News......

It has been a long time since I posted in my blog; the good news is that we have opened our webpage idpr.org.in; slowly we are trying to update it and hopefully we will complete it by the first week of January. The second good news is that we have translated Tarshi's Blue Book and Red Book in Oriya (Neela Bahi and Naali Bahi) and these are available with us in our office, anybody interested can contact idpr office at 2742068 or email us at idpr.bhubaneswar@gmail.com.

In 2010 we are planning to establish our training resource centre hope this initiative will be of use to all of us working in the development sector; please provide us with feedback on how you would like this training and resource centre to be; what key training and capacity building initiatives can we take up.

Here is wishing all of a Very Happy New Year. Happy 2010 to all our well wishers.

ODISHA-One

Sunanda: My Friend

When I was a child of eight I had a friend called Sunanda, she adored me. Everybody in our school had a problem with her as she never seemed normal. First of all she never seemed like a girl, I mean she was tall like a reed had a very sweet smile She never developed like a girl with breasts or had a figure like a girl. She was fast like a boy and won all races in our school, she could throw the discus the farthest. she had a booming voice and boys and girls would stop in their tracks when she would stay attention during parades.

She loved being a part my friend. She had the tallest story to tell; and I loved her stories and laughed out the loudest. There were a lot of jeers and comments and snide remarks about her looks, the way she walked the way she talked the way she waved her hand. Her parents treated her like a girl. I adored her, and was very protective about her. Our classmates both boys and girls were mortally afraid to say anything against her or bully her as they were terribly afraid of my temper I was very short tempered and could hit anybody twice my size without bothering to look or be afraid of whether s/he would hit me back. All my friends/enemies/others would scatter away when I had one of my temper tantrums, as I would hit out at anyone who stood besides me, and come out with the choicest of abuses and gaalis; in fact two people who could stop my rampage were my mother and Sunanda.

Sunanda did not have her periods when all of us did and that was the talk of our small town, her mother kept assuring her that she would have it and some girls had it late. And i would console her saying that I was very happy for her. I would always tell her what is the need for periods, it is a real pain; and she would look at me sadly.

Slowly she withdrew from all her friends except for me. After high school exams she studied at home and stopped going to college. I carried on with my life but always had time for her. I left the town, but returned back every summer to her and we would sit for hours and bitch about everybody. Sunanda would wait every summer for me. She was never seen out of the house. I got married she was the happiest; when I had my first daughter she was the happiest, and gave hand crafted rugs, bedsheets and tiny smock dresses for my daughter; she was just wonderful with the baby; Sunanda would have made a wonderful mother.

I lost Sunanda to time; now I am not sure where she is. Now that I am working in this field I know more about her and wish I could help her and support her.

Sunanda is a hermaphrodite(this was something I understood after starting to work in this sector) which currently has been replaced by the term intersexual. That is humans with typical reproductive organs but typical clitoris/penis. People with Intersex conditions sometimes chose to live exclusively as one sex or the other trying to blend into the sex they identify with more closely. Some people who are intersexed outwardly appear completely female or male already without realizing they are intersexed. Other kinds of Intersex conditions are identified immediately at birth because those with the conditions have a sexual organ larger than a clitoris and smaller than a penis.

Working in the field of Sexual Reproductive Health and HIV&AIDS you hear on stigma and discrimination and you realize how deep rooted heterosexism is. We talk about respect, dignity and tolerance but somehow it is not evidence in our day to day life. Sunanda was beautiful but had a hard life, now when i read about Caster Semenya she reminds me of Sunanda. We keep debating about her gender whether she should compete or not which gender should she belong to. When Caster smiles it is pure sunshine, same as Sunanda but who cares.

Disability and Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights.

Yesterday,"We the People" in NDTV by Barkha Dutt was probably watched by many, and it was really impressive how the supreme court judgement could bring out such strong emotions on isssues of disability, pregnancy, choices, rape, abortion etc amongst the participants. Majority of them do believe that an woman should exercise her choice on whether she should have a baby or abort her foetus, but whether a women with disability has a right to exercise her choice is a contentious issue.

