THE Gays and Lesbian Association of Zimbabwe (Galz) has claimed that the spread of HIV and Aids cannot be contained as long as stakeholders continue to ignore the health needs of sexual minorities.
By Phyllis Mbanje
Speaking during a media training workshop hosted by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Galz programmes officer Sylvester Nyamatendedza said although his organisation had made great strides towards encouraging greater tolerance of sexual diversity, discourse around sexual minorities remained a social taboo in Zimbabwe.
This homophobia, said Nyamatendedza, played a significant role in the spread of HIV.
Key populations which include gays, lesbians and sex workers have been identified as groups with increased risk and vulnerability to HIV infection and, therefore, should be included in programme interventions.
“The key populations are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection in certain situations or contexts, such as adolescents,” Nyamatendedza said.
Between 40% and 50% of all new HIV infections among adults worldwide occurred among people from key populations and their immediate partners.
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Globally, HIV prevalence for people in prisons and other closed settings was estimated to be twice to 10 times higher than in general population and higher HIV prevalence and HIV risk were seen among both prisoners and those working in prisons and their families.
Health minister David Parirenyatwa was last year at pains trying to justify the participation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) groups in the Aids conference at the International Conference on Aids and STIs in Africa in Harare.
Nyamatendedza also expressed concern over the ill-treatment of gays and lesbians by some government officials and other sections of the media whom he said portrayed them in a negative way.
He said a lot of the violations perpetrated against the LGBTI community were driven by homophobia emanating from society’s conservative cultures. President Robert Mugabe has repeatedly described gays and lesbians as “worse than dogs and pigs”.
Galz director, Chesterfield Samba in a statement last year said the government had always exhibited homophobic attitudes to these groups and yet it was a high risk population.
“Sex between men is criminalised in Zimbabwe, thus driving them underground and making them difficult to reach with HIV interventions,” Samba said.
