Re: Use of Matrimonails for raising awareness

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum,

I do agree that it is incresingly becoming important that couples should know

about their HIV status before tying the knot. However this should be on account

of a sense of mutual love and respect and not due to a mandatory regulation.

When the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS is still so strong in India, it seems

difficult that just making a test mandatory would solve this issue, evidently

there are or easy answers.

But making it mandatory will just churn out a whole breed of spurious test

centres that give a HIV -ve result for due monetary considerations! Again what

about the window period?

Unless we do sufficient ground work in the are of stigma and discrimination, the

idea of making tests could backfire

Sunil

E-mail: sunilcssr@...