Probably majority of them felt that the women with disability should not reproduce, some of them openly spoke out against it. This feeling has a lot to do with the fact that many of us do believe that people with disability 'can not' feel, sense, love, have pleasure through sexual relationship, enjoy sexual relations, have the pleasure of pregnancy, having a baby, raising a child etc. This kind of belief has a lot to do with the fact that there is little awareness about disability and the extent to which disability impacts on a individual's life and on his/her sexuality.

One thing that we should know is people with disabilty do not form a homogenous group. Our tendency to club all kinds of disability together, and speak for all of them is because of our lack of awareness. DIfferent disability have varying implications with respect to sexuality. The young women in question was mildly mental retarded and evidence suggests that if she were given proper environment, she could live her life like all 'normal people'. The word mental retardation is substituted worldwide with "intellectual disability" and "person with developmental delays". Retarded persons are slow learners, however they are not insane or of unsound mind....

It was humbling to see a women with disability talk about her life in the same show.

I am learning and hope that all of us learn to integrate disability and sexuality in our project management cycles and into our project activities as we constantly talk of working with vulnerable and marginalized and I can't think of anybody more marginalized and more vulnerable than people with disability.

Sarita

Supreme court's pro-life decision.

NEW DELHI, India -- In a landmark pro-life decision, the Supreme Court on July 21 allowed a 20-year-old mentally challenged orphan girl to keep her pregnancy resulting from a sexual assault and set aside the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling ordering medical termination.

The HC had ordered medical termination of the girl's 19-week-old pregnancy after coming to the conclusion that since she was unable to take care of herself, she should be relieved of the pregnancy given the state of her condition — both mental and physical.

The HC was guided by opinion of two panels of doctors, including psychiatrists and gynaecologists, which assessed the rape victim to be of the mental age of 7-9 years. They had expressed concern over her ability to undertake pre-natal and post-natal precautions and care, though they were unanimous that she was physically fit to carry the pregnancy and deliver the child.

The SC allowed her to keep the pregnancy as it was in an advanced stage and the National Trust for Mentally Retarded pledged to take care of the mother and child for the rest of their lives.

Initially, a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan, which in the past has dismissed PILs seeking abolition of death sentence, appeared to be torn between the mentally retarded girl's right to motherhood and its apprehension about the child's future.

The unfortunate girl's case was presented in a legal docket scribbled with emotional arguments by counsel Tanu Bedi, who sought the SC's intervention to allow the orphan girl to have her first blood relation through the child she was carrying.

"If her mental age is a consideration for the judiciary to think that she cannot take care of her baby, why should poor women, who are found lacking in bringing up their children, be allowed to become mothers," Bedi asked.

Appearing for Chandigarh administration, counsel Anupam Gupta referred to the support flowing in from NGOs for the rape victim and said it would be wrong to get swayed by the response of NGOs as there was no guarantee that they would continue doing so for the entire lifetime of the girl and the child after it was born.

When the court asked why the state could not take care of the mother and child, Gupta said, "Let's not get swept off our feet by euphoria shown by NGOs to support the mentally challenged girl and let's not be blind to the ground reality. Even normal parents take it as a setback if their child turns out to be mentally challenged. If the mentally challenged girl's child turns out to be mentally retarded, then will the NGOs be there to lend support constantly and continuously?"

The Bench conceded that the girl was not in a position to take care of herself and her child. "The foetus is fine and does not appear to suffer from any deformity. We cannot say for sure whether the child will be mentally retarded. The pregnancy is in an advanced stage. Moreover, if someone agrees to take care of the mother through the pregnancy and the child when it is born, then why should she be deprived of motherhood," it said.

Times of India

Article 377

The judgment of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi in affirming rights of homosexuals is a great landmark decision; it has come through after a long and painful struggle of the LGBT groups and organizations, and support groups. But this is not the end; this is just the beginning for a greater struggle for full rights, dignity and complete acceptance by the majority, families, and society at large. The struggle will come to an end only when gays do not have feel shy, guilty, defensive, and give endless justifications on their sexuality and sexual orientation to the other side, i.e. Heterosexuals who are in majority, and sitting on the seat of judgment.

Heterosexuals are lucky that way; they do not have to struggle for their sexuality and sexual orientation and their body and mind all the time. When a heterosexual goes to sex workers, it may considered as illegal but it not considered as unnatural because it involves vaginal sex. Sex between homosexuals is so easily brushed aside as unnatural, unethical, and result of some sickness. In such circumstances, homosexuals because of their numerical shortfall, have to fight for their rights and dignity.

