'Promiscuous' street children given HIV scare

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Promiscuous' street children given HIV scare

PRATHIMA NANDAKUMAR

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2004 12:44:26 AM ]

VADODARA: Thirteen-year-old Rinky, an orphan living on the streets,

is suffering from a sexually transmitted disease. Not that she is

unaware of HIV, but despite best efforts of NGOs, Rinky refuses to

give up her street life as she feels the vocational skills imparted

at the non-formal education centre do not fetch her enough money.

Sixteen-year-old Ganpat, a street child, has 'married' twice and

admits to have frequented commercial sex workers too. Occasionally,

he uses condoms which are easily available at various counters set up

by NGOs across the city.

Despite growing awareness about HIV, most street children indulge in

unsafe sex. To tackle this problem, NGO Vikas Jyot Trust on Wednesday

organised an interaction between street children and adults suffering

from HIV. During the interaction, it was revealed that street

children threw caution to the winds as they had a false sense of

security as also indifference to adverse situations.

" Adults with HIV shared their bitter experiences with children to

create fear of stigma and social discrimination. They warned them of

lack of medical facilities and frequent bouts of infections,

ultimately leading to death, " says Kamlesh Bhatt, project co-

ordinator of the Aids project.

Members of Vadodara District Network of People with HIV (VDNP) — an

informal group of HIV patients — addressed various issues concerning

HIV.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/455646.cms