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Criminalizing homosexuality has not resulted in less of it – Fitzwilliam

Condoms in prison, leaders taking action can reduce spread of HIV/AIDS
Former Miss Universe Wendy Fitzwilliam said criminalising homosexuality has not resulted in less homosexuals and tackled the issue of condoms in prison and how it has worked in other countries to reduce HIV infection rates.
Students of the Elmore Stoutt High School Drama Society in a play. Ms. Fitzwilliam believes the way messages are also being delivered to youths also needs to be looked at when dealing with HIV/AIDS.
Students of the Elmore Stoutt High School Drama Society in a play. Ms. Fitzwilliam believes the way messages are also being delivered to youths also needs to be looked at when dealing with HIV/AIDS.
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – Several of the so-called taboo topics associated with sex and HIV/AIDS least discussed in public forums were brought to the forefront in the Virgin Islands with former Miss Universe Wendy Fitzwilliam taking a strong stance for the Caribbean to change its views on homosexuality and leaders to take stronger positions to make changes that are necessary to see actual reductions in HIV rates, with one option being to have condoms available in the prison system.

Delivering the keynote address yesterday May 31, 2012 at a Youth Forum, which was part of the Islands of the World Conference XII held at the Eileen Parsons Auditorium, Ms. Fitzwilliam tackled the boiling topic of homosexuality and how criminalizing of it has not resulted in less homosexual activities.

She spoke openly on the issue of condom availability in the prison system and outlined examples of countries where such a move has led to reduction in HIV infection rates.

The every eloquent HIV advocate gave examples of what she called “leadership in action” where three Caribbean countries have taken certain course of actions and have seen drastic results.

She stated that Cuba very controversially made HIV testing mandatory for pregnant women, hospital patients and prisoners and was first to introduce condoms in their prison system.

And while the island’s approach has been questionable in terms of human rights, Ms. Fitzwilliam said it has certainly worked as evidenced by their low rate of infection.

In Barbados, Prime Minister Owen Arthur, who enjoyed a comfortable majority in Parliament and was well into his second term in office, introduced condoms into the Barbadian prison system for inmates.

Such a move she pointed out, also brought the Caribbean leader criticisms from both his people as well as the media but has seen almost “immediate stabilization of the national infection rate among adults”.

In 2011, Prime Minister Denzel Douglas of St. Kitts, who also enjoys a significant majority and has been in power for three successive terms, encouraged his fellow Caribbean leaders to rethink discriminatory laws that increase vulnerability of some people to HIV.

AIDS no longer a “gay disease”

Focusing on the need for the Caribbean to change its views on homosexuality, Ms. Fitzwilliam said homosexuality and people’s obsessive focus on its role in the spread of HIV is an easy “cop-out” of dealing with the true social issues surrounding the disease.

She said criminalizing homosexual sex has not resulted in less of it but has only served to drive the acts and relationships underground, thereby extending homosexuality, with likely more negative impact on all of society.

Outlining statistical data, she said women account for more than 50 percent of all new HIV infections across the Caribbean for the past 10 years and AIDS stopped being a ‘gay disease’ a generation ago.

And while that fact is clear, she said AIDS is still largely associated with homosexuality and promiscuity but heterosexual sex is the main route of transmission of HIV throughout the Caribbean period with more than 50 percent or half of the people living with HIV are women, which is also the global trend.

She also spoke about the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act which makes certain types of sexual acts a criminal offence. According to Ms. Fitzwilliam, the effect of the legislation on the AIDS epidemic has been to hinder the provision of prevention and treatment services to vulnerable and high-risk populations.

“The failure of this legislation is evidenced in the fact that there is statistically a higher prevalence of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Caribbean countries that criminalize same-sex practices than those countries that do not.”

Ms. Fitzwilliam said it is up to the region to truly commit to addressing HIV/AIDS with having more studies conducted on sexual behaviours, passing less judgment in “our daily” lives, having more and consistent education and message targeted to a wide variety of persons, more lobbying of leaders to spend resources in effectively addressing HIV with the focus on what really matters as opposed to the easy “outs” of homosexuality, promiscuity and moral judgments.

She said “indecisiveness is fertile breeding conditions” for the HIV virus and called for action by all.

Meanwhile, statistics demonstrate, in the Caribbean, the Bahamas has the highest HIV positive population per capita at 3.1 percent of the adult population; Haiti is second with 1.9 percent followed by Jamaica with 1.7 percent, Trinidad and Tobago at 1.5 percent and fifth is Barbados at 1.4 percent.