The judgment of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi has generated strong reactions for various religious groups, organizations, and political groups. Some are vociferous in their criticism and some are cautious. Some condemn it, and some pass it over, and gays celebrate it. Media have brought many debates to the surface now.

HETEROSEXUALS PLEASE TAKE SOME TIME AND HEAR THE OTHER SIDE

Whether you believe in homosexuality or not, whether you like it or not or whether you find it natural or not, same sex relationship exists and has very explicitly and visually been shown in the sculpture of the much revered temples of India and has been there for ages. Social, religious and political leaders (who are the opinion makers) who represent people frame homosexuality as “sin”, “unnatural” and “immoral”. It is easy, convenient, and safe to follow these leaders, and stick to age old beliefs perpetuated for so long.

And when such collective consciousness reigns and rules the society, there is little scope for new understanding, tolerance and acceptance. And when new leaders emerge, they also follow this mass consciousness as it is easy, convenient and safe. We have heard stories about ministers, writers, intellectuals who are homosexuals. And they are truly loved by the people, their sexual orientation was never an issue, If tomorrow a Prime Minister, or a Chief Minister, a religious leader gives his stamp of approval to homosexual relationship then it will have great impact. However very few are willing to do so.

In this context, the judgment of the Hon’ble High Court is encouraging, and keeps the hope alive that there is hope within preexisting sexual stereotypes. Social approval may be the ultimate success of the LGBT movement, but a legal approval has set some momentum to the movement. The judgment of the Hon’ble high Court has taken a great step; it has at least opened the closed box of Article377 for scrutiny and new thinking of the majority.

Documentary: Dinare Basanta Aame aau Raati Re Basanti.

Today all of us at idpr and Sakha saw a very lovely documentary which had been previously shown in OTV by Debadutt Choudary and Bhibuti Rath. it was a very good effort and was appreciated by all of us. The members of Sakha after seeing it could relate to the stories of neglect, prejudice, biases perpetrated by family members and community.

The documentary was appreciated by all, except for one concern raised by Meera who felt that the title of the documentary, "Dinare Basanta aame raati re basanti" (which when translated in english was, 'in morning we are Basant (Male) and at night we are Basanti(Female)') was inappropriate as she felt that there is a lot of stigma associated with it, and no transgender or hijra would like to be a man in morning and women in the darkness of night. This video was developed by Devdutt Choudary and Bibhuti Rath, both can be reached in OTV, if you have any comments on the video or require more information on how to access the entire documentary please contact: devsruti75@gmail.com and bibhuti_rath@yahoo.co.in

My Perspective

If individuals would like to be in same sex relationship, then why is it so difficult for us(heterosexuals) to accept it. How is it going to threaten us (heterosexuals), disrupt the social fabric and corrupt our society? Very few deeply think about on their own and rather carry with the thoughts of spokespersons from various religious/political groups. Accepting them as they are also is another attribute of democracy, and people who love democratic values must also understand the deeper meanings of the concept. Democracy is not the tyranny or the dominance of the majority, it is the dignified acceptance of each other, and an willingness to understand each other.

And for our gay friends.

Let me say! the more you share your thoughts with all, it will also open up our thinking. Heterosexuals learning may be slow, but keep sharing this is the only way barriers will be broken.

Bijoy

Jai HO

Today is the Pabitra Bahuda Yatra, today Lord Jagannath accompanied by brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra return back home to Puri Jagannath Temple. Today is truly an auspicious day and will also be remembered for another historic landmark judgment, the Delhi High Court on Thursday legalised consensual sex among gays. The court has struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

A bench comprising of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar said that if not amended, Section 377 of the IPC would violate Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which states that every citizen has equal opportunity of life and is equal before law.

"We declare Section 377 of IPC in so far as it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private violates Articles 14, 21 and 15 of the Constitution," the Bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar said. However, Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises homosexuality will continue for non-consensual, non-vaginal sex.

