‘AIDS victims’ stories better deterrent to sex than condoms’

MANILA, Philippines – Instead of distributing condoms in schools, the Department of Health (DOH) should convince people with HIV/AIDS to tell their stories to the youth to discourage them from engaging in unsafe sex, a group of private schools in the country said yesterday.

Eleazardo Kasilag, president of the Federation of Associations of Private Schools and Administrators (FAPSA), said the DOH needs to get to the core of the problem. 

“Request and motivate victims to surface and talk about it on TV and radio to discourage students from doing what they did,” Kasilag said. 

“Offer cash or anything valuable to them, probably, assistance to their family. At least, they would cooperate if that is the last good thing they can give their family and even unselfishly help others not to suffer the same fate,” he added.

Kasilag said the victims’ stories would be “very strongly” absorbed by young people. 

“It is like an amputee extolling everyone not to light a firecracker or a cancer patient advising viewers not to smoke,” he said.

Kasilag added that since HIV/AIDS cases have increased and that around 80 percent of HIV/AIDS cases are due to male-to-male sex, lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people should also talk about HIV/AIDS.

Citing the DOH report, Kasilag said 26 new cases of HIV/AIDS in Eastern Visayas are men who had sex with men.