Workshop examines women and AIDS
It may ultimately take the sudden death of a well known Belizean to shock the nation into safe sex, as no amount of education seems capable of slowing down the spread of AIDS in Belize. Authorities keep on fighting the good fight, however, as I discovered today at the Belize Institute of Management.
The workshop conducted by the National Aids Task Force was called to discuss the growing incidence of H.I.V. and AIDS cases in Belize. But before the participants would go in to the numbers and causes of the sexually transmitted disease, the workshop’s coordinator and Vice President of N.A.T.F., Ruth Gloria thought that it would be more beneficial to have the participants discuss the role people play in sexual relationships, that may be contributing to the increase of S.T.D.’S throughout the country.
Ruth Gloria, V.P., National Aids Task Force
“It does relate very importantly. As you know AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease and males and females have to take responsibility for this. It is a problem that is affecting our society and we still have the myth that it is only sexually, it’s present only in homosexuals and it’s not the fact in Central America.”
One reason why some men and women get into trouble is because the woman is prevented from expressing her feelings on matters of having protected sex, while her partner thinks wearing a condom is an unmanly thing to do.
Les Wakefield, Belize District Officer, D.W.A.
“We were talking about the different roles men and women play. The way men were in control of a lot of the aspects of women’s lives, not allowing women to express their emotions, not allowing women to be honest about their emotions and men not being honest about their own. The peer pressure that they are under, the lies that they have to propagate in order to make themselves appear more macho.”
Ruth Gloria
“We wanted to bring different representatives from the society to hear their views on the role they play in terms of family caring, sexual relationships and we have to had a very participated group and encouraging discussions to bring about, to get rid of the myths that we have in society, and we are particularly interested in hearing the men views also. So far they have been quiet, but we are hoping to involve them more in the discussions and to see what role they play and what are their feelings in terms of different issues that are affecting society.”
But the men did manage to put in a word or two. According to Rafael Sosa, B.F.L.A.’s Teen Coordinator, there is this myth that it’s only women who show emotions and not men.
Rafael Sosa, Teen Coordinator, B.F.L.A.
“Certainly, certainly men do go through emotions. I mean by and in ourselves, we are social beings, we are human beings and we are interactive beings. So by our existence, we do have feelings. It is just that we might not display those feelings in fashion that women play them.”
According to eighteen year old Philip Aragon, men invest as much time in a relationship, as do women.
Philip Aragon, President, Youth Group, B.F.L.A.
“To bring in food, you know the stress, they no have a job, they can’t find a job. You want to be there for your woman, but you have to work overtime, even if you have the job.”
Rafael Sosa
“For example there is the whole issue that men are under appreciated for the work that they do in terms of managing the households and that type of thing. We must agree that they are a lot of females who are heading households on their own, but in the matter of females who have their partners under their roof, managing their households, I do think that for the men, it is a fundamental challenge for them to be working and trying to make ends meet.”
But one thing both sexes agree on is that, no matter how great the frustration, stress or problem may be, it?s not an excuse for irresponsible behavior. According to Gloria, at this time they do not have an exact number of just how many Belizeans are afflicted with H.I.V. or AIDS, but they do suspect the number is high, especially among the heterosexual population.
Ruth Gloria
“Actual statistics do not say much because of the population we have tested, but we do know that it is a problem now in the heterosexual population. This is a trend that we are seeing in all of Central America. It is no longer a one population disease. It?s affecting heterosexuals and the one in particular that we are mostly concerned with, is the transmission between mother and child and so this is something that needs to be addressed today.”
It’s time, says Wakefield, for Belizeans, especially women, to wake up and get educated about the disease.
Les Wakefield
“The most important thing is when people come from societies, or areas where the education is not available especially the sex education. The things they learn from the television, the things they fool around with and learn about at home behind closed doors. That?s what they go through their lives believing and now we have to turn around and show them, ah, ah that?s not true, this is why it?s not true and this is why it is true from a scientific point of view.”
The one day workshop was held as part of the ongoing activities during Women’s Week.
