Rights body opposes regulation demaning HIV/Aids tests

According to a survey by the foundation in 2009, of 233 people who had undergone a mandatory blood test, 76 per cent said they were fired from their jobs after their employers came to know that they were HIV positive. About 19 per cent were refused medical treatment and 20 per cent were not allowed to get healthcare insurance. About 74 per cent said they did not want to lodge a complaint with relevant agencies as they did not want other people to know that they were HIV positive.
“Many people have lodged complaints with our organisation that they were forced to undergo a mandatory blood test for HIV/Aids to apply for work. If they didn’t, they couldn’t get the job,” Supattra Nakhaphew, director of the Foundation for Aids Rights, said yesterday.
Many public and private agencies such as the National Police Office, the Office of the Attorney-General, Juridical Office, temples, supermarkets and airlines are still forcing their staff to get tested for HIV/Aids, she said.
Educational institutions require students to take a blood test before taking classes. Some hospitals have asked patients to receive a blood test before they undergo surgery or lasik operation for their eyes.
Pregnant women have been told to accept a mandatory blood test before they receive prenatal care.
“Mandatory blood tests and human rights violations still exist in our society,” she said.
A Cabinet resolution in 2007 had barred state agencies from conducting mandatory blood tests on their employees for HIV/Aids, but to date this regulation has never been implemented.
“We have to accept that HIV/Aids blood testing is a big issue for our society. That’s why the mandatory blood test for HIV/Aids is still around,” said John Ungpakorn, an Aids rights activist and former senator.
The government and the public must normalise their perceptions of HIV/Aids like other diseases such as diabetes, he said.
This could eliminate the stigma of people living with HIV, and the HIV/Aids blood tests will become a normal healthcare service that anyone can access.
“Mandatory blood tests for HIV/Aids should only be conducted on patients who cannot help themselves and need the test for diagnosis and for women who have been raped,” he said.
Dr Praphan Phanuphak, an official with the Thai Red Cross Aids Research Centre, said the mandatory blood tests for HIV/Aids have affected not only the subjects of the test but also their relatives due to the stigma against people living with HIV/Aids.
According to the Foundation for Aids Rights, some people were attacked after their community learned that they were HIV. Some with HIV were not allow to join the community’s events or ceremonies.