JAI HO

Statement on Mandatory Testing by Loknath Mishra

I am not sure where this came from and who gave the credit to me and Mr. Sanjit Patnaik for making this statement. But we have not made any statement on mandatory testing neither do we have any intention of promoting mandatory testing in Orissa. I am not shocked or surprised that this statement has brought on such strong reaction. I am angry that such a damaging statement on mandatory testing is going to ruin all these years of struggle undertaken by all. Mr. Sanjit Patnaik and I have been struggling at the community level against forced testing of married young women by family members. The sad part is that in Orissa media is yet to learn how damaging these kinds of statement is for Orissa as a state where we are yet to go beyond prevention programmes and where districts with high prevalence are neglected by the state.

BY -- Loknath Mishra,
ARUNA.

Gay community in Orissa(India): social discrimination and their fight for their Rights and Dignity in the society

Ratikanta Pradhan
(This is a letter from Ratikanta Pradhan to Satya Sundar Mishra the founder member of SAKHA a CBO established to fight for the rights and dignity of LGBTs in Orissa.

Gay community in Orissa(India): social discriminiation and their fight for their Rights and Dignity in the society

Yes, i am very proud to be a gay. I think that God has a good and noble reason behind creating me like this, so i am happy being a gay. And moreover, we gays play a very important role and contribute a good amount of development initiatives to the society in particualr and as a whole in the world. I dont think we should regreet about being gay and our identity and sexual orientation is natural. We behave and are feminine in our movements except that we do not posses physcial attributes of a women.

But, at the same time, we face a lot of problems regarding our identity and respect and place in the society. There is widespread problem of ragging from physcial to mental as well as economic being a gay in the society. In Orissa(India) society as they are yet to understand us, Society still thinks same sex relation is unnatural and against the order of nature. Gays still face social stigma and other forms of exploitation in each and every field.

Gays in India do feel happy when people accept us, understand our emotions and sentiments. But that itself is not enough we would feel even better and proud if our uniqueness was accepted as normal. Many educated people encourage us and support us in our fight for your dignity and Rights and rightful place in the society.

Now, we have started a association called "SAKHA"(friend) in Bhubaneswar, which primarily works for the development and welfare of the sexual minorities We have been celebrating and coming together on different occasions; The World AIDS Day and organising different workshops regarding the sexual reproductive health, HIV&AIDS, formation of self-help groups and organising other recrational events.

I would take this opportunity to thank Mr. Satya Sundar Mishra
(Subhi/subham)) for his contribution and hard work and for establishing this platform I hope and appeal to all gay people who re living in and around Bhubaneswar please come foreward and fight for our Rights with altogether
I Wish all of us success

MIXED MESSAGES

My seven year old daughter is obsessed with reading out loud every poster, hoarding, shop names and every bit of words and statements that she can see from the car window. She also asks the adults sitting in the car to explain what these terms and statements mean. Yesterday she saw a poster somewhere where it was written, ‘save a girl child’. She kept asking me what it meant. Usually I and my husband are a bit wary about explaining to her, because her questions do not end there as she asks us in the most unusual places and inappropriate places (Once during a serious meeting she wanted me to clarify about menstruation and Sex). But this was one statement which I had to clarify to her. When I explained why it is important to save a girl child especially in India and how precious they are, she still did not understand.

So I had to take the story of Balika Badhu ( a television serial which I utterly detest, which is regressive and actually promotes certain key traditional practices like child marriage, widow repression and no education for a girl child and which should be abolished/banned). What is great about the serial is that it is currently the most popular serial, and even in workplaces colleagues of mine discuss about the serial and react positively to the story line.

Did my daughter understand after my explanation? Not really, as previously I had told her that Balika Badhu is just a story and not something to be believed in.

Shiny Ahuja the brilliant actor involved in raping his own 18 year old maid. There will probably be two kinds of opinion, if it is rape then he should be jailed, if it is consensual then probably he is not at fault. EXCUSE ME which ever way it goes it is rape. A young susceptible 17/18 year old girl from a poor marginalized background who is uneducated works in your house as a domestic maid for a paltry sum, who is lead/seduced by a married man in his thirties, who is a film actor ( Mr. Shiney Ahuja who proudly claims to be a thinking actor) to indulge in sex, when his wife and child are away. Do you still feel that this is right if it was consensual?

