News that for the first time an HIV vaccine has had some success in protecting people from the disease is severely tempered by news out of St. Louis County that a 40-year-old African American male is being held on $200,000 cash bond on six counts of recklessly risking infection of another with HIV. The news of the vaccine shows how far we've come in the battle against HIV, but the arrest of this St. Louis County man shows how much further we have to go in educating the public.
Prosecutors say that Orlando A. Hadley had numerous sexual encounters with a woman and did not reveal his HIV status to her. The woman later tested positive for HIV. Now, police are polling the public to see who else may have had sexual contact with Hadley.
Let's be clear, not being honest with your sexual partner about your HIV status is terrible. Individuals, though, must learn to take steps to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases, regardless of what our partner tells you. The advance in HIV/AIDS medications has turned the disease into more of a chronic condition for some, but just because living with HIV/AIDS is easier doesn't mean we should let down our guards.
"Quite frankly, this kind of prosecution misses the boat and does harm. Outside of rape, it takes two people to transmit the disease," Phill Wilson, president and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles, told Black Voices in an interview. "This says to folks, 'I don't have to protect myself.' What would be healthier is to change the conversation to address how it is each of our responsibilities to protect ourselves."
It's a conversation that needs to happen now because HIV and AIDS is ravaging the African American community. According to the Centers for Disease Control, African Americans account for 51 percent of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. African Americans also account for 48 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS. At the end of 2007, 40 percent of the people with AIDS who died were African American.
These horrible statistics point to the fact that we are not doing enough to protect ourselves. Reducing the number of partners we have and always using condoms are good places to start. We need to address the terrible problem of intravenous drug use in our communities and also the stigma against homosexuality and HIV/AIDS. According to the CDC, in a recent study of men who have sex with men in five cities, 46 percent were HIV positive and 67 percent were unaware of their infection.
Because of the way people with this disease are treated, some may choose not to know their status despite the consequences.
"There are people that are HIV positive and don't want to believe it and ignore it. There are people that know or suspect their partner is involved in high-risk behavior and don't protect themselves," Wilson said.
This is more of a moral issue than a legal issue, except in rare cases when an individual seems to be repeatedly and purposely infecting others. Putting this one man behind bars will not go as far as continued and strengthened outreach to those who are most at risk.
Comments: (44)
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By: JoBeck on 9/26/2009 7:16AM
Let me first say that this is morally wrong.This man knows he is HIV positive and still sleep with someone without protection.Yes he should go to jail.But let me say that some shallow people seem to think that homosexuals caused or started this AID/HIV breakout.No IV drugs use main soruce sharing needles main source.Yes it may have played a factor or not be I just wish people would stop saying that this is what cause this in the first place(AIDS/HIV).WEAR CONDOMS!That's the Golden Rule in the sex world.PERIOD!
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By: john on 9/29/2009 4:24AM
Does anyone find it amazing that only men are being charged? It appears this is another societal roles in which women are exempt from being criminally charged. An HIV positive woman [prostitute] in Gastonia, North Carolina was arrested for her work, but nothing done about her activities with men, and her name was not released[I think that was the case].
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By: Rae on 9/29/2009 6:21PM
You are right on the money. Anyone who knows that they are HIV positive should disclose their status to anyone that they are going to be intimate with. Even if it is just a casual encounter. I am HIV positive. I contracted the disease from a man who I had been living with for 2 years. When I found out that he had step out of the relationship I immediately went and got tested. My first test came out negative. When I got extremely ill I knew that something was not right and got tested again. Positive! I am now married and told my husband long before he and I became intimate of my status. We have now been married for 8 years. Anyone man or woman who keeps such a thing from a potential partner needs to spend time in jail.
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By: Juanita on 9/26/2009 5:59PM
I FEEL THAT EVERYONE SHOULD WEAR A CONDOM. MY GIRLFRIEND'S HUSBAND GAVE HER HIV.SO NOW I WONDER SHOULD YOU WEAR ONE EVEN IF YOU MARRY? MEN AND WOMEN ARE CHEATING ON ONE ANOTHER WITHOUT PROTECTION WHICH IS A BAD THING ON BOTH SIDES. IF YOU ARE TIRED OF BEING MARRY GOES FIND THE (RIGHT) PERSON SO EVERYBODY CAN STOP HAVING SEX WITH EVERYONE ELSE BECAUSE THEY NOT HAPPY AT HOME.
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By: dee on 9/26/2009 8:15PM
He is not the only Man out there doing this. I have heard of this kind of dirty deed being done to women here in my own small town. I am not surprised. But as stated you have to protect your own soul because lot's of people out there are just not going to be HONEST ABOUT MOST STD'S THEY HAVE ENCOUNTERED. SORRY THAT'S THE WAY IT IS.
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By: eric on 9/27/2009 2:16PM
I agree this guy should have been arrested, but what about all those BW that are doing the very same thing...infecting men as well? BW are the "highest risk group for HIV/AIDS in the US today"! Shouldn't they also be arrested as well for the same behavior? I see no difference at all!
