Expert: Discipline forces vulnerable

By SHEILA LASIBORI
PEOPLE in the disciplined forces are most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS because they were usually under intense pressure to perform their duties.
“It is generally high mobile man with a lot of money and this is the category in which police and military come in,” Eric Carlson, the technical specialist on HIV/AIDS for the East and Southeast Asia, including the Pacific sub-region said yesterday.
“It is part of their job. It (job) separates them from their families and they even have access to a lot of things that many people do not have access to,” he said.
It was usually police and military staff who were involved in deployments away from families and, therefore they were the vulnerable group of people, he said.
Mr Carlson said this on Tuesday, the first day of a three-day workshop on workplace policy on HIV/AIDS within police forces, which was attended by representatives from the Pacific region, including Solomon Islands, New Zealand, Vanuatu and Fiji.
He said at the end of the workshop it was hoped that the participants would be able to develop a draft workplace policy on the virus to take back to their respective organisations.
“A workplace policy on HIV/AIDS protects your rights and the rights of others. AIDS is a major cause of death in many uniformed services personnel in many countries,” he said.
He said it was important individuals took heed of the ABC, which was A – abstain from engaging in sexual activities, B – be faithful to one sexual partners, and C – to use condom in cases when A and B are by-passed.
PNG representatives include staff from Labour Department, the Employers Federation and the police force.

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