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STIGMA AND DISCLOSURE |
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LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL |
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HAART (HIGHLY ACTIVE ANTI RETROVIRAL THERAPY) |
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TRANSSEXUALS |
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SEXUALITY |
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SEX WORKERS UNITE! |
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NATURAL AND ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES AND TREATMENT |
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STIGMA
AND DISCLOSURE
There is
still a lot of fear and stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS. For most women
living with HIV, the fear of someone finding out their positive status is a
day to day reality. If you are a friend, family member, partner, or
co-worker of a woman who has HIV/AIDS, please check out the following link
and the other resources in this link section.
HAART
(HIGHLY ACTIVE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY)
HAART can
seem frustrating and confusing at times. Whether you have been on HAART
for a long time, or you are just thinking about beginning highly active
antiretroviral therapy, the following links and resources will help you
access the information and resources regarding almost any question you might
have.
Please
call Voices and speak to the support worker for any additional information
you might need on the different therapies.
SEXUALITY
Voices
believes strongly in a women’s right to a healthy sexuality regardless of
positive status. After diagnosis maintaining an active sexuality might seem
difficult, scary, or even impossible, but while there may be physical and
psychological changes in your sexual needs there is no reason why a positive
woman can’t have a wonderful happy sex life if she chooses to.
Voices
has plenty of articles, research, resources, and can be there to offer
support for any HIV Positive woman who has questions regarding sex and
sexuality. Please call or email our support worker for more information.
The
Cuerrier Case: Issues for People with HIV/AIDS
Excerpts from the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network fact sheet:
When
is disclosure of HIV-positive status required before sex?
According to the Court, the greater the risk of harm associated with the
act, the greater the duty to disclose. But the Court offers little
guidance beyond this, saying simply: “the nature and extent of the duty
to disclose, if any, will always have to be considered in the context of
the particular facts presented.” It is the courts, and not the
HIV-positive person who will decide whether, in a given set of
circumstances, there was a duty to disclose because there was a
“significant risk” of transmitting HIV.
The
Cuerrier decision makes it clear that HIV-positive status must be
disclosed before unprotected vaginal and anal intercourse. But what
about protected vaginal and anal intercourse? What about “low” or
“negligible” risk activities? How risky must a given activity be to
carry a “significant” risk? The Court does not provide clear answers to
these questions.
Is
disclosure required if the person practices “safer sex”?
In at
least some cases of protected sex, the duty to disclose may not arise.
The Court says:
“To
have intercourse with a person who is HIV-positive will always present
risks. Absolutely safe sex may be impossible. Yet the careful use of
condoms might be found to so reduce the risk of harm that it could no
longer be considered significant so that there might not be either [harm
or risk of harm].”
But
it is not clear from the decision that using condoms will be enough to
avoid a criminal charge of assault for not disclosing HIV-positive
status before sex. This is only a possible interpretation. Another
issue is also not clear: if careful condom use may reduce the risk
below the level of (legally) “significant”, will other “safer sex”
precautions be treated similarly by the courts in other cases? The
HIV-positive person might not be require to disclose if the sex consists
of only “low” or “negligible” risk activities. But the Cuerrier
judgment does not expressly mention these other precautions and fives no
indication of just how “safe” sex must be to avoid the duty to disclose.
Some
of these questions may be answered in future cases. What is certain is
that disclosing HIV-positive status before sex “either “high” or “low”
risk) will prevent a criminal charge. For
more information:
www.aidslaw.ca
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NATURAL AND ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES AND TREATMENT
Many
women choose complimentary and alternative medicines to treat and manage HIV
infection. Others use complimentary and alternative medicines to manage side
effects they experience as a result of HAART.
Take time
to check out the following links for more information. If you have any
questions, or are looking for a supportive naturopath, aroma therapist,
herbalist, shiatsu or acupuncturist please email or call us at Voices.
LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL
Voices is
very PROUD of our lesbian and bisexual members. If you are ever
looking for local lesbian and bi resources in your area, just check out the
following links or give Voices an email/call.
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Website links and contact details: |
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The
Lesbian Gay Bi Youth Line:
is a service provided for youth, by youth that affirms the experiences and
aspirations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual,
two-spirited and questioning youth (ages 26 and under) in Ontario. We are
queer-positive and non-judgmental, and provide confidential peer support
through telephone listening, information and referral services, and through
complementary outreach. By reflecting our diverse cultures, abilities and
experiences and celebrating our potentials, we seek to create an empowering
community of queer youth across Ontario. |
1-800-268-YOUTH (1-800-268-9688) across Ontario or (416) 962-YOUTH
(962-9688) in the 416/905 local calling area. Sunday to Friday – 4 to 9:30
pm.
http://www.icomm.ca/lgbline/index.htm
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TAGL:
Volunteer group of gay men and lesbians offering peer counseling and
support. Provides information on activities, events and groups in the
community. Referrals to other social support groups. |
Canada-wide, Monday to Friday 7 to 10pm.
1-866-964-6600, or (in Toronto area) 416-964-6600. |
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GAYLINE/TELEGAI
(Ottawa): The gayline is a telephone outreach service aimed at supporting individuals
seeking information on sexual orientation. The information is delivered in a
non-judgmental, unbiased way for the purpose of educating, assisting, and
counseling people in distress as well as supporting and providing referrals
to people with sexual orientation issues |
(613)238-1717 |
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Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Phoneline (Kingston) |
(613)531-8981
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Betty Group: is an informal network of HIV+ women who are Lesbian, bisexual,
queer or questioning their sexual orientation. |
For
more info or to get connected please contact: Kim Johnson @
(416) 506-1400 x25 or Danielle Layman-Pleet @ (416) 324-8703 x26. |
TRANSSEXUALS
Voices
supports our transsexual members. It is important for women to know the HIV
infection rates among trans-women (MTF, or Male-to-Female are one of the
highest of any marginalized community (80%) that does not receive any
targeted outreach, research, or specific services.
Sex
[definition] our physical body characteristics that make us male or female.
Primary sex characteristics are having a vagina or a penis. Secondary sex
characteristics are traits like breasts, hips, voice, and body hair and come
mostly around the time of puberty.
Transsexual [definition] is an individual who feels that their physical sex
doesn’t line up with how they would feel comfortable with. This is a well
documented condition that transsexual people are born with. Many
transsexuals “transition” from one sex to another (for example: a
transsexual woman transitioned from male-to-female). Transsexuals can
do many things to change their physical sex such as take hormone replacement
therapy to change their secondary sex characteristics, remove body hair (by
electrolysis or laser hair removal), and have sex reassignment surgeries
(such as voice surgery, breast augmentation or reduction, or genital
surgeries to surgically construct a vagina or a penis). Transsexual men and
women aren’t women trying to be men or men trying to be women,
they are men and women who have, or are in the process, of correcting their
bodies.
If you
are transsexual, or want more information on transsexual and transgender
issues, please give us a call or check out some of the excellent links
below.
SEX WORKERS UNITE!
Whether
you are a prostitute, erotic masseuse, escort, exotic dancer, internet
erotic artist, or more, Voices supports the rights of sex workers to a safer
working environment. Sex work is a valid profession as any other occupation
and despite common belief sex for money is not illegal in Ontario, but
rather it is the laws surrounding solicitation that prevent sex workers from
working with dignity and safety.
If you
are a sex worker in need of support and information contact our support
worker here at Voices of Positive Women. For information on safety, legal
rights, and local/international sex worker efforts, please check out the
following links for more information.
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