Family in the Age of HIV/AIDS

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Cathryn Dhanatya

Thai Families Summary

* Communities are based on Buddhist agricultural society
* Family is the main structure of the community, very large
* Buddhism and family: teachers are highly respected, Buddha was a teacher, parents are seen as the first teachers of their children
* Gender: boys and girls are given separate curriculums in school, there are Buddhist and Chinese influences, girls are seen as weaker and boys are given more freedom
* Urban families tend to be more Western, rural families have more of a village mentality--> both types of families still maintain core values.

Video from Dateline special: "Children for Sale" in Cambodia
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4038249/

The Silent Victims: Families in the Age of HIV/AIDS
* Globally, around 40 million people have HIV/AIDS and about 3 million died last year. (2003 statistics)
* HIV/AIDS in Southeast Asia: issues of shame, large stigma attached to HIV/AIDS. Many people are misinformed about HIV/AIDS.
* Solutions to educate and help those with HIV/AIDS: Buddhism and community health advocacy, community based education for mothers
* HIV/AIDS in Thailand: HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death. One in 60 people have HIV. Highest rates are among sex workers, drug users, migrant workers, homosexuals, heterosexual males who have been with prostitutes, heterosexual females who have gotten the virus from their husbands, and orphans.
* Many turn to commercial sex work as a form of income because of little education and they need other forms of income.
* Thai government took up HIV/AIDS education: high number of HIV/AIDS cases in the country, passing out condoms, health education for girls and women, drug therapy for pregnant women, ending child prostitution, educating the people so they know how to prevent infection and treating those who are already infected.
* Change is happening slowly in Thailand. Education is key to lowering the spread of HIV/AIDS.

[Anonymous]

Excellent summary!
I was quite moved and disturbed by the images on the Dateline Special. What really disgusted me was that even their own mothers and family were selling these little girls for sex. They must be experiencing such extreme poverty to be able to something like that, we cannot even begin to understand their predicaments. Another thing that was really sad was that when the girls were being rescued they did not seem relieved, rather, some of them wanted to stay, and some even ran away to avoid being rescued.
Another topic relating to this; After reading the NY Times articles written by Nicholas D. Kristof, it really put the issue of trade policy into perspective. As Americans living our relatively comfortable lives, we (some people, anyway) talk about the cruelty of the "sweatshops" and how poorly factory workers are treated. What do we really know about life in Cambodia? What do we really know about the extreme poverty these people live in?
The truth is, people are dreaming of working in the "sweatshops", there are waiting lists to get these jobs. Those who cannot find work in the factories may be forced to sell their bodies or search through garbage to survive.
As Mr. Kristof writes in his article "...the fundamental problem in the poor countries of Africa and Asia is not that sweatshops exploit too many workers; it's that they don't exploit enough."
Kinda makes you think, doesn't it?
Miriam

[Anonymous]

If prostitution is wrong for someone who is 14, isn't it just as worse for someone who is 18? I know the girl who is 18 gave consent. Because she KNOWS what she is doing. REALLY? How do we know that? Either way, they seem wrong to me.

Dave

[Anonymous]

Miriam,
I was thinking the same thing when I seen the video from Dateline....these young girls did not seem relieved when they were rescued. Then I thought about it from a psychological point of view. It seems like the girls are displaying symptoms of Learned Helplessness. Learned Helplessness is when people fail to take steps to avoid or escape from anything unpleasant. This happens as a result of previous exposure to unavoidable painful situations. We also have to keep in mind that these children are extremely young....they have been conditioned to believe they are being treated fair. They probably don't even realize they are being abused. I hope the "rescued girls" will get some type of psychological treatment otherwise they will have difficulty leading a "normal" life.

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