PGI fires worker accused of exploiting HIV +ve women

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By Anilesh Mahajan/TNN

Chandigarh: The report of exploitation of HIV positive
women by healthcare providers rocked the country’s
premier Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education
and Research (PGIMER). In a swift reaction to the
expose, authorities at PGIMER terminated the service
of one of the persons found involved after an internal
inquiry.
While informing that an inquiry was on to track
down all the accused, Dr S Prabhakar, HOD, neurology
department said, ‘‘We have asked a person associated
with research project to leave.’’ A Delhi-based
tabloid, quoting female victims, said that some
technicians and healthcare providers, including
counsellors abused HIV positive women in lieu of
providing them medicine and assisting them in the
hospital.
Investigations by TOI seemed to hint at a nexus of
healthcare workers with pimps to exploit these women
who were vulnerable because they lacked support from
their families and were emotionally starved after
acquiring the infection. A victim revealed that a
healthcare worker had a physical relationship with her
using a condom. ‘‘He later asked me to arrange for
girls for his friends.’’
Another shocking revelation by sources was that
some HIV positive men-having-sex-with-men (MSM) were
being abused in the tricity by the police. Angry about
his exploitation, an MSM, picked up by a policeman and
taken to the outskirts of the city for a physical
relationship, said, “I did not tell him that I was HIV
positive. Let him pay for his misdeed.
Alarmed at such reports, P Kaushalya, president,
Positive Women Network, India, said, ‘‘It is a serious
issue. We plan to send a team of counsellors to
Chandigarh to motivate victims to come out in the open
and register cases against the accused.’’ While
informing that similar cases poured in from other
states, she said, ‘‘Very often, such women who are
exploited by healthcare workers do not muster courage
to stand up against injustice.’’
Stating that some instances of harassment were
reported during an independent study, carried out on
HIV positive people, along with social activist Dr
Avnish Jolly, Dr Upneet Lali, deputy director,
correctional administration, Chandigarh said, ‘‘Some
women indicated that the environment for counselling
should be congenial, but they never said anything
about physical abuse.’’



Dr. Avnish Jolly,
#3008,Sector-20D,
Chandigarh 160020, India.
Cell: +91-9814213809



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