Christians: Abstinence a Harmful HIV Approach

I thought you would find this news story interesting:

In what was sometimes a heated debate, concerns were raised at last week’s sixteenth international AIDS conference that a prevention strategy backed by President Bush, large sections of the Catholic Church and the religious right is fuelling the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa.

Activists – including an increasing number from the churches – are warning that a policy which relies primarily on abstinence and fidelity reinforces gender inequalities which make women more vulnerable to the virus.

The session ‘ABC in Africa – What is the Evidence?’ on the last full day of the global AIDS conference in Toronto was packed. ABC refers to Abstain, Be faithful and use a Condom’, a prevention programme that is often credited which decreasing the HIV infection rates in Uganda.

ABC is now seen by many, including church agencies such as Christian Aid, as being too dogmatic and simplistic. Human sexuality is too complex for neat categories, say campaigners. Is it appropriate to expect people in different stages of life to abstain and can faithfulness be a guarantee against infection if one’s partner is not faithful? Christian groups say abstinence-based HIV strategies are harmful

Wow, lofty ideals confront reality: tragedy breaks out. These nuts have been trying to control the African AIDS epidemic by telling people not to have sex. I suppose that means if they do get AIDS it's their own fault, eh?

<shrug>What could I do? They wouldn't listen</shrug>

The African Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV/AIDS (ANERELA+) and its supporters, including Christian Aid, has introduced a new prevention approach called SAVE – Safer practices, Available medication, Voluntary counselling and testing and Empowerment.

The most passionate advocate for a shift away from ABC is Beatrice Ware. A well-known HIV activist from Uganda, Beatrice Ware abstained until marriage and remained faithful to her husband. But she is HIV positive – another statistic in the alarming figure which shows that a majority of women in sub-Sahara Africa have contracted the virus in marriage.

“If ABC did work.” she says, “why is it that, after 25 years of HIV, we still seeing an increasing number of women being infected?”

ABC is unrealistic says Beatrice Ware. It assumes that women can chose to abstain and when they chose to remain faithful, that their partner will be faithful.

She explains: “ABC does not take into account that in most developing countries power resides with men. It ignores the powerlessness of women; most women cannot decide when, where and how to have sex.”

This is a theme you see more and more. Even in the US, women do not always have control over choice of sexual partners. Rape happens everywhere, husbands stray everywhere, and monogamy is still a risk for the spouse of a cheater.

“This issue of gender inequality is extremely important,” concurs Dr Rachel Baggaley, the head of Christian Aid’s HIV Unit. “We are still stuck with HIV prevention methods which rely on men making decisions.”

She continued: “Women will remain vulnerable as long as there are no protection methods which they control. We still do not have women in key political positions who are prepared to take on the issue of male domination.”

“ABC stigmatises HIV positive women.” adds Beatrice Ware. “It allows people to conclude that we are either promiscuous or unfaithful.”

Another body of research seems to have confirmed the failure of ABC. Disturbing new findings from Uganda show that, after a decline in HIV rates in the ’90s, there is now a trend suggesting an increase among middle-aged men and young people.

This reinforces the need for constant vigilance and prevention messages, which are more adapted to the realities on the ground, say analysts.

“This research is a wake-up call for all of us.” says Dr Baggaley. “It highlights the need for irrefutable data; leading scientists are clearly alarmed by this surprising result in Uganda, which has always been seen as the country with a flagship HIV prevention approach. Things seem to be faltering and we need to find out why.”

Things are faltering because they are approching the epidemic as a moral circumstance rather than a public health crisis. Faith-based groups have dominated the United States' intervention strategies, imposing their own fake-morality where it doesn't work. You remember last year when Brazil refused American donations because our government was going to stipulate that they couldn't give condoms to prostitutes: hypocrisy at its worst.