Letters – issue 1045

Letters – issue 1045

BACK TO BASICS

The recent figures demonstrating the sustained increase in the numbers of people who are becoming HIV positive in this enlightened time begs two questions.

What is ACON going to do to address this issue? This alarming trend is continuing and has been evident over the last four years or more. However, it would seem that ACON has yet to provide a strategy to combat this trend.

This is particularly concerning with the continued diversification of the organisation’s role beyond HIV. Maybe it is time to regroup and direct resources back toward its core business.

I hear time and time again that ‘I can take a pill’ is the solution to exposure through unsafe sexual activities. It would seem there is little concern about the virus anymore.

This is despite the fact that when a person does become positive it still dramatically changes lives, and not in a good way.

So why are we not taking every step possible to educate our younger folk that avoidance is the better goal? Surely the alternative of having to visit the doctor every few weeks and take pills every day for the rest of your life is not the way to go by choice. It is a choice, but it should be a better informed choice than ‘I can take a pill’.

Secondly, where is the government intervention? For a nation that had one of the best and most proactive responses to reduce the rates of exposure in the world, there now seems to be a total complacency toward the issue.

There is a rising health issue that will have significant cost and social implication into the future. The government has a responsibility to take steps to reduce this trend.

Sustained funds must be provided so that organisations like ACON can respond. We still need preventative campaigns and the support to address the current thinking.

Governments must give them back the means to do their best work, and keep our community healthy.

— Ian

TAKE NOTE

I am replying to a letter which was published a few weeks ago about the guy that was told to move away from Palms for kissing another guy near the security guard, which he said he had never seen before.

I also have been going to Palms for years and I must admit sometimes it is not always the same doorman. Why do they keep changing them?

My friends and I miss Vince and Ian, who have always been very helpful, looking after us inside, outside and asking if we need transport home.

They have a hard job and I have seen the people they have to deal with – some of them are not nice.

We went a few weeks ago and didn’t know the two doormen. They were not very polite so we’ve decided we will not be going back for a while.

I asked to see the manager and was told to f#@k off and to either call or come back to see him. I left a message and never got a reply.

What’s gone wrong at Palms? It is full of women in open-toed shoes. Time to change venues we think.

And bring back Vince and Ian – at least we can have a laugh and feel safe when they’re there.

I hope the owners and managers take notice and get them back soon.

— John

DEAR ALAN

Thank you for your considered reply to the question of the ongoing sexual harassment occurring at dance parties and other venues.

So, sexual harassment is a question of ‘manners’ is it? Even if this be the case, why should I be the one needing to wear a sign asking people to not be rude? That’s like saying we should all wear signs saying ‘Do not egg me’ when walking down Oxford St, or wear a sign on your face saying ‘Do not slap’.

There are very basic principles of civilised behaviour that should go without saying. One of these is that you do not assault other people.

Presuming you know the basic rule, with a few simple thought processes you should be able to apply it to different situations.

I am sorry if you and your very impressive-sounding lawyer friends somehow missed the explicit memo re: not sexually harassing people, but I dare say ignorance is not much of a defence in this case.

And people have paid equal money to be fondled – or not. I paid my money, and I get to choose whether people grope me, yes?

I think you are missing the point of consent. I am not averse to being fondled, and have done things on dancefloors that would cause you some sort of conniption, if only you knew. But I do not want you fondling me, ever. Please get this clear now to avoid any further confusion; I do not want people who have not asked, molesting me; and I do not want people I have asked not to touch me, molesting me. It’s really quite simple once you get your head around it.

Re: ‘Many would complain if they were not approached’, this point actually sounds like sour grapes on your part, but I will address it anyway.

Again, consent. Approached is good. I like being approached, and approaching others. The actions of approaching gets me lots of booty.

But to me, ‘approached’ entails a choice being made by the approached as well as the approacher. If the approached says no, then this is where the story ends.

As for the tired old ‘let’s just segregate’ so people don’t get molested, what to say? Oh dear. It says a lot about the people you mix with that you don’t think men, even gay ones, can be in the same venue as women without trying to assault them.

I suggest that anyone who does not believe they can go out in mixed spaces without molesting other people seeks treatment and avoids potentially tempting situations until they feel able to control their impulses.

Cheers, from a safe distance

– Cath

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