MORE RESPECT FOR CARE GROUPS

Foreign paedophiles are anti-family and would not want care groups to counsel young boy and girl sex workers on going back to their family. They would call this stigma and discrimination.

The care centres are the key places in the nation that give support to people to be tested and living with HIV/AIDS. They need to raise the sense of self discipline among people who default on coming back for their resupply of antiretroviral drugs.

But sadly there have been people who give them a poor professional reputation by claiming stigma and discrimination for sex workers and people living with HIV/AIDS. The chances are that none of this is true.

The word has been spread probably among underaged sex workers that they can be reported to police and arrested. This is totally false. It is a gay and lesbian trick. Frightening underage children with arrest by police is a common paedophile trick.

It may be that care workers will talk to young girls and boys about abandoning sex work and going back to their families. They may talk about the dangers of HIV/AIDS and other STIs.

There was a nasty incident in the Eastern Highlands a few years ago when Save the Children was publicly critical of a care group that would not give condoms to underage children.

It would be the responsibility of care group workers to give counseling to men, women, boys and girls obviously suffering from Gender Based Violence. They may advise them to make an official complaint to police or Family Sexual Violence.

It is the job of the care groups to make sure they do not run out of antiretroviral drugs and that requests for resupply go into the system in timely manner.

In the recent incident in Madang, the so-called advocate for I Gat Hop rushed to the press on out of date second line drugs. The President of the National AIDS Council Nick Dala explained the problems of ordering and distribution of anti-retroviral drugs.

There were certainly not 1500 people needing second line drugs. If the same incident happened again Elaripe should accompany those concerned to the care centre and check out the facts before rushing into print. 

There is no value in embarrassing the workers in a care centre. Friendly relations and respect are the keys.