I think the media(print, audio, video) throws a lot of questions which need to be looked into and pondered before community becomes the judge and jury and pronounces a verdict.

Are we well protected???

I have been getting malicious, obscene and abusive calls and messages from three anonymous phone numbers since the past two/three months. Initially I ignored it but then I realized that it was slowly getting out of hand and could be dangerous for me and my family and so I along with my husband went to the local Police Station to hand over our detailed application so that a FIR could be lodged for the police to take necessary action. The Police Inspector in Charge was very kind and considerate and said he would look into the matters immediately. Seven days went by still when there was no sign of the messages stopping or any response from the police station, my husband went to the police station again, there for the first time he realized that the complaint was not yet registered, and the Inspector in Charge was reluctant to even formally record it in the station diary.
He went to the Commissionerate of Police office to discuss with the higher police officials. He met a higher official; surprisingly the higher official was very reluctant and asked my husband as to why we were getting these calls when he or his family never got any calls making my husband feel as if we were the perpetrators. My husband was surprised and shocked and angry with the response.
Now I realize why there is so much of fear amongst the marginalized and vulnerable groups and communities that I work with when I suggest that they should go to police with their complaints on violation, abuse of their rights. I realized then and there how difficult it must be for an ordinary citizen to first approach a police station to lodge a complaint as an FIR (a station diary is not a FIR I knew the difference only after this experience).
SO what is the difference between a FIR and a station diary? In brief FIR or First Information Reports have to immediately be registered by Officers who are in-charge of a police station based on a complaint or information given by a victim regarding any cognizable offence. By cognizable offence the law says that any offence in which a police officer may in accordance with the first schedule or CR P.C (1973) or under any other law for the time being without any force arrest without warrant. The Station General Diary is used just to record every major incident (e.g. theft, murder, traffic accidents) happening within the jurisdiction of the police station on a daily basis. The General Diary is likely to be maintained by a veteran Head Constable, and is just a record of events which does not necessarily culminate into action taken by the police station. If the complaint has not been lodged as an FIR then the police are under obligation to investigate the matter and file an investigation report, however in case of a Station General Diary they are not under any obligation to file any written report or investigate.

This is just a drop of information on how one can take the help of police. I am surely going to learn more about this system and I will keep you all posted.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY-Part II

A complaint/petition has been filed by Shri. Banamali Naik, to Orissa State AIDS Control Society, last month on second April 2009. As detailed out in the petition Mr. Naik had applied for the post of Community Care Coordinator in the ART Centre, Berhampur. Mr. Banamali Naik is a PLHIV and a graduate, and is desperately searching for a job. However the man selected for the post is a matriculate and a person neither infected nor affected with the virus, but had one plus point, he was a candidate related to the Principal of MKCG Medical College, Berhampur, who vociferously promoted him. The Principal of MKCG Medical College was a part of the selection board.

The petition/grievance letter instead of coming to the GIPA Coordinator for addressal went to the State Mainstreaming Unit, who after sitting over the petition for over a month sent it to the CARE, SUPPORT TREATMENT Consultant, Dr. U. K. Tripathy, who incidentally was a member of the selection board of the same interview for his views. Dr. U. K. Tripathy in his noting has detailed out the reason for not selecting Shri. Banamali Naik citing that as Mr. Naik was above 40 years of age, he was not selected. Dr. U. K. Tripathy himself is a retired gentleman above 60 and is very efficiently and effectively serving as CST Consultant in Orissa State AIDS CONTROL SOCIETY.

One needs to ask Orissa State Control Society the following questions:

- What is the job description of the GIPA COORDINATOR and why was he not a part of the selection process?
- What does equal employment opportunity mean to Orissa State AIDS Control Society and how have they been adhering to it?
- Why does NACO stress upon equal employment opportunity in all the State AIDS Control Societies when the State of Orissa does not believe in it, and how does NACO ensure that the State Control Societies adhere to the norms and operational guidelines developed by NACO?

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The term Equal Employment Opportunity was created by President Lyndon B. Johnson when he signed Executive Order 11246 on September 24, 1965, created to prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, sex, creed, religion, color, or national origin (wikipaedia).

