Confessions of an HIV-positive prostitute

• Published: 8/11/2009 at 12:00 AM

• Newspaper section: Spectru

From her appearance, Pui, 31, (not her real name) looks like a perfectly normal, healthy Thai woman. But she is actually HIV-positive. By day Ms Pui is a part-time cleaner and a mother to a 16-year-old daughter; by nights, she is a freelance prostitute, working along Sukhumvit Road. She has sold her body for the past eight years.

Ms Pui, who keeps her condition a secret from her family and friends, has unprotected sex with customers, even though having sex without a condom is probably how she contracted the disease in the first place.

“Now it’s too late for me to think what I should have done better in the past. Surely I would do things differently by insisting on a condom. I was careless.”

A life on the streets was never what she contemplated when Ms Pui left her native village in Loei province in northeastern Thailand about 13 years ago, to look for work in Bangkok. She made the move so she could support herself, her young daughter and her parents.

“I’m not the only one who has done it. There are many other girls who left poverty-stricken villages and came to Bangkok looking for a better life, but not all ended as prostitutes or HIV-positive like me. It was not my intention to become a prostitute, but because of a lack of education [she only had six years of schooling], I couldn’t get a well-paid job here,” she said.

“When I came to Bangkok the first time, I was about 18. I could only find an unskilled job in a factory, for 4,500 baht a month.

“It was enough then, but as my parents were getting older and my daughter growing up, I needed more money.

“I wanted her to be well-educated so she could get a good job, and not end up like me. And the only way to make extra money was to become a prostitute. I started when I was about 23, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Ms Pui said.

“I was definitely infected by a farang, because at that time I only went with them, but now I’ll go with anyone, whether they are Arab, African, Japanese or whatever, provided they give me money,” she said with the same degree of coolness she displayed during the entire interview.

She doesn’t know when she was infected, or who did it.

“It might have been the first man. Who knows?” she said.

Ms Pui goes out looking for customers about 6pm daily, except on Sundays, which she spends with her 16-year-old daughter. Because she is relatively better looking than most of the other women working the streets, she says she can get customers almost every day.

“I’ll walk or stand on the pavement of Sukhumvit Road between sois 3 and 5, and sometimes sit in open bars. Since Middle Eastern men prefer fat girls to skinny ones, who are in the majority, I usually have no problem finding a customer.

“I charge 1,000 baht for a short time and prefer not to use a condom, because it’s faster. I can make money easily and go home. I’ll take only one customer per day, and if I can’t then I’ll go home at 11pm.

“I can’t stay too late because I must get up at 6am to send my daughter to school and then go to work,” she said.

Ms Pui doesn’t show much consideration to her foreign clients and readily agrees to, and even encourages unprotected sex, despite knowing that she might infect not only her customers, but also their wives and girlfriends as well as other prostitutes. Some of her foreign customers, she says, take two or even three women every day.

Surprisingly, Ms Pui blames men for the problems she faces, but denies she is seeking revenge by deliberately infecting them.

Most of the men, especially from the Middle East and Africa, won’t use a condom. Every man who takes girls from the street should realise the risk of contracting HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. It appears to me that they don’t really care, so why should I? I’m HIV-positive, they are not!

“The business around Sukhumvit is getting worse for Thai women because of the influx of prostitutes mainly from Uzbekistan and African countries. They’ll stand on the pavement the same as we do and approach foreigners who are passing.”

This gives us a lot of competition, because many men, especially from the Middle East, like to take them,” she complained. “For sure, I’m not the only one who is HIV-positive working on the street. There are others as well.”

Other street women and transsexuals who are joining them on the street in increasing numbers will have sometimes two or even three customers in one day.

“What can I do? I need money now more than ever before. My daughter is a bright student and I want her to continue her studies at a university, so that she can get a well-paid job when she grows up and not end up like me. “

She wants to be a doctor, but I doubt that this will be possible because I don’t have enough money to give her that kind of education.”I also have to take care of my 65-year-old ailing father.

My mother died six years ago, when she was 44. She didn’t want me to have an abortion; at the time I was only 15-years-old.

“The child’s father, a 20-year-old Thai man, left me before she was born, and never contacted or supported us.”

I haven’t had a boyfriend since and I don’t think that I want one now. I like to stay alone with my daughter.

Ms Pui discovered she was HIV-positive about two years ago after she applied for a manual job with a government agency and was told to have a medical examination before she could start work.

“When I saw the result, I was devastated and tore the medical certificate to pieces. I couldn’t sleep, eat or do anything for days, and I cried constantly. I thought: ‘I am dead.”