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By: cee jay on 9/27/2009 6:49PM
BLACK WOMEN HAVE THE HIGHEST RATE BECAUSE OF BLACK MEN!!!!!!!!!! do your research how many black men are on the DL or have a WIFE AND a JUMP OFF or JUST SLEEPING AROUND WITH SEVERAL WOMEN WITHOUT PROTECTION.Most ladies think that their men are faithful and inturn are faithful to their men BUT that is not the case. We as a people need to stop blaming and start protecting ourselves.I am married for six years one partner! other races are smart enough to get the message( with the exception of the latin community who are in close second) and start taking precautions WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!!
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By: do your research on 9/28/2009 11:20AM
i just read a statistic just last week on AOL that stated, " AIDS/HIV transmission is more common when it's male to female transmitted." whith that said women have been arrested for transmission. the last case i read it was a women from Britian.
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By: eric on 9/27/2009 8:27PM
Why AIDS Is Rising Among Black Women
Jet Magazine, Jan 23, 2009 by Scotty R. Ballard
According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black women account for almost two-thirds (64 percent) of new HIV/AIDS cases among all women in the United States, and that number is fast growing.
Though sharing needles during drug use accounts for 35 percent of the new infections, a shocking 60 percent of the new infections are attributed to Black women that are IV drug users. The remaining cases are a direct result of having unprotected sex with men that are themselves IV drug users, and also men that are infected with HIV/AIDS. from heterosexual men, some of which are on the "down low"..
And, health experts theorize that the infection rate is so high because 60 percent of these women are chronic IV drug users. Black women are also infected by black men that are bisexual, or living an alternative secret sexual life called "down low" and infecting their unsuspecting female partners, but that only accounts for 2 - 3 percent.
Black men living on the down low have sex with other men, but don't identify themselves as homosexuals. Some of those on the down low apparently learned the lifestyle in prison, then began dual lives after being released, according to health officials says Lora Branch director of the Chicago Department of Public Health Office of Lesbian and Gay Health center
According to the CDC, nearly 375,000 Blacks are infected with HIV and more than 108,000 of these individuals are living with AIDS. That means about 1 in 50 Black women and 1 in 160 Black men are believed to be infected with HIV.
Gay Black men, not heterosexual Black men are contracting HIV at rates comparable to sub-Saharan Africa where 20 percent of the population is infected. Among gay and bisexual Black men in America it's 30 percent.
"HIV has been in the Black community since the beginning of the epidemic," says Branch. "In urban areas around the nation [AIDS] has not abated, but has increased." In Chicago alone, according to Branch, there has been a tripling [of HIV /AIDS cases] in Black women over the last few years. Branch points to the undetermined numbers of down low Black men as contributors of the disease. But, clearly Black women that are IV drug users, involved in prostitution, are the leading cause of the spread of HIV/AIDS, and are in general denial with having unprotected sex is the second major factor in the continued spread of HIV/AIDS in the African American community nationwide.
Despite the fact that down low Black men have fueled the AIDS epidemic, Philadelphia psychologist Dr. Renee Robinson says women themselves share much of the blame as well, but many are in denial.
According to Robinson, Black women have been infected with HIV/AIDS because they haven't taken more responsibility over what happens in their bedrooms. "They need to deal with confronting their partners' sexual practices." But, many don't.
"Women who have low self-esteem, or are desperate for companionship tend to ignore warning signs that can clue them in to a man's lifestyle," she says. "For [some] women the relationship is the most important thing for them, and they are in denial. They decide to see it as being chosen by someone and this makes them feel valued."
To educate young women between the ages of 15 and 34 about the risks of HIV, the CDC recently completed the Women and Infants Project, which is designed to improve the understanding of factors influencing women's behavior changes regarding condom and contraceptive use.
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By: eric on 9/27/2009 8:27PM
Okay, since you are willing to discus HIV/AIDS (which most BW aren't let's engage! This going to be a first! Let's take a look at the real facts wherein! African Americans account for 49% of all reported HIV/AIDS cases in the United States today!
Females:
Black Women (the highest risk group) accounts for 64% of all HIV/AIDS cases for all races (and all sexes) of females. while White Women account for 19%, Hispanic Women 15%.
Males:
Black Men account for 41% of all HIV/AIDS cases, White Men 40%, and Hispanic Men 18%.
Source: Centers for Disease Control
Check out the real facts here about HIV/AIDS about BM.
YouTube - What Black Men Think PSA
Yes, BM are the most men that have HIV/AIDS in the US today, that's a fact! But, since BW are involved in IRR dating, and are having sex with WM as well then they're also contracting HIV/AIDS from them as well. But, I have never heard "one single" BW ever say "anything" about WM,.. ...only BM...WHY? When the data clearly supports that position! Further, we all know that BM are engaging in sex with WW, but why are WW affected with HIV/AIDS only at 19%? What are WW doing differently than BW? Practicing "safer" sex..perhaps?
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