In India in the NGO sector with donor pressure equal employment opportunity has been added to increase the participation of minorities, vulnerable groups, sexual minorities and women in the workplace. Every advertisement in the paper placed by civil society organizations, voluntary organizations carries in very small fonts, and specifies, that they are equal opportunity employer and would like women, PLHIV, sexual minorities to apply.

But do these workplaces encourage and promote equal employment opportunity?
Do these workplace sensitize its workers on appropriate behaviour and appropriate attitude free from discrimination on the basis of race, sex, creed, religion, sexual behaviour, PLHIV status?

No not really, employers/employees still carry their baggage and discriminatory behaviour, attitude and this is reflected in the way they behave with those who they think are beneath them.

A PLHIV friend of mine who is working as GIPA Coordinator in one of the State Control Societies was moaning about the attitude of his colleagues in the office, who have sidelined him and isolated him within the office. He is never invited to meetings and forces himself on everybody to at least notice him. He is scared of complaining as he fears that he might lose his job and somebody else who is close to the Project Director might get this job.

In a national level organization with international donors lining up their door, which works on Malaria, tuberculosis, HIV&AIDS etc, the Regional Director proudly said in one of the meetings with us that it was an equal employment opportunity organization and the receptionist was a female and its Community Organizers were women. We were sitting in a room full of men in this particular organization in which I and my colleagues were the only females.

Have we really created a workplace which is friendly to all and which can be accessed and is discrimination free?
Have we trained all within our organizations on stigma and discrimination and established a professional atmosphere which promotes and provides dignity to all and is free from biases and prejudices against women, PLHIV/AIDS, sexual minorities, caste, skin colour etc.

Next time when you see an advertisement equal employment opportunity or the next time when your organization proudly claims that it is an equal employment opportunity agency think hard and assess whether these claims are true; if yes then great but if
it is not what can you do to change this?

SARITA

ANARKALI KINNAR: A true Indian

This year election in Orissa was different, and one that will be remembered at least for all of us at ODISHA-One. Anarkali Kinnar (Kali Mausi to her loved ones) a hijra residing near Vani Vihar Square, Bhubaneswar, for the first time got an opportunity to cast her vote. Though Kali Mausi and the names of other hijras residing with her had with a lot of difficulty been included in the electoral list however they had been told they would not be able to cast their votes as they did not have any photo identity proofs, (EC had listed out 13 photo identity proofs, e.g. driving license, pan card, ration card etc.).

Kali Mausi met many NGOs, Officials and begged them to give her and her community an opportunity to vote, but without any success. On 23 April, Kali Mausi went early in the morning to beg and convince the polling officers of the 112 Assembly Constituency/Booth at Sahidnagar Primary School to cast her vote. The Polling Officers who were initially reluctant, took a lenient view and gave her permission to cast her vote when she showed them her marriage certificate and marriage photographs.

Kali Mausi was ecstatic and gave credit for this to a Community Mobilizer, Lakhmidhar Pradhan working in an EU/Interact/Lepra Project in the slums of Bhubaneswar. Lakhmidhar Pradhan has been tirelessly working with the hijras and other marginalized and invisible communities in the slums of Bhubaneswar since the last sixteen years, and since the past one year he had been trying to enroll the names of all the hijras in the electoral list.

‘This is my birthright and I deserve to vote’ was all that Kali Mausi expressed when asked how she felt.

Privacy, Confidentiality and Us

A student of TISS, Mumbai was raped on Sunday 12 April by six men. This was widely covered and extensively reported by Media.
The Mumbai Mirror, a popular newspaper of Mumbai, on Friday published the statement made by the victim to the police, and in detail have also published the victims, age, her country of origin, and the course she was enrolled in. As there are not many international students in TISS it was not very difficult for the entire college to know the victims identity. Many organizations and activists have strongly condemned about this violation of the victims right and dignity. The newspaper can argue they have not named her, but they have otherwise revealed her identity. They may have kept the law, but they violated its spirit.”
Closer home in Orissa, disclosing identities of victims and the marginalized is quite common and done without any scruples. PLHIVs identity have regularly been disclosed by the Health Care Providers and Counselors who have access to VCCTC reports. NGOs have regularly disclosed identities of the PLHIV and victims who come to them for help and who they are supposed to protect. Abortion clinics have disclosed identities of young unmarried women who have had abortion.