“I thought that my sick father and daughter would lose their only breadwinner, and it made me miserable and it still does. After the blood test, I didn’t contact the government agency. “I couldn’t go back and tell them because others would find out sooner or later about my misfortune.” It took her a few days to pull herself together and to find a full-time cleaning job with a private company, where she earns 7,500 baht a month, and importantly for her, there was no compulsory medical check-up required. At the same time she returned to Sukhumvit Road, looking for men.

“As my income from cleaning is not enough, I have to subsidise it by going with men. There’s nothing else for me to do. I have to pay 2,500 baht for a room and utilities, send 2,000 baht monthly to my family and look after my daughter.” At Spectrum’s request, she went to a city hospital and took a further test, which confirmed the original result.

After her first HIV test, a doctor suggested she start taking a cocktail of anti-retroviral drugs. She refused, saying it would result in pimples on her face. “Even now, I’m not taking any medicine or getting treatment. But I’m otherwise healthy, apart for an occasional cold. In fact, I’m getting fat. I now weigh almost 75kg.”

 

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/27077/confessions-of-an-hiv-positive-prostitute

អាជ្ញាធរ​កោះ​ហៅ​គ្រួសារ​កម្មករ​ដែល​រង​ការ​បាញ់​សម្លាប់​មក​សាកសួរ

អាជ្ញាធរ​កោះ​ហៅ​គ្រួសារ​កម្មករ​ដែល​រង​ការ​បាញ់​សម្លាប់​មក​សាកសួរ.

ការ​តស៊ូ​ព្យាយាម​របស់​ក្មេង​ស្រី​ដែល​ឪពុក​ម្ដាយ​ផ្ទុក​មេរោគ​អេដស៍

ការ​តស៊ូ​ព្យាយាម​របស់​ក្មេង​ស្រី​ដែល​ឪពុក​ម្ដាយ​ផ្ទុក​មេរោគ​អេដស៍.

សង្គម​ស៊ីវិល​អំពាវនាវ​ឲ្យ​មាន​ការចូលរួម​របស់​អ្នក​ផ្ទុក​មេរោគ​អេដស៍​ក្នុង​សន្និសីទ​ជាតិ

សង្គម​ស៊ីវិល​អំពាវនាវ​ឲ្យ​មាន​ការចូលរួម​របស់​អ្នក​ផ្ទុក​មេរោគ​អេដស៍​ក្នុង​សន្និសីទ​ជាតិ.

HIV Vaccine Trial Results Raise More Questions

JOHANNESBURG, 22 October (IRIN) – The recent news that for the first time an HIV vaccine had shown some protective effect generated widespread excitement, until it emerged that the results were based on the most promising of three different analyses of the trial findings.

The trial team in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, announced on 24 September that a combination of two vaccines had reduced the rate of HIV infection by 31 percent in about 8,200 volunteers, compared to around the same number who were given a placebo.

A few weeks later, researchers who had seen full data from the trial told Science magazine that an analysis based only on participants who had received all six doses of the vaccine at the right times did not show a statistically significant protective effect.

It was hoped that the release of more details from the trial to coincide with the AIDS Vaccine 2009 conference taking place in Paris this week would settle the question of whether the vaccine results were really as significant as the initial announcement had suggested or a mere fluke. Instead, full results of the study, published online yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) raised more questions than they answered.

The 31 percent efficacy in the initial announcement was based on a “modified intention-to-treat” analysis that included all the 16,402 trial participants, except for seven who were found to have contracted HIV before receiving any vaccinations.

A second analysis included those seven, while a third “per-protocol” analysis involving 12,452 participants – the one cited in Science magazine – found that the vaccine was only 26 percent effective. This was not enough to be statistically significant, meaning that the difference between the vaccine and the placebo arms of the trial was so small that it could have been a coincidence.

Different interpretations Dr Jerome Kim of the US Military HIV Research Programme, who helped lead the trial, yesterday told reporters at the vaccine conference in Paris that the modified intention-to-treat analysis was the most accurate, but others disagreed.

A statistician quoted in a New York Times report placed more emphasis on the analysis that included the seven HIV-positive participants, while another did not believe that any of the analyses provided sufficient evidence the vaccine worked.

In an editorial accompanying the article, NEJM editor Raphael Dolin said that “although the merits of each type of analysis can be debated, all three yielded a possible, albeit modest, effect of the vaccine in preventing HIV infection.”

The study authors also argued that, taken together, the three different analyses of the results were “consistent with a modest protective effect of vaccine”, but could not explain why other findings from the trial indicated that the vaccine’s efficacy appeared to decrease over time, or why it was less effective among participants at high risk of infection.