24 Responses to “Criminalizing homosexuality has not resulted in less of it – Fitzwilliam”

  • rat tail (01/06/2012, 15:24) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Very real message
  • Jinx (01/06/2012, 15:46) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Homosexuality is wrong and we do not want to condone it. We can talk about protection from HIV without condoning same sex relationships.
  • BRAD BOYNES (01/06/2012, 16:44) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Read you bible and pray everyday yall
  • qc (01/06/2012, 16:55) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    so what is her point realy? only gays get aids???
  • pesia (01/06/2012, 17:18) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Great presentation Ms Fitzwilliams
  • ------------------------ (01/06/2012, 17:22) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Bvi people continue to live a BIG fat LIE..you have man going with man and women going with women but nobody wants to talk about it...set of hypocrites living a double life
    • kiss and tell (02/06/2012, 08:30) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      So since you know so much about who living a double and triple life give us some names!
  • ccc (01/06/2012, 17:38) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    she need jesus
    • Well Sah (01/06/2012, 22:08) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      who is this person you call Jesus????? The white man that they give you to whorship. get life
    • cathy (02/06/2012, 08:12) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      And who do u need, stop being so judgemental. U were not at the conference and just judging by what u read on this page.
  • q.a (01/06/2012, 18:09) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Why didn't she say these things in Trinidad. SHE CAN'T. Isn't this the same woman who boasted that she was pregnant and NOT MARRIED, wrote a book about it to redeem herself. Stupes.
    • Well Sah (01/06/2012, 22:07) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      As always trying to kill the messenger and not listening to the message.
    • African American Belonger (02/06/2012, 10:05) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      How does that make her speech any less relevant? You probably have kids out of wed lock or was born out of wed lock or your kids have or will have kids out of wed lock. Don't be so quick to judge others. Those who live in glass houses...
    • Saic (03/06/2012, 08:03) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      To q.a: Try and decipher what the lady is saying instead of bashing her for being a single mother. You sound bitter like someone who wasted all your life looking for a husband to have a child with but the time has run out and you're single and lonely. I'm very sure Ms. Fitzwilliam is an independent, successful and happy single mother so stop hating and listen to the message!
  • alone (02/06/2012, 01:33) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    The simple fact is homosexuality is something wrong, and at the end of the day and all kinds of nice and revolutionary studies it’s a behavior forbidden by God the creator…
    • African American Belonger (02/06/2012, 09:52) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      Like you don't sin. Just the fact that you are on here judging people is a sin. No sin is greater than any other in the eyes of "God". Hiding behind God and the bible does not make HIV and AIDS go away. God fearing people can get AIDS too. God helps those who help themselves.
  • cathy (02/06/2012, 08:07) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    I was at the speech and Ms. Fitzwilliam made some very important points. She spoke in the context of homosexuality and how it affects the infection of HIV/AIDS. Not once did she endorsed being gay what she was hinting at is that we become tolerant who may have different sexual persuasions than us.
  • male (02/06/2012, 12:30) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    NUFF BATTY MAN on these news sites..it can't be straight people supporting this crap. WE DON'T PROMOTE IT...WE DON'T SUPPORT IT....we never will.... MAN for WOMAN and WOMAN for MAN..that's the way it is meant to be
  • The Watcher (02/06/2012, 17:20) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Government need to stop wasting our tax money bringing in these people. Please use our tax money wisely. I know people who could have made a better presentation who are local and it would have been for free
    • BVI resident (05/06/2012, 19:37) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      Better to pay and learn something than pay nothing and listen to what you just want to hear.
  • vitim (02/06/2012, 19:19) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Sexually transmitted diseases have nothing to do with who is gay or stright
  • Oppressed? (07/06/2012, 13:08) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    All you need to stop with this gay is wrong nonsense. It's just prejudice against people who are different to you. Homosexuality has existed from beginnings of time in every culture. Stop fighting against things you don't event want to know the truth about. The Bible says all kinds of things are wrong, some of which you Christians choose to adhere to, some you ignore because it is inconvenient. How many of you think tattoos are wrong? How many believe a man should be stoned to death for checking out his neighbor's wife? You want to take every word of the Bible as gospel, or just some? Fact is, this anti-gay thing is a legacy of an oppressive system called slavery which filled Africans' minds with stuff about a white God. A lot of people raising hell and using the church as a stick to beat innocent people with are just following the main-vein of slave thinking that continues today - a religion that controls your mind and makes you think hating different people is somehow righteous. I not no gay man, but I don't like to see people oppressed, by anyone.


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