In fact many of us can come up with more incidents where the law has been violated by revealing identities which should have been protected. I know an incident where so called friends of a gay friend of mine have disclosed his identity to his parents, who were yet to know of this, and he had to go through a lot of pain and humiliation when he was kicked out of his home and his parents’ life, it was harrowing for him.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH US, we are a nation of tattlers and gossip mongers, and our media is like us. We have no respect for individual dignity, nor do we believe that it needs to be protected. Should we not be doing something about it???

Sohamm

HIV&AIDS and Orissa

The first case of HIV infection in Orissa was reported in 1992 in the District of Nayagarh and the first reported death due to AIDS was in 1993 and was reported from Ganjam. Since then a cumulative total of 1036 AIDS cases have been reported while the estimated numbers of HIV cases are 11,436. (OSACS, Nov 2008). 4900 people have been registered for treatment at ART centres of Cuttack and Berhampur. The number of death cases reported is 803.

However these figures may not be a true reflection of the HIV status in Orissa as:
- No comprehensive study has been conducted to assess the magnitude of the problem.

- Although ICTC/VCCTC facilities are available, there are intermittent gaps in procurement and distribution of essentials such as testing kits.

- No stringent adherence to disease surveillance guidelines as a result many a times in many of the district level data seems to be either inflated or there is underreporting.

In the district of Ganjam the epidemic, which was initially concentrated in certain localities and certain subpopulation, has now spilled over into the wider population. Ganjam also accounts for 43% of all AIDS Cases reported from Orissa. On the national level, Ganjam district is ranked as eighth of the 14 most HIV-affected districts, and has been given a Grade ‘A’, since more than 1 % of the population is now affected by AIDS. As per the latest figures, available from the Behaviour Surveillance Survey Report 2006, Orissa has a prevalence rate of 0.22 % among adult population. Among the districts, Ganjam was at the top with 3.25% followed by Angul with 1.75%, Bolangir 1.25% and Bhadrak 1%.

Despite this grim scenario in Ganjam, only 4 Targeted Intervention Programme are currently being implemented through three NGOs. Aruna which is implementing two of the TIs, GPSS one and a new organization Janasadhana has been working since the past one month.

The population covered through these TIs is hardly 50,000. What is worrying is that though all the 22 Blocks have reported positive cases with Aska and Hinjilikat leading, the TIs are only being implemented in two of the Blocks.

Many National/International Organizations have come to Ganjam and expressed their concern about the situation in Ganjam, however they have rarely spent their resources. Many National/International organizations have access to resources to be spent on HIV&AIDS in Orissa, however majority of the money is not spent on community level initiatives or strenghtening the capacity of local NGOs/CBOs (who will be very effective in prevention initiatives) but on establishing structures of their own, and that too not in Ganjam but in Bhubaneswar. The need of the hour is not establish layers and layers within one's own organization but to build the capacity of local CBOs and NGOs to tackle migration and HIV&AIDS and create a sustainable initiative.

I sincerely do hope that NGOs and CBOs and other civil society organizations come together and along with the Government act as pressure groups for national/international organizations and plan which are the priority areas in Orissa where resources should be poured in and who should be the major beneficiaries of these resources.

Myths in community

recently, we organized a training on SRH at Mali Sahi. Really, It's very interesting. They have lots of myths. 20 partcipants attended the training. After training, I found that the knowledge level on SRH of about 40% partcipants is improved to 80% which was very less prior to the training. Most of the trainee are illiterate. So, Group discussion, pictorial method, story telling , interactive methods are followed to facilitate the sessions. But interesting points are they coined new terms to understand the technical terms on SRH. They get clarified many myths & if anybody disturb in the session, others became very reactive to the disturber. I am very happy for the same. But, I feel that I need to devise some new interesting tools for these ignorant adult people. They are very aggressive, impatient also. So, the facilitator need to facilitate them in such a way that they will enjoy the learning. They have very interesting concepts on SRH as follows:

1. If a couple will intercourse after 03 days of menstruation, then the sex of the child will be female. If it will happen on 5th day after menstruation, then the sex of the child will be male.
2. During menstruation, they feel that placent is a red coloured flower which blooms in the uterous & after menstruation, it will be closed. Again in next menstruation it blooms....
3. They are unaware about their clitoris.
4. In male organs, they coined new terms like

• Prostrate gland- Sukra Bahi Nali
• Seminal Vesicle- Birya Thali
• Cervix- Chua ghara kabata
• Uterus- Chua Ghara

5. Sex is determined by god.

6. Menstruation is impure / dirty.

Similarly, many myths they have. We do review of the day to assess the training. But I need support to devise some new tools to assess the training. I need support for the same.