They were also unsure whether it was one of the two vaccines that produced a potentially protective effect, or the combination of the two. Dolin noted that the findings raised “a number of questions that have important implications for future directions in vaccine research”, and recommended that the duration of the vaccine’s effect be addressed by following up the trial participants, as well as by future trials.

According to a report by a South African news service, Health-e, Colonel Nelson Michael of the US Military HIV Research Programme, another lead investigator of the Thai trial, told a press conference in Paris that a further study of the vaccine may be conducted in South Africa, which has a much higher HIV prevalence than Thailand. The vaccine would have to be modified to contain the strain of HIV most common in sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: IRIN News

See also: GLOBAL: First positive results from an HIV vaccine[ENDS]

2008, Cambodia, US$ 51,846,997 HIV/AIDS Spending

2008, US$ 51,846,997.00 was spent for HIV/AIDS in Cambodia. this amount was declared in National AIDS Spending Assessment II (NASA II) launching ceremony organized by National AIDS Authority (NAA) supported fund by UNAIDS in Sep 16, 2009 at Sunway Hotel, Phnom Penh Cambodia.

HE Dr. Hor Bunleng, Deputy Secretary General and Team Leader of NASA II said “AIDS spending in Cambodia has slightly declined from US$ 53,258,765 in 2007 to US$ 51,846,997 in 2008”

Prevention this remains the largest share of spending though it declined in the in the two years under the investigation (44% in 2007 and 39% in 2008) and follow by care and treatment (25% in 2007 to 29% in 2008), then the program management and administration (18% in 2007 to 20% in 2008). This trend is source of concerns as it is considered essential to avert new infection, especially among high risk group such as establishment workers, man who have sex with men and injecting drug users (NASA II finding). 2007, numbers of entertainment workers are 23,000. This amount was increase highly to 34,193 in 2009 which 5,000 are operated in brothels (NCHADS Report). The number of MSM in Cambodia was increased, but the budget line for Most At Risk Population (MARPs) are decreased (17% in 2007 to 12% in 2008).

The HIV response in Cambodia is highly reliant on external funding (2008, 90% from International support and 10% contribution from Royal Government of Cambodia). The majority of funds spent on AIDS related to intervention came from bilateral agencies (47% in 2007 to 40% in 2008), Global Fund to Fighting HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria (31% in 2007 to 37% in 2008), Government of Cambodia (11% in 2007 to 10% in 2008), UN agencies (10% in 2007 to 8% in 2008), and other international source (1% in 2007 to 5% in 2008).

The NASA resource tracking methodology is designed to describe the financial flows and expenditures using the same categories as the globally estimated resource needs. This alignment was conducted in order to provide necessary information on the financial gap between resources available and resources needed, and in order to promote the harmonization of different policy tools frequently used in the AIDS field. NASA provides indicators of the financial country response to AIDS and supports the monitoring of resource mobilization. Thus, NASA is a tool to install a continuous financial information system within the national monitoring and evaluation framework.

Victims of Cambodian forced evictions speak out

By Ek Madra

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Some villagers are shot. Some are arrested. Others are forcibly taken from homes. That’s the fate of growing numbers of Cambodians being forcibly evicted by authorities, witnesses said on Thursday.

A period of unprecedented growth since 2004 has boosted land prices in Cambodia, particularly in the capital Phnom Penh, leading to a spike in the number of forced evictions and triggering fierce criticism of the government by aid donors.

Victims raised their concerns on Thursday at the offices of World Vision, one of several aid groups which say the problem is spiralling out of control.

Buddhist monk Loun Savath recounted how four farmers were shot in his district in Siem Reap, a province that has seen a boom in tourism, including new golf resorts near the 12th-century temples of Angkor Wat.

He said 43 villagers were in jail after attempting to defend their 475 hectares from armed men in March.

“When the price of land rises, the police shoot at farmers in the rice fields and accuse them of stealing others’ paddy,” said Savath. “They shot us. But at the court they charged us as farmers for defaming them (the authorities),” he added.

Land ownership is a controversial issue in Cambodia, where legal documents were destroyed and state institutions collapsed under the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s and the civil war that followed.

The World Bank joined with other aid donors in July to ask the government to halt forced evictions and the problem was raised again by its vice-president for East Asia and the Pacific Region, James Adams, during his visit last month.

“Before we have land. Now some of us have broken legs,” said Savath, 29. “Some are in jail. Their wives have to sell cattle to buy food.”

Saren Ket, 48, said his community lived on 769 hectares in the northeastern province of Kratie before they were evicted after authorities signed a deal for a private firm to plant rubber. He said his community has nothing left.

“The authorities keep talking about poverty reduction and to generate more revenue for the state. But we are already suffering. What will happen to future generations,” said Ket.

