AIDS 2008 Soul Influence MEXICO - Sights & Circumcision Thursday Blog

Thursday morning was our opportunity to tour around Mexico and enjoy the sights, sounds and people. Then, we made our way back to the conference and attended a controversial session on male circumcision & HIV prevention. This sparked some interesting debate.

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[cleansexy]

"Just as surely as foreskin clipping seems a safe bet to cut HIV transmission in men, so the various female circumcision types seem certain to lift transmission risk in women."

Bertran Auvert, abstract TuOa0402

[yogabear1962]

This is like saying "Oh, your moving to the city you should take a can of mace to protect yourself" The truth is that with a can of mace and a lot of luck you might scare off an attacker. However, with such a weapon in your possession you are also more likely to go down a dark alley where you shouldn't be anyway. The same thing is true here. There is no substitute for safer sexual practices. Telling people circumcision prevents HIV will only embolden them to do things that they shouldn't anyway!

[intactivist1]

I don't wonder why two young women would be discussing male circumcision. You have every right to express your intelligent comments as you have here and raise the good questions you have.

Circumcision as a "prevention" for HIV is so full of holes as to be laughable if the consequences weren't so severe. The current issue of Mothering Magazine looks at this whole issue in depth in an article entitled, CIRCUMCISION DOES NOT PREVENT HIV.

[2live42day]

I agree. Everybody needs to be informed. By spreading this propoganda that circumcision is a HIV AIDS prevention they are putting people at risk. Guys are going to say or think that because they are circumcised they are not a threat. This will further spread it.

Circumcision is a solution looking for a problem it can cure. Now it's HIV. If circumcision worked the USA with it's high circ rate should be low in HIV. That's not the case. Europe with it's low circ rate has a much lower HIV rate.

[Chockles]

The XVIIth International AIDS Conference

Aug 7th 2008 | MEXICO CITY

Adult Male Circumcision Reduces HIV Acquisition Risk

Medical circumcision of adult men continues to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV through

heterosexual intercourse for at least 3.5 years.

[Chockles]

This finding recently emerged from an

analysis of long-term follow-up data on Kenyan men who have participated in a large

clinical trial assessing the protective value of adult male circumcision against HIV

infection.

[Chockles]

Bertran Auvert, who

conducted the study in South Africa, said circumcision could prevent

3.8 million HIV cases and 500,000 deaths in sub-Sahara Africa between 2006 to 2016, as

well as up to 5.8 million deaths by 2026.