Traditional Leaders challenged to actively participate in the fight against HIV

Via Safaids.net

Traditional leaders from southern Africa have been challenged to play an active role in the fight against HIV for the region to achieve zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS related deaths.

This was said by the Executive Director of SAfAIDS, Mrs Lois Chingandu at the Regional Traditional Leadership Rock Indaba-50 x 15 Prevention Movement being held in Johannesburg from 12-14 April 2011.

Mrs Chingandu challenged traditional leaders to move from being actors where they are often invited to officially open HIV events and be actively involved in the fight against the epidemic.

Excerpt:

“As chiefs, you must tell yourself that I want zero new infections in my village. This can only happen if you know the epidemic, start to openly talk about sex and encourage your community members to go for HIV tests. This should start with you.....We found that the African epidemic had something to do with our culture. As much as we love our culture, it is important for our culture to protect us. We found some practices that were not protecting us but putting us at risk, for example wife inheritance. We are therefore working with traditional leaders to find ways of how we can practice our culture, without exposing ourselves to HIV infection”.

She stressed the importance for traditional leaders to model the behaviours they are promoting as they can’t encourage others to change their behaviour whilst they are having multiple partners.


Read the rest

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

UN pushes for de-criminalization of sexual orientations

via UN News Centre

“No one, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, should be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. No one should be prosecuted for their ideas or beliefs. No one should be punished for exercising their right to freedom of expression.”

Top United Nations officials today appealed to all countries that criminalize people on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity to reform such laws and to ensure the protection of basic human rights for all.

“No doubt deeply-rooted cultural sensitivities can be aroused when we talk about sexual orientation. Social attitudes run deep and take time to change. But cultural considerations should not stand in the way of basic human rights,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Read more

Sexual variation in India: A view from the west

via Indian Journal of Psychiatry, by Gurvinder Kalra, Susham Gupta and Dinesh Bhugra

Sexual variation has been reported across cultures for millenia. Sexual variation deals with those facets of sexual behavior which are not necessarily pathological. It is any given culture that defines what is abnormal and what is deviant. In scriptures, literature and poetry in India same sex love has been described and explained in a number of ways. In this paper we highlight homosexual behavior and the role of hijras in the Indian society, amont other variations. These are not mental illnesses and these individuals are not mentally ill. Hence the role of psychiatry and psychiatrists has to be re-evaluated. Attitudes of the society and the individual clinicians may stigmatize these individuals and their behavior patterns. Indian psychiatry in recent time has made some progress in this field in challenging attitudes, but more needs to be done itn the 21st century. We review the evidence and the existing literature.

Read more