The World Bank had provided funding of $24.3 million for a land management and administration project from 2002 to 2009, and an estimated 1.1 million land titles were issued. But Cambodia pulled out of the programme, its prime minister said this week.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said the World Bank’s administrative procedures were too complicated and Cambodia no longer wished to be part of the project.

Cambodia’s embassy in the United States released a statement through its foreign ministry in which it denied any wrongdoing.

“They are…professional squatters who take illegal possession of state or private land and then demand compensation before moving to occupy another public or private land,” said the release.

Copyright © 2008 Reuters

Source: The Stars Online

50% Of Young People Admit They Don’t Know Enough About HIV And AIDS – Global Survey Finds

Article Date: 13 Aug 2009 – 14:00 PDT
by: Medical News Today

According to the results of a global youth survey launched today by Standard Chartered and AIESEC International, the world’s largest student organisation, although 84 per cent of young people believe the HIV and AIDS epidemic remains one of the great challenges of our time, almost 50 per cent have a dangerously low knowledge about the killer virus.

Over a third don’t think condoms are very effective in preventing sexual transmission and nearly a quarter admitted they would not always use a condom when having sex. This could explain why almost half of the world’s new HIV infections occur among 15 to 24 year olds according to the latest UNAIDS statistics, largely as a result of unprotected sexual activity.

Over 1,500 members of AIESEC International responded to the survey, spanning 99 countries. Whilst two thirds of them view HIV and AIDS as a major problem in their own countries, despite concerted efforts by health agencies to educate younger generations across the world, a third feel that there is little information available to them.

When asked where they would turn to for information on HIV and AIDS, the internet was overwhelmingly cited as the first port of call. Over 94 per cent said they would go online ahead of talking to health professionals (61 per cent) and friends (59 per cent) or family members (25 per cent).

The news comes as Standard Chartered launches the beta version of www.vir.us – a first-of-its-kind animated website aimed at young people – to raise awareness and provide information about HIV and AIDS in a fresh, entertaining approach. This is a new element of Standard Chartered’s prevention-focused HIV education programme, Living with HIV, developed in partnership with leading experts from around the globe. Standard Chartered has also pledged to the Clinton Global Initiative to educate one million people on HIV and AIDS by 2010.

Vanessa Green, Group Head, Living with HIV at Standard Chartered said: “In the absence of a cure or vaccine, the only hope of tackling HIV is to educate people on how to avoid contracting the virus in the first place – or passing it on if they are HIV+. This survey shows that there is still a huge job to be done in educating the next generation, giving them the facts which will enable them to make safe lifestyle choices. The starting point is providing them with reliable and practical information in an accessible way, which overcomes the taboos and stigma around sexual health that compound ignorance.

“This survey shows there is a clear need for a free online resource which targets young people and can teach them the facts around HIV and AIDS in an engaging and fun way, whilst dispelling the myths. Our www.vir.us website was recently launched to supplement our face-to-face peer education programme which we run in partnership with AIESEC to reach a greater number of young people.”

“AIESEC has been working in partnership with Standard Chartered’s Living with HIV programme for the past 5 years”, said Alexa Mabonga, Global External Relations Manager at AIESEC International. “To date, we have educated over 125,000 young adults in 20 different countries through peer-to-peer education initiatives. Myths, orthodoxy and a reluctance to learn the basic facts about the virus are some of the biggest hurdles our HIV trainers face on a daily basis. Running the programme on the ground, we have found that it has had a real impact and helped people gain a stronger understanding of the issue.”

About the survey

The survey was conducted amongst AIESEC members in 2Q 2009. There were 1,566 respondents based in 99 different countries. 85% of respondents were under 25 years old and the majority were university educated.
• 48.3% have moderate, little or no knowledge of HIV and AIDS
• 82.7% agree or strongly agree that HIV and AIDS remains one of the great challenges of our time
• 93.9% now likely/very likely to go online to learn about HIV and AIDS
• 46.9% are not likely or would never speak to family to learn about HIV and AIDS
• 86.7% believe there is a need for the private sector, governments and NGO’s to work together in the fight against HIV and AIDS
• 73.4% view HIV and AIDS as a problem in their respective countries
• 32.6% agree that there is little information about HIV and AIDS in their country
• 58.6% agree that young people in their country do not know enough about HIV and AIDS
• 23.6% say they would not always use a condom when having sex
• 60.9% believe condoms to be very effective in preventing the spread of HIV
• 36.6% believe they are not very effective in preventing the spread of HIV
About Living with HIV

Standard Chartered Bank’s best practice Living with HIV program began as an internal workplace HIV education campaign before it was rolled out to local communities. The success of the Bank’s community investment is largely due to the varied partnerships-with business, foundations and academic institutions-that allowed the company to bring its workplace program to scale effectively.

