This is a blog that had been opened two years back, then unfortunately it was lost, not sure how we managed to do that, but anyway for a long time we tried to retrieve it but were unable to do, so had sadly said goodbye to the blog. Then as a surprise my daughter retrieved each of the write ups and put it together in this blog page. Yesterday for the first time I looked into my blog, reconstructed by my daughter; most of what we had written were there except for the dates. The feeling was great
Why had i opened this blog ??
For me it was important that issues not being addressed currently in Orissa or issue that are not considered very important to be addressed in Orissa are reflected here.
It was equally important that friends from the CBOs that I work with who are as well as work with vulnerable, marginalized population can put across the isolation that they face and the stigma and discrimination that they address as well as face in this blog.
Our CBO friends hopefully one day will be confident enough to write their stories on their own, but currently I think it is our responsibility to see that they are reflected for all to see, feel and do something about.
Welcome to our blog, 'Living with Dignity'
Sarita
Odisha-1
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Media insensitivity
on 29 December in a vernacular daily in Orissa in the front page a photograph of a family, with the following caption was published:
"Father Mother & their two children suffering from AIDS".
What bothered all of us was that each and every detail of where he lived, what he did, and how he got himself infected with the virus is detailed out in that column.
In Orissa past experience with HIV/AIDS has been horrible.
I remember there was an incidence in Ganjam (a high prevalent district), where a young mother, whose husband died of AIDS related disease was tied to her cot and burnt by the villagers, a young man who had died of AIDS was not given a decent cremation because of his HIV status. These are some of the common incidence that have been regularly occurring in Orissa. One needs to question media as to whether these kinds of sensational news will aggravate the situation or not, whether they have maintained all the norms (e.g taking permission from the family (written permission) before publishing this human interest story, Whether consequences of such kind of publication has been discussed with the family, has confidentiality been taken into account while writing about how, what action of his resulted in him being a HIV+.
I am presuming that no such initiative has been taken before exposing the family to discrimination. I do hope individuals and community members come together to address media insensitivity which harms the common man and exposes them to discrimination.
"Father Mother & their two children suffering from AIDS".
What bothered all of us was that each and every detail of where he lived, what he did, and how he got himself infected with the virus is detailed out in that column.
In Orissa past experience with HIV/AIDS has been horrible.
I remember there was an incidence in Ganjam (a high prevalent district), where a young mother, whose husband died of AIDS related disease was tied to her cot and burnt by the villagers, a young man who had died of AIDS was not given a decent cremation because of his HIV status. These are some of the common incidence that have been regularly occurring in Orissa. One needs to question media as to whether these kinds of sensational news will aggravate the situation or not, whether they have maintained all the norms (e.g taking permission from the family (written permission) before publishing this human interest story, Whether consequences of such kind of publication has been discussed with the family, has confidentiality been taken into account while writing about how, what action of his resulted in him being a HIV+.
I am presuming that no such initiative has been taken before exposing the family to discrimination. I do hope individuals and community members come together to address media insensitivity which harms the common man and exposes them to discrimination.
STIGMA & DISCRIMINATION
In a recent meeting, held in Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar on 27 December, on stigma and discrimination, a PLHIV member brought up the issue that in most of the prescriptions provided in the column of diseases the Medical Officer of that hospital write AIDS, this has resulted in discrimination as the nurses and the pharmacists mistreat them, the Medical Officer gave an explanation that he had certain moral responsibility towards other Doctors as the patient would never reveal his HIV status. The Participants straight away protested and argued with the Doctor, what about the rights of the patient, does the patient not have any rights.
Though the Doctor did not have any reply to that he persisted with his answer about how important it was to protect the doctors from syringe pricks. Rather the Medical Officer justified and stated that discrimination happens in every field and every issues and tried to trivialize this particular serious issue of concern of people being discriminated on the basis of their HIV status.
What can be done to change the attitude of Doctors; are we doing enough to change their attitude; are our training programmes adequate ; are we taught enough by our parents, teachers and elders about respecting life and human beings in general; I think these are questions that one should be constantly asking own self as well friends, families, loved ones enough.
Though the Doctor did not have any reply to that he persisted with his answer about how important it was to protect the doctors from syringe pricks. Rather the Medical Officer justified and stated that discrimination happens in every field and every issues and tried to trivialize this particular serious issue of concern of people being discriminated on the basis of their HIV status.
What can be done to change the attitude of Doctors; are we doing enough to change their attitude; are our training programmes adequate ; are we taught enough by our parents, teachers and elders about respecting life and human beings in general; I think these are questions that one should be constantly asking own self as well friends, families, loved ones enough.
