| Nov 13, 2004
Fridae Statement in response to Dr Balaji Sadasivan's
speech on gay men and HIV in Singapore
SINGAPORE - In a speech by Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior
Minister of State for Health on 10 November 2004 titled
"The AIDS Epidemic in Singapore" (Transcript:
http://app.sprinter.gov.sg/data/pr/2004111090.htm),
it was highlighted that there is an emerging epidemic
amongst MSMs (men who have sex with men) in Singapore.
Dr Balaji's concern over the sharp increase of HIV
infection amongst MSM is ironic. Even though MSMs have
always represented a high-risk group, Singapore's public
health service has systematically ignored and left MSMs
out of all their public health messages. Focusing instead
on abstinence and monogamy, the Ministry has rarely
advocated the use of condoms, and never once addressed
MSMs directly since its first education program against
HIV/AIDS in 1985.
It should thus come as no surprise that this marginalised
demographic now finds itself at increased risk for HIV
as a result of this gross negligence. That it has taken
20 years for MSMs to finally gain the attention of our
public health service is a clear indication of the institutionalised
homophobia that MSMs face.
Dr Balaji singled out Action for AIDS, an NGO dedicated
to fighting AIDS, for criticism, citing that it was
"not doing enough." In fact, it is probably
a direct result of AfA's unceasing efforts that MSM
transmission rates have been kept relatively low for
the last 20 years. Yet, an AfA operated booth at the
Nation party in August this year was asked to shut down
by the local police jurisdiction who thought that giving
out safer sex brochures and condoms was promoting gay
sex. In another incident earlier this year, AfA was
also stopped from circulating its new range of safer
sex postcards by the Advertising Standards Authority
of Singapore which objected to any reference to oral
and anal sex on the grounds that such acts were illegal.
Therein lies the conundrum: Since gay sex is illegal,
how then, can any agency or organisation in Singapore
promote safe sex amongst MSMs without being complicit
in abetting illegal activity? Do these structural mechanisms
restrict our Ministry of Health and organisations such
as AfA from fulfilling their public health obligations?
How is the MSM community expected to mobilise itself
to combat AIDS in the face of such blatant discrimination?
In his speech, Dr Balaji made reference to a website,
Fridae.com, where he came across an article that he
felt was advocating a "promiscuous and reckless
lifestyle." As CEO of Fridae, I would urge for
this article to be considered in a larger context.
Fridae.com is the region's largest gay and lesbian
web portal. As a trusted information source to a quarter
million readers every month, we recognise the important
role we play in the fight against AIDS. Fridae's articles
are a mix of serious, fact-based features and news,
as well as light hearted, lifestyle entertainment pieces,
not unlike what may be found in numerous mainstream
publications. It is easy to distinguish between the
two. We strongly believe that acknowledging a healthy
sexual lifestyle is important in getting our readers
to relate to our public health messages, which in turn
has the highest chance of success in encouraging safe
sex behaviours. It is clear that continuing a simplistic
message of abstinence or faithfulness to one's spouse
(which has no relevance to many in the MSM community)
has extremely limited efficacy.
Fridae's commitment to AIDS work began with the company's
inception in 2001, with strong working relationships
with the region's AIDS NGOs, including Action for AIDS,
Malaysian AIDS Council, and the Hong Kong AIDS Concern.
Not only have we been active in fundraising and implementing
AIDS prevention strategies, we have also taken the initiative
to mass produce and distribute at close to cost, our
own "Combat AIDS" condoms. We make sure that
safe sex messages are prominent in all our communications
with our members, and are instrumental in research that
helps us understand our local epidemiology. This is
only one of many instances where private monies are
being used to fund what ought to be a public health
initiative. Yet, we believe that the grassroots has
to mobilise and take action even if public policy lags
behind.
Perhaps Dr Balaji's speech signals a newfound willingness
for the MOH to address and engage the MSM community.
There needs to be greater communication between the
public sector with the grassroots to understand the
nature of the epidemic in Singapore, and formulate strategies
that take into account the unique needs of the MSM community.
If the MOH is serious about avoiding a public health
crisis, as it should be, then it ought to engage the
community directly, not through a proxy such as the
CDC, which has more of a clinical, rather than preventive
role. Fridae is prepared to make available the significant
resources at our disposal to the Ministry to promote
its public health messages, and hope that the government
sees this as a valuable and important opportunity for
outreach to this high risk, yet difficult to reach community.
We have to continue to develop targeted, effective,
sustained prevention efforts that build community capacity
to deliver ongoing, lifelong prevention programming
for those at risk and those already infected. The only
way to start this process is to first put aside our
prejudices, and strive towards an open and honest dialog
between all the stakeholders. For these public health
efforts to be effective in the MSM community, the authorities
have to first agree to work WITH the MSM community.
The consequences of not doing so will be a continued
disconnect between the two parties, and a potentially
dire impact on the rates of HIV transmission in Singapore.
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