Through collaboration with other organizations, the Bank aims to educate one million people about HIV and AIDS by 2010, using resources, models and tools-including an online e-learning module and website, www.vir.us -that the company has developed during ten years of experience conducting HIV education for its employees. The HIV education tools are available in 10 languages, and Living with HIV uses a volunteer network of “HIV Champions” who educate their peers about HIV-including components on reducing stigma and encouraging people to get tested for HIV.

Source
AIESEC

Alcohol Uses Increase Among Cambodian

by: Vutha
http://www.vuthasurf.com/2009/06/22/alcohol-uses-increase-amongst-cambodians/comment-page-1/#comment-159867

Drinking beer and alcohol is going up amongst Cambodian citizens in Cambodia, seemly to be a big heaven and market of alcohol in the region. The increase in the number of beer users is because of the great number of entertainment clubs, beer gardens, and different places for drinking in Phnom Penh and provinces.

According to the survey by the Cambodian Center for Peace and Development Organization, the abuse of alcohol among 1,400 Cambodian citizens was interviewed in seven provinces in late 2008, 58% of those interviewed, aged between 18 and 25, are addicted to alcohol.

“It also found that among alcohol abusers, 41% like drinking white rice wine produced in the country, 37% like drinking beer of different brands, 13% like medical wines [alcohol mixed with different herbs or animals, like snake], and 5% like whisky – produced locally or imported. However, this study did not note how much they drank per day, and which different types of alcohol was imported,” according to report.

The public advertisement of all types of beer have been made in public places and aired on television and radios. In addition, children, under 18 ages, are able to buy a can of beer or wine in supermarket or street stores. The government should take strict measure to stop alcohol ads, including television, radio and public places, and should prohibit children underage to freely purchase alcohol in public place.

PRESS RELEASE

July, 17 2009

Amnesty International Condemns Forced Eviction of Cambodian Families

The forced eviction of 60 low-income families in central Phnom Penh on Thursday and Friday has been strongly condemned by Amnesty International.

The families dismantled their homes after three years of government harassment and intimidation, with no choice but to accept inadequate compensation rather than have their homes demolished.

“Amnesty International strongly condemns this forced eviction and the deeply flawed process that led to it,” said Brittis Edman, Amnesty International’s Cambodia researcher.

Before dawn on Friday, at least 70 security forces, some armed with guns and electronic batons, moved in and blocked off the area known as Group 78 where four remaining families were holding out, with human rights workers and journalists monitoring the situation. Dozens of hired workers demolished what was left of the dismantled houses. Within hours, the resisting families had agreed to leave.

The families in Group 78 had been living under the threat of forced evictions for three years, with the Cambodian authorities following none of the safeguards required under international law.

“Group 78 was clearly cut off from due process and denied justice. The Municipality of Phnom Penh made no attempts to properly consult with the affected community or explore any feasible alternative to eviction,” said Brittis Edman. “This makes a mockery of the government’s obligations to protect the right to housing.”

The Municipality issued a final eviction notice to Group 78 in April 2009 and, in a series of subsequent meetings, officials, including Phnom Penh’s deputy governor, warned the community that the police and military police would demolish their homes if they did not accept the compensation on offer. The community had also received information that up to 700 security forces had been mobilised for the eviction.

Group 78 residents started moving into the area on the riverfront in 1983 and have applied for formal land titles several times since 2006, but the authorities have ignored their applications in spite of official documentation proving strong ownership claims. The final eviction order was issued by the Municipality, which has no mandate under national law to issue such a document, and without the judicial overview required under the 2001 Land Law. It was issued despite the fact that a local Commission has yet to determine who owns the disputed land. The options for alternative accommodation and compensation offered by the Municipality were inadequate.

The Cambodian Government has consistently failed to guarantee the right to adequate housing and protect its population against forced evictions. In 2008 alone, Amnesty International received reports about 27 forced evictions, affecting an estimated 23,000 people. Amnesty International is repeating its calls on the government to end forced evictions and introduce a moratorium on all mass evictions until the legal framework protects human rights.

As part of its Demand Dignity campaign, launched in May 2009, Amnesty International is calling on the Cambodian Government to end forced evictions and introduce a moratorium on all mass evictions until the legal framework protects human rights.

Through this campaign, the organisation is calling on governments globally to take all necessary measures, including the adoption of laws and policies that comply with international human rights law, to prohibit and prevent forced evictions.

if you wish to send this press release to your friends click here