He held the paper close to his face and carefully unfolded it.
The tears came almost instantly.
“It says “reactive”. That means I’m HIV positive, doesn’t it? ”, he sobbed quietly.
“I’m already gay and now I’m HIV positive. What will become of me? What will other people say?” he asked, speaking in Filipino using the word “bading” for homosexual.
Photo from http://parteeandplay.blogspot.com
Now crying openly, he covered his face in shame.
This is the story of R, a 20 years old student who is gay.
R was one of the participants of a sexual health workshop that I conducted for his student organization.
During our wildfire–simulation exercise, R and the other twenty or so participants all received a piece of small pink piece of paper that was no more than 2 inches wide.
On some papers, the word “non-reactive” was written. On other papers, the word “reactive” was written.
Yes, this was just a simulation exercise. But for many young people like R, being infected with HIV and scorned by others is an all too possible reality.
Though he has openly declared his sexuality to his parents, R says they have not accepted him. His mother openly told him that she would not consider him her son unless he changed his ways. An ex-boyfriend left R for a woman after saying that he was ashamed to have even been involved with a gay man. He told me that on many occasions, he considered killing himself and ending his misery. Even though it was a simulation exercise, it was too much for R. It was just too close to home.
HIV and The Youth: A Reality Check
HIV infection is a very real possibility many young people face in the Philippines. Multiple partners and casual sex hook-ups through social networking sites are becoming more common, but condom use remains a dismally low 2.8% (source: National Demographic Health Survey 2008). According to a Reuters report, the Philippines has the lowest level of condom use in Asia.

The highly Catholic Church imposing the rules on morality has caused shame and self-censorship. Many young people don’t ask about sexual health because even asking – and a sign of curiosity / interest is shameful. The denial is taking its toll – this year has marked the unprecedented rise in HIV infections in the country. From January to October 2010, there were a noted 1,305 infections recorded by the HIV / AIDS Registry of the Department of Health. This is more double the number of infections that were recorded in 2009.
Photo from The Body
And young people continue to be in the dark about their sexual health rights or even how their bodies work. Sex education in the Philippines is not a standard part of school curricula. In many private Catholic schools, only natural family planning methods are taught and gender sensitivity and sexuality are not taught at all. The young, educated, middle class segment is not being given the proper information about sexual health. They are magically supposed “to know better”.
But “knowing better” connotes comparison. Before they can know any better, they need to know what their choices are.
And one of those choices is to exercise their right to live a life free from stigma and discrimination. It is already mandated by the law. It now simply needs to be respected by the rest of humanity.

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The latest report of the National Epidemiology Center revealed that there were 268 new HIV Ab Sero-positive individuals confirmed by the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory. This is a 54 percent increase compared from the same month in 2010. With this additional data from December, the total number of cases for 2011 reached 2,349.
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