Must Read Books on HIV/AIDS
Two books that have really touched my soul and I am constantly promoting for all to read are:
1. Sex Lies and AIDS by Siddharth Dube
2. AIDS Sutra edited by Negar Akhavi in collaboration with Avahan India AIDS Initiative, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Sex Lies & AIDS: by Siddharth Dube was a turning point for me, it was published in 2000 and breaks many stereotypes. This book for the first time focuses on vulnerability and why it is important for all of us to come together to fight the disease. it speaks of the Government programmes, the apathy of the respective states in handling a epidemic of this proportion
AIDS Sutra: Untold Stories of India, published in 2008 has a foreword by Amartya Sen and 16 award winning authors write about the epidemic it not only focuses on how the Devdasis, hijras, truck drivers and sex workers are grappling with the disease, but it also focuses on HIV among the affluent and the privileged. These books will give us an insight on the need for empathy and compassion.
1. Sex Lies and AIDS by Siddharth Dube
2. AIDS Sutra edited by Negar Akhavi in collaboration with Avahan India AIDS Initiative, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Sex Lies & AIDS: by Siddharth Dube was a turning point for me, it was published in 2000 and breaks many stereotypes. This book for the first time focuses on vulnerability and why it is important for all of us to come together to fight the disease. it speaks of the Government programmes, the apathy of the respective states in handling a epidemic of this proportion
AIDS Sutra: Untold Stories of India, published in 2008 has a foreword by Amartya Sen and 16 award winning authors write about the epidemic it not only focuses on how the Devdasis, hijras, truck drivers and sex workers are grappling with the disease, but it also focuses on HIV among the affluent and the privileged. These books will give us an insight on the need for empathy and compassion.
Lata's Story
Name: Lata (name changed)
Age: 27
Marital Status: Widowed.
Children: Two a 12 year old Daughter and a 9 year old son.
Her Story
In 2004, Lata’s husband 'Jay Kumar' had to be hospitalized, reason he had a severe bout of diarrhea which had dehydrated him. Jay Kumar was taken care of in the hospital at Cuttack by his older brother. Two days after Jay Kumar's hospitalization Lata was taken to the hospital to get her blood tested, nobody talked or explained to her why her blood was being tested. Lata was taken to the hospital twice, and soon after her report was delivered, everybody’s behavior towards her changed. Her mother-in-law beat her and kicked her out of the house.
She went back to her parent’s house. Lata's brother immediately came to meet her husband and in-laws. Lata’s brother returned back angry and slapped Lata and asked her what sin had she committed and who had she slept with. Lata was shocked, she kept denying. Lata's mother believed that her daughter would never do anything wrong and protected her from her brother’s anger. After three months, Lata's brother-in-law came and asked Lata to come back to the house. When Lata returned, her mother-in-law angrily said,” you have given my son AIDS so you have to serve and take care of him". Lata her husband and her children stayed in a ramshackle hut far from the main house, none of the family members came to her house, she was asked to keep take water from a separate pond, and also asked not to come into the main house. Lata’s family was treated as outcastes.
Jaya Kumar died two months later. Soon after he was cremated, Lata's in-laws asked Lata to leave with her two children. Lata now lives with her parents and tries to make some sense of what has happened. Lata for a long time did not know how she got the disease; she believed for a long time that she was the one who gave the disease to her husband. In 2007 she started working with a NGO and realized that she had not given her husband the virus, and her truck driver husband could be the one to give her the virus. The NGO took her and her children to the nearest VCCTC and she got her children tested and also got herself tested, her test came back positive whereas her children were negative. She decided to demand a share of her husband’s property from her in-laws who predictably refused. With the support of the NGO, Lata fought tooth and nail with her husband’s family for her husband's share of the property and finally managed to get his share for the children.
This is a true incident and certain questions that this incident always raises are:
1. How can a hospital test blood without counseling a client?
2. Why are certain quality checks which are mandatory and non negotiable not being promoted in hospitals and by Government which would support and promote the rights of clients?
3. Why are health care providers so callous about the rights of the clients?
I always use this incident in my trainings as we rarely talk in our trainings about ways and key steps to be undertaken to establish strong referral linkage mechanism which would promote spouse/partner counseling. This is important and imperative as our counselors are not well versed and trained in spouse/family counseling nor do they promote it as much as it should be done.
Age: 27
Marital Status: Widowed.
Children: Two a 12 year old Daughter and a 9 year old son.
Her Story
In 2004, Lata’s husband 'Jay Kumar' had to be hospitalized, reason he had a severe bout of diarrhea which had dehydrated him. Jay Kumar was taken care of in the hospital at Cuttack by his older brother. Two days after Jay Kumar's hospitalization Lata was taken to the hospital to get her blood tested, nobody talked or explained to her why her blood was being tested. Lata was taken to the hospital twice, and soon after her report was delivered, everybody’s behavior towards her changed. Her mother-in-law beat her and kicked her out of the house.
She went back to her parent’s house. Lata's brother immediately came to meet her husband and in-laws. Lata’s brother returned back angry and slapped Lata and asked her what sin had she committed and who had she slept with. Lata was shocked, she kept denying. Lata's mother believed that her daughter would never do anything wrong and protected her from her brother’s anger. After three months, Lata's brother-in-law came and asked Lata to come back to the house. When Lata returned, her mother-in-law angrily said,” you have given my son AIDS so you have to serve and take care of him". Lata her husband and her children stayed in a ramshackle hut far from the main house, none of the family members came to her house, she was asked to keep take water from a separate pond, and also asked not to come into the main house. Lata’s family was treated as outcastes.
