HIV/AIDS

The Story of an HIV Positive Gay Man: At First They Show Compassion, Then They Flee

Source: Yıldız Tar, “HIV+ Bir Eşcinselin Hikayesi: Önce Acıyor, Sonra Kaçıyorlar,” (“The Story of an HIV Positive Gay Man: At First They Show Compassion, Then They Flee,”) kaosGL.org, 24 February 2014, http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=15889

Hasan Atik: As someone living with HIV, you are exposed to discrimination everywhere. They do not even want to pull my teeth. At first, people show compassion, then they run away, treating me like I am a monster.

HIV is a virus that makes your immune system deficient. If a person develops a serious infection due to having HIV, or if the immune system’s cells, which can be measured by blood tests, are highly depleted, then this can be classified as AIDS.

We spoke with Hasan Atik who has been living with HIV, something we know very little about, but everyone often talks about a lot. He spoke about the the difficulties of being HIV positive and gay: “HIV is a disease wrongly attributed to only gay people. It makes me sad to be the person who confirms this (stereotype).”

His story is one of segregation in every place, be it the law, health or social relationships. “The goal is to protect the other person from us. This is “othering” us. The situation – where we are already a monster in the eyes of the public – becomes worse.

Let us begin with the fact that you are person living with HIV in Turkey. What type of difficulties are you facing?

You are exposed to every type of discrimination – even the simplest of things. For example, a few days ago I went to the dentist to get my wisdom teeth removed. They did not remove my teeth, telling me a bunch of lies. The doctors were constantly speaking about me with each other. They did not even want to take an X-ray. While I was waiting in the waiting room, I heard the nurses speak about me. They were speaking in loud voices so I would hear and leave. In terms of health services and personal communication, we are exposed to an inordinate amount of discrimination.

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“You are HIV-Positive — Resign!”

Source: Tülay Karabağ, “HIV pozitifsin, istifa et!” (“You are HIV-Positive — Resign!”) ntvmsnbc, 14 January 2014, http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/id/25491175

Due to his sexual orientation, his relationship with his family was broken off at age 16.  Just as he was getting his life together despite all the difficulties, he contracted HIV from his lover. When his status as HIV positive was revealed, he was forced to quit his job and became isolated.  A.Y. is just one of the victims of social prejudice who found himself in the middle of a very difficult struggle.

A.Y. is 27 years old and found out that he is HIV-positive a year ago. He contracted the HIV virus from his lover . Right now, he is trying to survive and to stand on his own feet. His employer forced him to sign a resignation letter once he found out about his condition and did not pay him a cent of workers’ compensation.

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Regulations Leave Sex Workers Unprotected against HIV

Source: “Yasalar Seks İşçilerini HIV’e Karşı Korumasız Bırakıyor,” (“Regulations Leave Sex Workers Unprotected against HIV,”) Bianet, 02 December 2013, http://www.bianet.org/bianet/toplum/151735-yasalar-seks-iscilerini-hiv-e-karsi-korumasiz-birakiyor

On December 1st World AIDS Day, the Red Umbrella Sexual Health and Human Rights Association pointed out that sex workers are one of the important vulnerable groups that must be reached regarding HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The association has called on the government to form inexpensive, accessible and inclusive services which are suitable for the special needs of sex workers for protection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

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