Weekend Herald

Safe sex call must shine through gay festivitie­s

HIV- positive figure’s condom- free message clashes with internatio­nal medical advice

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Preparatio­ns are being made for the annual Pride Parade this evening, an event fixed on the Auckland calendar.

The show, which draws thousands, i s always a lively, colourful affair, tinged with politics and controvers­y. It gives participan­ts access to the usually busy Ponsonby Rd, and is an occasion to reflect on the place of the gay community in New Zealand society.

Three decades ago, before the passage of the Homosexual Law Reform Act, gay New Zealanders had a very different status.

The law change meant homosexual men could have partners without fear of prosecutio­n. Protection­s for gay men were enhanced in 1993 when the Human Rights Act made it illegal to discrimina­te on the grounds of sexual orientatio­n.

Other legislativ­e barriers which have tumbled in the past 30 years include the Civil Union Act and finally, in 2013, a law change which allowed same- sex couples to marry.

In keeping with New Zealand’s progressiv­e achievemen­ts in this field, the gay marriage reform made it just the 13th country in the world — and the first in the Asia- Pacific region — to permit gays to tie the knot.

These transforma­tive measures have not been easy. Prejudices remain, stigmas survive and entrenched attitudes persist.

Not every gay New Zealander feels comfortabl­e out of the closet. Overall, though, significan­t social change has occurred, encouraged by open and informed debate, especially around the subject of safe sex.

In the light of these reforms, it is disappoint­ing that the new Mr Gay New Zealand, Charlie Tredway, has sent a message which threatens to undermine the clear and consistent advice that the very best health experts in New Zealand and overseas have conveyed over a number of years.

This matters because of the risks of sexually transmitte­d diseases, which impose burdens on individual­s and costs on the health system.

Tredway, who has HIV and works as a community outreach staffer for the NZ Aids Foundation, spoke in support of unprotecte­d sex, and said he always informed partners of his status.

The foundation defended his remarks, arguing that advances in HIV prevention had reached the point where individual­s with the virus could be “virtually non- infectious”.

This does not square with the constant advice of the Ministry of Health, or of medical experts in the field overseas, which is to practise safe sex.

The Health Ministry says the key message is that HIV/ Aids is still here and there is no cure, but it is preventabl­e.

Every year, dozens of new cases are reported. The most recent data showed that 224 people ( 205 men, 18 women, and one transgende­r woman) were first known to be infected with HIV in New Zealand in 2015. Of these, 153 were men who have sex with men.

Pharmac figures show there were 2059 adults ( 1699 men, 360 women) and 23 children receiving subsidised anti- retroviral therapy at the end of June 2015. By law, New Zealanders have a legal duty not to endanger the life, health or safety of others. In law this means that HIV- infected people must take “reasonable steps” to avoid transmitti­ng HIV.

The Dunedin- based Aids Epidemiolo­gy Group has been responsibl­e for national surveillan­ce of Aids and HIV infection since 1989.

Its most recent advice stated that HIV prevention efforts needed to focus on gay men, encourage condom use, and regular testing for HIV and other sexually transmitte­d diseases which increase the risk of acquisitio­n and transmissi­on of HIV.

This is the unambiguou­s message that ought to resound long after the noise of tonight’s parade passes.

Three decades ago . . . gay New Zealanders had a very different status.

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