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HIV Positive Children Discriminated against in School

15 July 2008 No Comment

There is a country where HIV-positive children are being turned away and excluded from primary and secondary schools.

Parents of children as young as four were told by head teachers that teachers, other parents, school personnel and even dinner ladies would have to be told of the children’s medical status.

Guess in what country this despicable discrimination is happening?

None other than in the the UK! Existing anti-discrimination laws stating that it is illegal to discriminate against anyone with HIV (Disability Discrimination Act 2005) did not stop School to bully parents into revealing their child’s seropositivity.

The Observer reports that an investigation by the National Aids Trust has uncovered six cases of discrimination against children after their HIV status was disclosed or discovered.

“In one ’shocking’ example, according to the charity, a child who did not know about her condition was made aware of it by a teacher. She was later bullied and left the school.”

Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National Aids Trust told the newspaper that “The teachers themselves don’t know the facts and you almost can’t blame them for having these fears. But they are the very people who should be educating a new generation about HIV.”

If the teachers don’t know, what could we expect from the children?

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