Letters to the editor

Vaccine needed

Boys need to be protected from anal warts. Genital wart infections have apparently plunged in just 12 months -” since the national rollout of Gardasil vaccines.
However, the incidence rate in gay men hasn’t declined, indicating the lower heterosexual rates are due to the vaccination of women. Female heterosexuals were treated first. Gay boys should have been done in the first vaccine trial as well.
It’s not just a cancer vaccine, but a warts vaccine. Not targeting boys with the original free vaccinations could be seen as discrimination on grounds of gender, especially considering that anal warts may be implicated in anal cancers.
Anal warts are much harder to treat than penile warts.
Straight boys should definitely be vaccinated too, as they could still pick it up from sex with an unvaccinated woman, and infect more women.
The warts vaccine (and the new herpes vaccine) should be targeted at all boys, and free for boys also. Anal warts are not a good look. Furthermore, you may be able to transmit them to others even if you don’t have any obvious warts.
This is a public health issue, not a morals issue.
As I understand it, there is as yet no anti-viral invented that will cure anal warts. They can be burnt off, but they may come back. A general anaesthetic -” and all the risk that entails -” may be involved in burning them off. Penile warts can be removed more easily.
I met a young boy in 1974 who told me he had anal warts. They made his sex life a misery and always grew back after being burnt off. Presumably he’s had this problem continue for the last 35 years. No one in their right mind should ever have to put up with that again.

-” George Balthazaar

Aquamid access

I am writing to you re article -˜New HIV drug in US’ (SSO 969).
Australia is ahead of the USA in the treatment of HIV-related facial lipoatrophy and in this matter we do not follow the USA.
We have had access to Aquamid in Australia since March 2002 and some of the fellows of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery are showing the rest of the world how it is used.
I have treated hundreds of patients with both Sculptra and Aquamid (permanent filler) in the last few years.  I am pleased to say that both products have provided excellent results. All patients have reported an improvement in their quality of life.
I was asked to attend AIDS 2008 in Mexico to demonstrate and educate patients and doctors about the treatment options of HIV lipoatrophy using Aquamid. As well, I have presented the various treatment options of HIV lipoatrophy in Sydney over the last few years to various HIV doctors and leaders of various HIV support organisations.
I am very disappointed in the lack of research and the inaccuracies in your article.
We, in Australia, are in the forefront of the management of this very distressing side effect of HIV.

-” Dr Joseph Hkeik

WAITING IN NSW

Given that Kevin Rudd has officially rejected civil unions, can the NSW Government please introduce relationship registration as soon as possible?
Without this, more people will be in the situation of Peter Bartholomew who was denied access to his deceased partner’s superannuation because he could not prove his relationship existed.
In March, SSO reported this man’s relationship was disputed by his deceased partner’s family who also wanted to claim the superannuation funds.
In Hansard last year, federal Attorney-General Rob McClelland said we can produce state relationship registration certificates to prove our relationship exists and to claim all our new de facto couple rights.
How much longer will the Rees Government wait to ensure we have equal access to our equal rights?

-” Daniel

MARRIAGE NORMS

Sigh! I had to send a letter to Aunty about their description of -˜gay marriage’ on the 7pm bulletin.
Has nobody else noticed the subtle hijacking of language in this debate? Gay marriage, unlike same-sex marriage, is something we’ve had for a long time.
I, as a gay man can marry a gay woman any time I want. I cannot marry another gay man -” that is -˜same-sex marriage’.
Most news organisations now report it as -˜gay marriage’, which is a complete fallacy. It may sound pedantic, but if the message is confused it’s harder to obtain.
As for same-sex marriage, I don’t think there has been a discussion on whether the wider LGBTIQ community wants to submit to the heteronormative, major religious ideal of marriage between two people -” and only two people. To simply dismiss such an argument on the basis of provision of equality is, to me, unacceptable.
We know the LGBTIQ community generally creates relationships outside the norm of what mainstream society will allow. I wonder if CAAH have consulted those in polyamorous relationships and explained to them why their legitimate relationships will mean less if CAAH wins their campaign for same-sex marriage, as it is currently structured.
I also wonder why there is no space in their campaign for those who do not identify as either -˜male’ or -˜female’. Is the view of gender binaries really something the LGBTIQ community should be pushing for?
Furthermore, there needs to be debate over whether or not the LGBTIQ community should strive toward greater acceptance into the mainstream at the cost of identity and differentiation.
There is still time for that to happen, and perhaps a reworking of any strategies. We need to have these discussions, so that when change does occur we won’t all be blindsided by unforseen circumstances.

-” James
Dishonesty

The advertisement stating that couples are couples whether they are gay or straight is not only dishonest, it is an outright lie, and the Government knows it. Straight couples are able to register their relationships while gay couples are not -” this is discrimination and homophobia.
The Age (13/05/09) reports … the Government will lift the pension age from 65 to 67 within 15 years and claw back more money faster from future pensioners who earn other income.
The pension age increase is, in effect, grandfathered, meaning that between now and 2017, a period of eight years, people who will become pensioners at that time will have been given eight years’ notice of changes to occur.
Contrast this with the situation for the gay, lesbian, transgender and HIV/AIDS (GLTH) communities who have been given only eight months notice of dramatic changes to financial circumstances in their lives after a lifetime of having known they were discriminated against. They were subject to ongoing governmental homophobia, by virtue of the fact that many, now in their 70s, 80s and older, will be -˜outed’ by an irresponsible and reckless Government who cares nothing for these communities.
The most dishonest part of the government’s -˜couples are couples’ advertisement is that straight couples are able to register their relationships with civil or religious marriage rites, whereas GLTH couples are denied this basic human right and therefore show the Government’s hypocrisy and lies by stating that -˜couples are couples’.
Considering the Government has no idea of the number of GLTH couples in the community, how are they able to assess the costs to Government of the changes about to take place in six weeks’ time?
This is their method of ruining the lives of countless old and vulnerable people who know very little of what is happening with legislative changes and who will be in great difficulties when Centrelink starts prying into their lives.
No members of this Government have publicly addressed this issue in any way and have refused to consider the grandfathering requested of them.
Homophobia and hypocrisy will continue to dog the elderly, frail, disabled and impoverished in the GLTH communities in the days, weeks, months and years to come.
This government should be ashamed of the way it has handled these legislative changes.
Many community organisations were not consulted and it is dishonest to say there were consultations across the board. The most vulnerable were not consulted at all.

-” Mannie De Saxe, Lesbian and Gay Solidarity, Melbourne

DISCRIMINATORY CENSUS
Despite the Bureau of Statistics claim same-sex marriage will be counted, the census remains a discriminatory document and our status at best is confusing (-˜Census to count gay marriage’ SSO 970).
What if you can’t afford to get married overseas, or you want a homegrown wedding? What if you’re single and mark yourself as never married? Where’s the question to say you’re gay?
My case against the ABS last year proved the census is no longer compulsory, and I’ll only do it when the federal government allows queers to marry.
-” Stuart