Got aids? get a tattoo to show it! new South African law..

[Raldazzar]

http://www.wilfredasuquo.com/2015/05...ve-people.html

can't be 100% sure on source, but seems legit.

President Zuma signed a bill that seem to be the greatest step in history of trying to combat HIV. From now on every person who gets tested and found to be HIV positive would not just get counselling and medication. They would also get a mark in a form of a tattoo near their genital according to the bill signed by the president.



some other articles -

https://www.kenya-today.com/news/sou...ositive-people
http://malawivoice.com/2015/04/28/la...heir-genitals/
http://www.254lately.com/news/south-...ositive-people



Thoughts?

[icausewipes]

Not a bad idea.

[Mystrome]

Assuming it is true:

Terrible idea!

Infected people who get tested often get those tests months or even years after becoming infected, which means that until then they keep on spreading the disease unaware of being infected. It's not going to help stop the spreading of AIDS. Only education on safe sex and preventative measures (such as handing out condoms) can help. Until the general public in countries such as SA does not realize they need to take action themselves to prevent being infected, there's little to nothing you can do to FORCE anyone being safe.

Focus on education. Put up billboards. Mandatory infomercials on every radio station and tv channel. Visit schools. Put up posters in public places such as hospitals. Etc etc.

A little makeup can easily cover up tattoo's quite well. Also, who can guarantee the test is accurate, possibly brandishing people for life due to a false positive?


It's pretty much the same thing nazi's did with the star of David during WW2.

[Revi]

It would help if everyone had frequent testing, but they don't. This is only going to catch the responsible ones, and not until after they've been tested. The vast majority will still go ages before realizing they have it.. The knowledge concerning safe sex and STDs is incredibly low in some areas.

Good idea in theory, but I don't see it doing much.

[Deleted]

Great idea

[Belize]

It's pretty much the same thing nazi's did with the star of David during WW2.

Well, I mean other than being Jewish is not a life threatening, and incredibly easily spread disease.
Or is it? Dun dun duuuuuuunnnnnn... It's a joke.

[Deleted]

Not a bad idea.

bad idea, why would you want to test you if you risk becoming a outcast. Obligatorily safe sex education in school/workplaces is a better idea.

[NewOrleansTrolley]

Good intentions. But brutal on people who'll get the tattoos.

[Deleted]

If this is true, I can see persecutions happening in the future... Perhaps its a better idea to get everyone mandatory testing.

[Deleted]

Good intentions. But brutal on people who'll get the tattoos.

Yes that is the problem, People who know that they should get them self tested will avoid it because the tattoo....and it will give false security my partner have no tattoo then I do not need to use protection....

[prwraith]

This should be the law everywhere. Got an STD? You should be marked in some way so that we don't have to rely on you letting us know before we plow you.

[alt-ithist]

bad idea, why would you want to test you if you risk becoming a outcast. Obligatorily safe sex education in school/workplaces is a better idea.

The tattoo is near your genitals, only ones who would see it are those who have the right to know you are infected. This will not stop the epidemic, only proper safe sex education and practice will stop it, but in the mean time this might help a bit. While it won't help those they infected before they got tested, it will warn those he/she would've infected in the future.

- - - Updated - - -

Yes that is the problem, People who know that they should get them self tested will avoid it because the tattoo....and it will give false security my partner have no tattoo then I do not need to use protection....

People who would avoid it because of being marked are the same people who would continue spreading it once they find out they are positive so no net change except if they get tested during a hospital visit and then they can no longer deceive others. So again, net gain.

[solinari6]

There are some people who are doing this already, willingly. If you ever see a gay man with a biohazard tattoo, good chances are he is HIV+.

It's a pretty horrible idea though ... unless they are going to force everyone to get tested regularly. No one is going to want to volunteer to get tested if being forced into a tattoo they don't want is a possible result.

[Toblat]

We had something similar about 75 years ago. Only different characteristics were chosen, and it was in Europe.
Isn't history mandatory in schools any more?

[derpkitteh]

no no no no no, i don't like this at all. you don't ever force someone to be tattooed. that's just fucking insane.

[Nadiru]

What a novel idea! Let the black people act like nazis for us. They can avoid the dreaded charge of being politically incorrect, can't they?

[Puupi]

We had something similar about 75 years ago. Only different characteristics were chosen, and it was in Europe.
Isn't history mandatory in schools any more?

And it worked pretty well!

[Okacz]

Assuming it is true:

Terrible idea!

Infected people who get tested often get those tests months or even years after becoming infected, which means that until then they keep on spreading the disease unaware of being infected. It's not going to help stop the spreading of AIDS. Only education on safe sex and preventative measures (such as handing out condoms) can help. Until the general public in countries such as SA does not realize they need to take action themselves to prevent being infected, there's little to nothing you can do to FORCE anyone being safe.

Focus on education. Put up billboards. Mandatory infomercials on every radio station and tv channel. Visit schools. Put up posters in public places such as hospitals. Etc etc.

A little makeup can easily cover up tattoo's quite well. Also, who can guarantee the test is accurate, possibly brandishing people for life due to a false positive?


It's pretty much the same thing nazi's did with the star of David during WW2.

In desperate times you need desperate measures. AIDS is a huge problem in some African countries, and there are no resources to combat it well enough. Education and proactive medical treatment (and condoms, apparently) isn't as easy to get as in Europe or US. As terrible as "branding" people sounds, it may halt the spread of the virus, and thats the point.

Surely an awful idea if used as a blanket solution worldwide, but if the situation is really dire, this might be the right call.

[Khaza-R]

Deplorable. People with HIV don't deserve to be persecuted on top of having that disease.

Education is the best prevention for 3rd world countries. Not this garbage.

[Tydrane]

I'm personally sick of dangerous political correctness around this issue. Where I live, the state government is preparing to repeal laws that criminalise deliberate infection, because apparently it "stigmatises people with HIV".

As if they weren't already stigmatised? They have contracted a nightmarish wasting disease, and there are groups online devoted to spreading it. Select few damaged individuals in society also deliberately infect others with HIV for revenge, or other sinister motives.

It's unfortunate that infected individuals need to be stigmatised, but the seriousness of HIV, and our dedication to its as-near containment and eradication as is possible needs to be the primary focus - not peoples' hurt feelings about being shunned for having a highly infectious disease.