SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

NZ Aids Foundation position on ‘rights’ of HIV-positive sex partner is “unconscionable”

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Nothing but truth for HIV sex partners.  The Dominion Post Editorial. March 125, 2012

“[The NZAF] position is a cop out … It is irresponsible and does nothing to engender confidence that [this registered charity] has the community health as its highest priority”

THE NZ AIDS FOUNDATION [a registered charity with the Charities Commission] supports the right of HIV-positive partners to conceal their condition from their sexual partners provided they use proper protection. It could not be more wrong.”

Everybody who enters into a sexual relationship has a fundamental right to be fully informded about any risk they might be exposing themselves to. HIV might not be the near-cerrtain death sentence it once was, and the risk of transmitting it through sex might be small with the right protection, but there is still a risk. Condoms can be faulty, they can break and can be ineffective if not properly used. It is unconscionable to advocate the right for somebody to expose another person to that risk without them knowing.

The Court of Appeal ruling that awarded ACC cover to a woman who suffered mental trauma after discovering she had been having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive man sets an important precedent in that regard. It opens the door to sexual violation charges in cases where people who have the disease fail to tell their partners.

Justin Dalley, the man at the centre of the case, knew he was HIV-positive, but deliberately withheld that from his partner till she was told by a mutual acquaintance. She was lucky not to contract the disease herself, and the six-month wait to be cleared caused her serious distress.

The issue for the Court of Appeal was not whether Dalley infected his victim, but whether she gave fully informed consent to the unprotected sex. She says that had she known he was HIV-positive, she would have refused. The court has found that Dalley’s failure to disclose his [HIV-positive] status nullified consent, and so was a sexual violation for the purposes of ACC cover.

To what extent it can be applied to criminal cases is yet to be tested. So too is the issue of whether it applies to other sexually-transmitted diseases and cases where people fail to disclose their status, but use protection to limit the chances of infecting their partner.

There is legal precedent on the latter question, set in another case involving Dalley and a second woman. He did not tell her he had HIV, but the district court found that by using a condom he had met his legal duty to take reasonable precautions to avoid infecting her.

Whether the Court of Appeal ruling affects that decision is not clear. In any case, it is almost ceretsain that if it is used as the basis to charge someone with sexual violation in the future, it will be challenged.

The Aids Foundation claims that allowing sexual violation charges against people who know they have HIV but fail to tell their sexusal partners will increase discrimination and lead to a “significant decrease” in testing. That is a cop-out. The Court of Appeal case was not about the rights of people with HIV, but the rights of those with whom they wish to have sex to have a full understanding of the possible consequences.

The Aids Foundation disagrees. It is happy for those who have HIV to keep that secret from their sexual partners, provided they use condoms and lubricant. Its position is irresponsible and does nothing to engender confidence that it has the community’s health as its highest priority.

Source: The Dominion Post Editorial. Thursday, March 15, 2012, p. B4. [Emphasis added]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/editorials/6575163/Editorial-Nothing-but-truth-for-HIV-lovers

 

World Leading Neurosurgeon Dismisses Anti-Smacking Law

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In a Media Release issued today …. Family First NZ [a registered charity with the Charities Commission] is welcoming comments made today by an internationally renowned neurosurgeon visiting the country rejecting the anti-smacking law and labeling it as part of a ‘politically correct bandwagon’. [Family First has vigorously lobbied for some years now to have the law repealed or amended]. 

Dr. Ben Carson, Director of Paediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, is in Auckland to raise funds for the Starship Foundation to help rebuild their Neuroservices and Medical Specialty Wards. 

When asked about smacking and NZ’s anti-smacking law on Newstalk ZB this morning, he said

 “I think (smacking) is very appropriate when they’re very young and cannot reason. A smack – and I’m talking a smack and not a beating – can be very appropriate for a child who’s trying to establish themselves as the authority and doesn’t recognise where the real authority lies and doesn’t have the mental capacity to engage in intelligent conversation. And I think it’s completely wrong for people to get on their politically correct bandwagon and saying ‘you may never smack a child and if you do that that’s child abuse’.”

 “Dr Carson as a paediatric neurosurgeon can understand the difference between a smack and child abuse – as can almost 90% of NZ’ers. Dr Carson speaks common sense which is sadly lacking in Parliament, but his words will be appreciated by good kiwi parents who are doing their best to raise law abiding productive members of society in a non-abusive manner,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

ENDS

Bill to ban street prostitution – registered charities disagree on bill

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A bill aimed at clearing prostitutes off the streets in trouble spots around Auckland is stirring up debate among supporters and opponents.

Family First NZ, a registered charity with the Charities Commission headed by Trevor Garrett, has been urging families around New Zealand to make submissions supporting the zoning bill to the select committee, before the deadline passes on February 29, 2012. But ECPAT Child ALERT, also a registered charity with the Charities Commission, has been opposing the bill because it believes it would not solve the problem.

