#LivingWithHIV: My HIV and I #2 "The best thing about medication"
Every Friday on Presentes, a new episode of Bicho and I. The comic strip by Lucas Fauno Gutiérrez and Jon Amarillo tells the story of what it's like to live with HIV.
Every Friday on Presentes, a new episode of Bicho and I. The comic strip by Lucas Fauno Gutiérrez and Jon Amarillo tells the story of what it's like to live with HIV.
[READ ALSO: Congress halted new law on HIV, viral hepatitis, and STIs: it lost its parliamentary status] It is estimated that 122,000 people in the country have the virus, although 30% of them are unaware of it. Of those who know their diagnosis, 81% are receiving treatment, and most of them are…
"Hi! We're Fauno and Bicho. We've been living together since 2008. Bicho is a strain of HIV and he lives with me." This is how "Bicho and I" begins, a comic strip that tells, in the first person and without prejudice, what it's like to live with the virus. Written by Lucas Fauno Gutiérrez and illustrated by Jon Amarillo, it aims to bring a less solemn tone to a debate that, sometimes, due to its careful handling, becomes invisible or detached from reality.
This week marked the deadline for the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies to consider the HIV and STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) bills. Due to the lack of response from legislators, both bills lost their parliamentary status and are back to square one. The initiatives sought to legislate on social, labor, and human rights issues.
Trans activist Yren Rotela reported that on Friday, October 27, four men in a white car fired an air rifle at a group of women who, excluded from the job market because of their gender identity, survive by working as sex workers in the town of San Lorenzo, in Greater Asunción. The incident occurred two weeks after the murder of Romina Vargas Florentín, a 28-year-old sex worker who was stabbed to death in the street in the same area.
This Tuesday, October 31st at 6pm, the National Front for the Health of People with HIV is calling for a gathering in front of Congress to demand the immediate treatment of the bill on HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs.
What should we do when we witness or are victims of violence? How should we respond to various situations of police abuse? The Guide to Action Against Violence by Security Forces, presented on October 17th at the Annex of the Chamber of Deputies in La Plata (Buenos Aires Province), is the response of various human rights organizations and community groups to these questions. It was developed by the Provincial Network for Human Rights and incorporates proposals prepared by the Office of the Prosecutor for Institutional Violence (PROCUVIN), the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), and the Collective for Legal Research and Action (CIAJ).
This Wednesday, September 20th at 6pm, the National Front for the Health of People with HIV invites you to gather in front of Congress to demand the immediate treatment of the bill on HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs.
Banco Galicia is violating Argentina's AIDS law, which guarantees confidentiality regarding personal information, and Banco Supervielle denied two mortgage loans to people living with HIV. These are not isolated cases, but they rarely receive attention. Due to issues like these, as well as complaints about labor and healthcare systems, the Huésped Foundation receives approximately 2,700 complaints annually.