We must fight prejudice like this

Wednesday 2nd December 2009, 2:59PM GMT.

From Dr Elena Moran, chairman, Jersey Community Relations Trust.
IT is ironic that Edward Trevor should make his highly ill-advised comments about people with Aids in the run-up to World Aids Day.

World Aids Day, held on 1 December every year, is an international day to raise awareness about HIV and Aids around the world; a chance to raise public awareness of the reality of living with HIV and Aids and an opportunity to breakdown some of the unwarranted stigma and prejudice that surrounds HIV and Aids.

It is exactly the kind of prejudice peddled by Mr Trevor that charities such as Acet are fighting against. It is a sad fact that the vast majority of people do not fully understand how the HIV virus is transmitted. This lack of knowledge makes it more difficult to control HIV infection and less likely that the people most at risk will be tested.

HIV infection is on the increase in Jersey. We all have a responsibility to inform ourselves about HIV and Aids; to be aware of how the virus is transmitted, the importance of testing and how to support and respect people with HIV and Aids.

I have no doubt that the vast majority of people living in Jersey will be appalled by Mr Trevor’s comments. People living with the reality of HIV and Aids are entitled to our support and respect. Mr Trevor would do well to reconsider his comments and lend his support to Acet and their campaigns.

1
Islander

December 2, 2009 at 11:18 pm

Actually, according to most of the information about how HIV is passed on he was quite right in what he said. We hear of many cases of it being transmitted by unsafe sexual activity. It is also transmitted by those who are drug addicts who share needles. There are also cases that are not in that category where someone has been raped or is with a partner they have confidence in who has not been monogamous. A small number of cases have been due to unsafe medical care such as transfusions using infected blood.

The point is that the majority of cases do seem to fall into the range that he was talking about. Because of telling the truth he had to resign.

The problem is that when the transmission is from sexual activity that is such a powerful instinct that it is not easy for most people to be sensible about it. Those who follow the rules told to them by the Vatican are in particular danger as they have been told that it is better to die than to use protection. It is not easy to reason with drug addicts.

Those who preach self control and abstinence are like those who would tell us how to avoid food poisoning by not eating food.

Edward Trevor was trying to help by being blunt about it and look where it got him. It is dangerous to tell the truth!

Report abuse
2
Disgusted

December 3, 2009 at 10:24 am

So, if you do have a moment of weakness in the face of overwhelming temptation (we all crave a bit of intimacy don’t we?) and take a risk, and the worst happens – do you deserve a death sentence and no sympathy whatsoever?

What a very strange world some people live in, flying in the face of the Christian values that they claim to adhere to.

Report abuse
3
Islander

December 3, 2009 at 4:00 pm

“Disgusted” seems to have missed the point. Would you rather have a death sentence and sympathy or would you prefer to be careful and avoid the dangers?

Suppose you have a “small” accident while driving your car, do you deserve a death sentence for that? It is not about what you deserve but facing reality and taking responsibility for your own actions. If you are driving you should not drink alcohol and you should wear your safety belt.

A similar analogy applies to those who get infected with HIV due to their own risky behaviour.

Not everyone respects “Christian values” when they sometimes cause more problems than they solve. Many cases of HIV are due to the Pope telling people not to use condoms. Remember when George Bush apparently said that he invaded Iraq because his god told him to? You can live a moral and ethical life without religion.

Report abuse
4
Disgusted

December 3, 2009 at 10:55 pm

By your reasoning, someone disabled by a car accident would deserve no sympathy or charitable help for the rest of their lives?

We all make mistakes, particularly early on in life. Does that mean that we deserve a life of misery for an error made years ago?

Report abuse
5
J Lamborrari

December 4, 2009 at 11:45 am

@ Islander
It’s not that he told the ‘truth’, in saying that HIV was more often than not contracted though a person’s own avoidable actions, but rather that he’s using the ‘truth’ to try and veil his personally bigotry toward certain groups of people who don’t conform to his ‘Christian’ values.

What about the avoidable risks people take that end up giving them diabetes/cancer/brain damage/low income; he doesn’t have a problem with any of these it seems?

“…Edward Trevor was trying to help by being blunt…”
I disagree, he was in no way trying to help Acet, or those it was collecting for, quite the opposite, he tried to prevent help being asked for or offered.

It’s a shame he resigned, he should’ve been dismissed.

Report abuse