Jaya Kumar died two months later. Soon after he was cremated, Lata's in-laws asked Lata to leave with her two children. Lata now lives with her parents and tries to make some sense of what has happened. Lata for a long time did not know how she got the disease; she believed for a long time that she was the one who gave the disease to her husband. In 2007 she started working with a NGO and realized that she had not given her husband the virus, and her truck driver husband could be the one to give her the virus. The NGO took her and her children to the nearest VCCTC and she got her children tested and also got herself tested, her test came back positive whereas her children were negative. She decided to demand a share of her husband’s property from her in-laws who predictably refused. With the support of the NGO, Lata fought tooth and nail with her husband’s family for her husband's share of the property and finally managed to get his share for the children.
This is a true incident and certain questions that this incident always raises are:
1. How can a hospital test blood without counseling a client?
2. Why are certain quality checks which are mandatory and non negotiable not being promoted in hospitals and by Government which would support and promote the rights of clients?
3. Why are health care providers so callous about the rights of the clients?
I always use this incident in my trainings as we rarely talk in our trainings about ways and key steps to be undertaken to establish strong referral linkage mechanism which would promote spouse/partner counseling. This is important and imperative as our counselors are not well versed and trained in spouse/family counseling nor do they promote it as much as it should be done.
MIgration & HIV
on 7-8 January a regional consultative meeting was held in CYSD on Migration & HIV, this meeting was facilitated by SPYM a organization from New Delhi and financed and supported by UNDP, the suggestions and findings from this workshop would feed into the National level consultative meet on Migration & HIV in New Delhi. Plans are to conduct four such meeting, two have already been conducted and two more will be conducted shortly in other states. The recommendations and findings of these workshop will feed into the national level workshop and a strategy will be developed by Government of India to address Migration and HIV. A good initiative and it is needed, as migration especially distress migration needs to be addressed at all levels.
Heights of insensitivity in the workshop:
A high ranking gentleman of Government of Orissa invited to be the chief speaker on Day II spoke of the following:
a. Educated men going to foreign shores and no statistics on the number of them leaving our shores.
b. People forge data on distress migration and inflate it. As a result this is questioned in the assembly and departments have trouble answering it.
A professional Lady who is currently working in the mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS unit, Government of Orissa spoke of how mainstreaming does not only address migration and mainstreaming is not the answer for all problems related to migration and she was there in the workshop because she was working in mainstreaming unit and was asked to participate in the process.
what was good about the workshop:
1. People are taking distress migration seriously and actually thinking of ways to address issues related to distress migration.
2. This was a forum where NGOs /CBOs were actually asked for their opinion and what they feel can be done.
what should raise our concern:
1. Poverty and livelihood are still major concerns and this needs to be addressed on a priority basis
2. People working with the Government or people closely allied to it still feel that everything cannot be addressed, and they are not responsible for addressing migration and issues related to it.
3. NGOs data on migration is still not recognized, neither is there any effort by Government to collect data on migration.
4. The needs of the migrants are not taken as a issue either at the destination(place of work) or at the source(home). As a result you will find a increase in the number of cases reported in the media on sexual & physical abuse, increase of HIV/AIDS, other diseases like RTIs/STIs, suicides, exploitations, physical abuse, killings etc.
Attending workshops like this show us how inadequate our work is and how chaotic our world is.
Heights of insensitivity in the workshop:
A high ranking gentleman of Government of Orissa invited to be the chief speaker on Day II spoke of the following:
a. Educated men going to foreign shores and no statistics on the number of them leaving our shores.
b. People forge data on distress migration and inflate it. As a result this is questioned in the assembly and departments have trouble answering it.
A professional Lady who is currently working in the mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS unit, Government of Orissa spoke of how mainstreaming does not only address migration and mainstreaming is not the answer for all problems related to migration and she was there in the workshop because she was working in mainstreaming unit and was asked to participate in the process.
what was good about the workshop:
1. People are taking distress migration seriously and actually thinking of ways to address issues related to distress migration.
2. This was a forum where NGOs /CBOs were actually asked for their opinion and what they feel can be done.
what should raise our concern:
1. Poverty and livelihood are still major concerns and this needs to be addressed on a priority basis
2. People working with the Government or people closely allied to it still feel that everything cannot be addressed, and they are not responsible for addressing migration and issues related to it.
3. NGOs data on migration is still not recognized, neither is there any effort by Government to collect data on migration.
4. The needs of the migrants are not taken as a issue either at the destination(place of work) or at the source(home). As a result you will find a increase in the number of cases reported in the media on sexual & physical abuse, increase of HIV/AIDS, other diseases like RTIs/STIs, suicides, exploitations, physical abuse, killings etc.
Attending workshops like this show us how inadequate our work is and how chaotic our world is.
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