Sidney McGill
FOR THE past two decades, HIV/AIDS has been presenting challenges to public health, scientific, and the medical communities. The problem points to post-modern man's loneliness, hedonism, and the futile attempt to calm his chronic existential anxieties.
As a clinical sexologist, my experiences with persons with social/relational problems have been that the client's sexuality is proportionately affected by his problems. A person's sexuality, therefore, can be an index finger pointing to conscious and sub-conscious historical and current relational issues that affect the person now. Indeed your sexuality (which includes your sexual
practices) is a core part of your identity, coloured by your
particular problems, personality, family, religious background and peer influences, not to mention the media, and so on. Your
spirituality too plays an integral part in your sexuality, but yet we fight HIV/AIDS on purely
behavioural grounds.
THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS
We devise prevention marketing campaigns. We develop bio-medical interventions through HIV vaccines and vaginal microbicides to prevent HIV/AIDS or with antiretroviral drugs to control it. We teach behavioural interventions through the proper use of condoms or abstinence. We use epidemiology and surveillance data to create better, more cost-effective programmes. In spite of our efforts to eradicate or at least control the infection rates, adolescents and young adults continue to easily contract the disease. The risk of HIV among men having sex with men is on the rise again, while the argument over masturbation, oral sex and anal sex continues unabated.
Many persons who engage in anal sex do so with a condom. But oral sex remains the most commonly unprotected sexual practice. There is new data put out by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, which showed the human papilloma virus (HPV16, which is seen most
commonly in cervical cancer) in some oral cancers. It is now known that oral sex can therefore lead to oral tumours, but the risk is small.
Other sexual transmitted diseases, such as herpes, syphilis, gonorrhoea and chlamydia can be transmitted orally, so you should consider refraining from unprotected oral sex. HIV also can be transmitted orally, but current research shows a low risk factor.
THE ALTERNATIVE
What, therefore, is the most effective means of dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic? We must research the spiritual, physical and emotional components of human sexuality, not only its physical attributes. We must decide in which context sex thrives best. Clearly human sexuality, which draws persons to deeper levels of knowing self, others and God is best developed within a long-term committed relationship that is essentially an emotionally caring and trustworthy family environment. Judith and Jack Balswick in their book Authentic Human Sexuality further confirms that "sexuality in the home develops through an integration of one's physical, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual selves."
MORAL-EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE
The most effective alternative is a moral-effective one where the family is the only context for the development of positive sexual identity and value. Here sexuality is taught by parents as a vital, God given tool for meaningful, caring relationship that is practised in a faithful covenant. But the Jamaican church must play a proactive role in fostering such healthy family bonds as a viable institution, setting the standards for the rest of society to emulate. This is the best strategic plan for Church based HIV/STD prevention. The fight against HIV/AIDS will be won if our decision and action is to be morally right and safe always when expressing our love and devotion through sexual intercourse.
Dr. Sidney McGill is a marriage and family therapist and executive director of Family Counselling Centre of Jamaica, St. Ann; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
