Let's talk about sex (and AIDS)

Friday, Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day. Celebrate by wearing a condom.

There have been many positives in the past decade toward preventing HIV, the virus that weakens the immune system leading to AIDS. But the global rate of HIV/AIDS infection continues to rise at a depressing rate.

The virus was first diagnosed in the early 1980s and has spread to nearly 40 million (living) people today, according to the recently published UNAIDS 2006 report.

Reaction to the HIV/AIDS crisis has been slow in many countries for one primary reason: sex. Although blood transfusions and dirty needles can transmit HIV, the main reason the virus continues to spread is sex.

Sex, a taboo topic in so many cultures, is an intrinsic part of humanity.

But by not talking openly about sex, we are increasing human fatality.

As page five of the UNAIDS report explains "One of the greatest paradoxes is that, although it causes 11,000 new infections and [nearly] 8,000 deaths daily, in many ways the epidemic remains hidden."

Tragically, the U.S. government, which stands to contribute the most to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS, is scared of sex. Instead of openly promoting condom use, it promotes abstinence.

Although it has proven completely ineffective at preventing childhood pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and AIDS, abstinence is still the only program funded by the government.

Teenagers in Amsterdam, where sex is an open topic, have sex later and experience lower rates of teen pregnancy than their American counterparts.

In the United States, religious morals and scare tactics are emphasized over sexual realities, preventing high school students from being taught how to use condoms. What's worse, international policy on the matter mirrors domestic policy. The Bush administration will not fund programs that teach anything but abstinence only.

According to The Economist, this policy is one of the main reasons Uganda's AIDS rates have begun to increase again after years of decline. Uganda's policies were once held as an example for other African nations to follow.

By failing to promote condom use, the U.S. government is funding useless programs and ignoring the heart of the AIDS crisis.

A related subject that frightens politicians, especially in the United States is prostitution. In reality, the world's oldest occupation plays a major role in spreading AIDS. Thailand and Cambodia distribute condoms to all citizens, especially prostitutes, and this has decreased the spread of the virus in those countries.

It is unlikely prostitutes in the United States will ever receive condoms from the government, and this represents another case of denial resulting a lost opportunity for slowing the spread of AIDS.

Sex is a beautiful, natural and necessary act. As long as our government and many others worldwide continue to ignore the realities of human intercourse, the AIDS pandemic will continue to rage.

Columnist Brooke McKean: brookemckean@thedaily.washington.edu