Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
UNAIDS Introductory Letter
UNAIDS Topic Guides
Director: Joelle Budzinsky
Topic A: HIV Prevention
HIV/AIDS is very serious disease that unfortunately has no cure. For this reason the best method to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS is creating sound prevention methods to stop new infections from occurring. The key concept to grasp with prevention is that while most HIV/AIDS cases are contracted through sexual experiences there are other cases contracted in other means such as intravenous drug use. For this reason many different solutions are needed instead of simply focusing on one topic of prevention. At present there are more infections annually than deaths resulting from AIDS, which further presses the need for better prevention methods. The largest issue stemming from safe HIV/AIDS prevention methods is the cultural boundaries that must be addressed when deciding on a universal prevention method. While safe methods such as condoms may be socially acceptable in many western nations there are many other nations that deem these sort of preventative methods as a crime against their religion. For this reason many preventative methods may work in only a very small percentage of the world, while millions of more people have to suffer based on the area they live and the culture they are a part of.
Topic B: Sex Workers, Their Clients, and AIDS
With the majority of HIV/AIDS cases coming from sexual contact between individuals it is clear that a profession that revolves around sex would be at major risk from the disease. Sex Workers remain a very high risk population mostly revolving around the fact that in many environments they do not have the power or means to prevent the disease. There are even many cases in which an HIV/AIDS epidemic starts in a region due to sex work beginning the spread. The sharing of multiple partners does nothing to help the spread of HIV/AIDS as infected people are able to quickly spread the disease to a large amount of the population in shorter amounts of time.
The major issue contributing to the plight of sex workers is the ability for them to receive any power. Sex Workers who are able to control their own work, and also be educated about the dangers of HIV/AIDS are less likely to contract the disease. These sex workers have the ability to take the necessary means of protection and also refuse clients who do not accept their rules. Unfortunately in many regions sex workers are powerless, third class citizens. In these areas the local population and even the government itself may step in to prohibit what sex workers can have access too. In these areas, sex workers are more easily forced into coercive sex by prospective clients, or may not have access to the protection they need to keep themselves clean. These areas may also deny the existence of sex workers or ostracize them from the community which effectively limits their ability to access treatment and support should they need it.
Unfortunately this is not an easy issue to solve. Sex Work is not all consensual; in this day there are still millions of cases of human trafficking which forces many children and adults of both genders into sex work. Refugees are also a major area of concern as these citizens while fleeing to a safe area may not make it and be forced into sex work either by their own choice or others in order to provide necessary means of sustenance. A lot of issues could be solved should governments decide to recognize sex work as a legitimate business or at the very least grant the workers the basic rights the rest of their citizens can obtain. By providing them with aid, support, and education these workers will be able to take better care of themselves and take a large step in slowly the spread of HIV/AIDS. How can this committee work to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS from sex workers? How can this committee decide how to protect sex workers from the many issues they may face?