Denial, Stigma and Discrimination in Health Care Sectors: Part II

Denial, Stigma and Discrimination should be addressed at all levels, we do have manuals, guidelines which are yet to be disseminated or taught to health care providers and people working in the development sector. In fact I know a gentleman who holds a high post in one of the national/international organization working to eradicate poverty and illnesses like Malaria, Tuberculosis, HIV&AIDS etc. who goes and washes his hand in disinfectant when he shakes hand with PLHIVs, this particular gentleman also holds a hanky on his mouth and nose when he goes to MALI SAHI (the only brothel in Orissa), and runs as soon as his organizations event is completed. However this particular gentleman can provide you with textbook definition of each and every issue without imbibing what he speaks within his work or activity or his life style. So I think for us there is a need for us to address all the three, denial, stigma and discrimination separately and at all levels.

We do have only a handful of professionals who seriously try to address issues on DSD, in fact in Orissa only CBOs like Sakha, KNP+, and NGOs like Aruna have been conducting workshops and meetings to address issues related to DSD, starting right from the community level to the State level, however to prevent DSD we do need to collaborate with larger National and International Organizations as well as Government.

Rarely is our focus on establishing quality checks in service delivery mechanisms, or project related activities, because quality checks could be the best way to combat DSD. Our achievements are primarily counted through numbers for e.g Number of STD clinics established, Number of Doctors available, Number of trainings held. Qualitative indicators are rarely included or looked for by donor organizations.

Our MIS fails to include any qualitative indicators. There is a need for us to establish quality checks, and seriously address these through activities and initiatives. Grievance mechanisms need to be established to address clients’ discomfiture or needs of the clients. These grievance mechanisms should be separate, not a part of the existing system.

I am glad that Bismita has talked about Denial Stigma and Discrimination, this is something we need to address especially in the state of Orissa where we are yet to go beyond Targeted Intervention Programme, and address issues pertaining to the rights and dignity of People Living with HIV&AIDS.

I am waiting for Rashmita to speak out, SPEAK UP RASHMITA We love to hear your voice and your ideas.

Sarita

Denial, stigma & discrimination in health care sectors

During my visit to some of the health institutions nearby the slums where I am working, I was surprised to find the stigma & discrimination prevailing there. It is very sad that the PLHIVs are denied of services due to the stigma & discrimination. It is alarming to learn that the service providers even do not have an idea on how HIV is transmitted and how it is not!! some even do not know about the transgenders. PLHIVs are often refused treatment and surgery, denied admission to hospitals or charged additionally for basic services, making PLHIV wait longer than others for care, and so on. Most of the health care professionals and other supporting staff are not aware of the Universal precaution and they are not following it. When asked about the attendance of STD positive cases the sudden response is 'referral to other centres'. We have so many medical and nursing colleges in our country but nobody is giving importance to this subject in their class rooms and training sessions. Not only that the faculties are sometimes discouraging the students from taking care of PLHIV. We are conducting many awareness programs in the communities but I think there is a lack of the awareness programs in the professional medical colleges. Professors and senior doctors have to be role models for the new generation. They have to take initiative to remove DSD from our public and private health care settings. Accordingly, all the health care professionals and supporting staff have to get the awareness and training on DSD. Right to get treatment is one of the main rights of every human being. If we do not legislate against DSD, the sheer fear of infection and subsequent stigmatization and discrimination will prevent health care workers from treating PLHIV. In addition, to avoid DSD of PLHIV we have to ensure the provision of resources and materials for Universal precaution, like PEP(post exposure prophylaxis), as well as establishing a safe work environment.
The health care providers as well as hospital administrators need to be sensitized on HIV, transmission routes, especially how HIV does not transmit, as well as importance of following Universal Precautions