive. Never used a condom.

"I can just take some medications!"

He seemed to view ARVs (anti-retroviral drugs) as a "loophole" in this whole "protect yourself against HIV by using a condom" business. The prospect of contracting the virus neither distressed nor concerned him, as evident in his engagement of risky sexual behaviour.

His test result was negative.

Gitaka tried to advise him on the adverse side effects of the medication, and the required lifestyle changes. Also, contraceptives protect against other sexually transmitted illnesses and unwanted pregnancies. Hopefully, he understood the message.

I analyzed the data for all VCT clients at the centre for the month of May. I was astounded at the number of people who confessed to never using a condom in the past 12 months when they engaged in sexual activities. One man had 7 heterosexual partners and never used a condom.

Gitaka said this can be due to the sentiment that sex is not as pleasurable with a condom. There is a great poster in our VCT clinic that reads "Don't let 2 minutes* of ecstasy ruin the rest of your life."

So what about condom usage back home? I have no doubt that we are all informed about STIs and unwanted pregnancies, and the effectiveness of contraceptives (kudos to secondary school sex-ed). But how many of us actually strictly use protection 100% of the time, or do we sometimes ignore our conscience in the throes of passion?

While ARVs reduce the stigma around HIV/AIDS, and allow those who are HIV positive to live longer and more fulfilling lives, are they also becoming an excuse for those who wish to engage in sexually risky behaviour back home?

Are there fewer concerns about contracting STIs due to the availability of treatment, and about unwanted pregnancies because they can be aborted?

Is protection a matter of personal choice (and that of the partners involved)? Or is it a matter of public social responsibility (for instance, a Ugandan man was tried for purposefully infecting women with HIV)?

*actual time may vary

 

P.S. Canadians: Take advantage of the free testing and treatment services: one of the great privileges of being Canadian.

 Editor: If interested in reading about other sex-ed issues: A girl can get pregnant the first time? and Sex is not like having your foot run over

Tagged with sex, protection, condoms, testing, anti-retrovirals, std, hiv, pregnancies, safe, unwanted, aids | Comments (2) |