Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - July 15, 2001
Anjira Assavanonda
Amporn Buntan, of the Youth Prevent Aids project in Chiang Mai, told a seminar she found lesbians were more vulnerable to HIV than gay men.
Lesbian groups were left with insufficient knowledge while other gay groups educated each other on safe sex.
"Most lesbians who prefer oral sex with their partners are wrong to think they are completely safe from HIV," She said a study found there was a 6.8% possibility of contracting HIV through oral sex.
Lesbians were more afraid to expose themselves to society. They were unwilling to seek counselling or information for fear of being ridiculed.
Chantalak Raksayoo, of the Anjaree lesbian-gay rights group, said social prejudice also forced many lesbians to conceal their status.
"I was once unaware a lesbian could contract HIV. Such knowledge rarely comes to us and we don't know where to get it," she said.
Kritaya Archavanijkul, of Mahidol University's social and population research institute, said society wrongly accused homosexuals of being promiscuous and more at risk of contracting the disease.
HIV/Aids could be transmitted to anyone who engaged in risky sexual activities, not just gays.
Kamolset Kengkarnrua, a gay representative from the Rainbow Sky Group, said it was unfair for his group to be targeted as a source of HIV.
Gay people were just like everyone else and were no more promiscuous than others.
HIV/Aids was not a personal but a social problem, he said.
His group could achieve an acceptable level of prevention with the introduction of condoms for safe sex, he said.
Viroj Tangvanich, adviser to Amnesty International's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group, said society showed little compassion for transvestites and even less for those with HIV.
He quoted studies by Pornthip Rojanasunan, a forensics expert, who said 94% of HIV transmissions in Thailand were from heterosexual relationships.
Transvestites and homosexuals were not the main source, he said.
Ms Kritaya said a change in social attitudes towards homosexuals would make it easier for them to gain access to information and health services.
The Anjaree and Rainbow Sky groups would begin a joint campaign to get the Mental Health Department to stop classifying homosexuals as abnormal
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