Mon 25 Feb 2008 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
4.30PM: One of the gay Wellington men who have been circulating a youth's claim that an AIDS Foundation Safe Sex Poster Boy has been having unsafe sex says he feels betrayed, angry and used by the youth. The Foundation says an investigation into the claims has revealed that they were untrue and made out of spite, springing from "ill feelings generated by a stormy and recent relationship break-up with the poster boy." "I feel a bit angry and a bit used," says Wellington filmmaker and event manager Andy Boreham. "I feel that I have been betrayed by him and I'm annoyed by that." He says he is particularly annoyed that the youth "would play with people's reputations like that... how he could do it is beyond me." Boreham, who last week said he had evidence the Poster Boy had been having unsafe sex with the youth, says the youth's actions are all the more annoying because he "probably knew" that he could remain anonymous. "In this specific case a cloak of anonymity has been used to spread malicious and calculated rumours designed to inflict harm and controversy. It certainly is a shame, especially since now the person at the forefront of such muck-racking will remain anonymous, while those he utilised to further his vendetta bare the brunt.” Boreham and the Wellington man close to the youth who has backgrounded the claims have both today also raised their allegation that the youth's now discredited claim was dealt with inappropriately by a person connected to the NZAF. They initially said the youth's claim was dismissed with the advice not to spread his allegation around. "A big part of my initial raising of this whole thing was the issue of the NZAF's apparent response to the youth," says the Wellington man. Whilst Boreham now feels "this whole debacle is extremely unfortunate, I do feel that my bringing these specific allegations to the public forum was the right thing to do based on the fact that such serious matters were not seemingly dealt with in the manner that myself, and I’m sure most gay men in New Zealand, would expect from the NZAF." The Foundation says the claims of inappropriate actions or advice on the part of the person who initially dealt with the youth's complaint are "categorically untrue." A spokesperson says the Foundation "encourages everyone who has unsafe sex to come in to one of our centres for counseling and testing, all of which is done by trained counsellors." Asked whether the young man has actually received any counseling the spokesperson says such information about its work is "absolutely confidential."
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Monday, 25th February 2008 - 4:05pm