The Bill, which passed its first reading last September was drafted by the Manakau City Council in response to constant complaints from the community and retailers about negative activities of prostitutes in areas such as Hunter’s Corner and Manurewa.

The Auckland council has now picked up the bill, which bans street prostitutes in specified places in the city and gives police powers of arrest.

Family First NZ has been campaigning for a ban on street prostution and also residential brothels to be eventually extended to cover all areas of New Zealand.

For full article see: Cleaning up the streets: Is banning street prostitution the answer?

by Lavinia Ngatoke

Challenge Weekly. February 27, 2012. Vol. 70 Issue 6, p. 1.

Teens Conservative on Sex & Abortion Issues – Poll Results

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  • Family First NZ, a registered charity with the Charities Commission headed by Chief Executive Trevor Garrett, has today released the results of a Curia Market Research poll it commissioned into moral issues involving a survey of 600 15-21 year olds nationwide. In its media release, based on an analysis of the poll results, it attacks the views promulgated by three registered charities – Family Planning Association, and the two “gay” lobby groups Rainbow Youth and the NZ Aids Foundation. It also makes another call to the government to effect a law change that gives an unborn child the same human rights as any other human being.

Family First NZ states:

TEENS REJECT ‘SAFE SEX’ EDUCATION

SUPPORT PARENTAL NOTIFICATION AND ‘RIGHT TO LIFE’

A nationwide poll of 600 young people aged 15-21 poll has found that they hold conservative values on sex issues – which are significantly similar to the views of parents.

 SEX EDUCATION

When asked “Do you think sex education in schools should teach values, abstinence and consequences such as pregnancy, or just teach safe sex?” only 19% supported just the ‘safe sex’ message currently being taught in schools, with one in three (34%) wanting ‘values, abstinence, and consequences such as pregnancy’ taught instead, and a further 42% asking for a combination of both – especially amongst older teens. The support for just the ‘safe sex’ message dropped even lower for the older teens.

 “This is a direct rebuke from young people to the ‘use a condom’ and ‘everyone’s doing it’ messages being pushed by groups like Family Planning, AIDS Foundation and Rainbow Youth,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

 “Many parents were rightly horrified last year when details of what was being taught in schools under the guise of ‘sex education’ surfaced. Judging by the results of the current approach – which is a good place to start – sex education has been an utter failure. New Zealand has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the OECD, our STD rates are out of control and the number of teenage girls having abortions continues to rise.”

 “For those youth who are sexually active, they are not being told the truth. Groups like the Family Planning Association and the AIDS Foundation are perpetuating the myth that as long as you use a condom, you can pretty well do what you like in terms of promiscuity, experimentation, and fringe behaviours – with little or no information on the physical or emotional ramifications or prevention of disease.”

In one example, a mixed class of boys and girls were asked by the AIDS Foundation if they had masturbated lately and were given condoms and strawberry-flavoured lubricant. They were also given a leaflet featuring graphic pictures, terms including “cock” and “wank”, and advice on the best condoms. Reports last year highlighted that children as young as 12 are being taught about oral sex and told it’s acceptable to play with a girl’s private parts as long as “she’s okay with it”. In other cases, 14-year-old girls are being taught how to put condoms on plastic penises, and one female teacher imitated the noises she made during orgasm to her class of 15-year-olds. One concerned father took his 12-year-old son out of a sex education class at his all-boy school after he came home upset about what had happened during one of the lessons. It included a question-and-answer session that focused on, “I have learned that my girlfriend has a thing called a clitoris. I really want to play with it. Is that okay?” The answer was: “Yes, if you ask her and she’s okay with it.”

 A poll of parents in 2010 found that three out of four parents of young children want the abstinence message taught in sex education – with 69% of kiwis overall supporting the ‘wait’ message. [Read more…]

Reality Check Needed on Shameful Child Abuse says Family First NZ

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MEDIA RELEASE

In a media release issued  on 10 December 2011, Family First NZ, a registered charity with the Charities Commission, states:

Family First  is rejecting claims by the Children’s Commissioner and others that rising child abuse statistics are ‘good news’ and ‘delightful’, and is repeating its call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into child abuse as a result of continuing ‘tragic’ figures. 

“It is time we stopped ‘marketing’ child abuse statistics and trying to give them a positive spin, under the illusion that we are succeeding. We need a reality check,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

 “The rates of child abuse have been rocketing up for the last decade – even before the flawed anti-smacking law was passed and the Family Violence awareness campaign began. Between 2003 and 2007 alone, notifications more than doubled from 31,000 to 72,000. The latest statistics give no confidence that children are any safer.”

 “To label our atrocious statistics as ‘good news’ and ‘delightful’ is an insult to the victims. Government groups cannot attribute the increase to greater awareness and better practice. The rates have been increasing markedly well before the public awareness campaigns, and the increase in admissions to Starship Hospital alone are proof that the problem is deterioriating.” [Read more…]