An inquiry into Tasmania's current ban on gay blood donation has heard that safe sex is effective in reducing HIV risk. Tasmanian gay man Michael Cain filed a complaint alleging the Red Cross is violating his civil rights by refusing to accept blood donations from gay people. Cain's complaint says that screening of prospective blood donors should be based on the safety of sexual practices, not sexual identity. Social researcher, Associate Professor Anne Mitchell of Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria, told the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Tribunal yesterday that risky sexual activity is not as widespread amongst gay and bisexual men as some studies suggest. "The most compelling evidence of all for the effectiveness of safe sex is the simple fact that ... when safe sex was taken on by men who have sex with men, the escalation in infection rates was pegged back," Professor Mitchell said. "This made it immediately clear that the risk of HIV infection was not associated with male to male sex per se, rather it was associated with unsafe male to male sex." She added: "There are many more teenagers practising unsafe sex than gay men. "The deferral of men who have sex with men is based on who they are rather than what they have recently done and can be likened to deferral on the grounds of being Jewish or Indigenous." But Red Cross lawyer Jeremy Ruskin said that male-to-male sex is still the riskiest activity for HIV – accounting for 83% of newly acquired infections in Tasmania, compared with 66% nationally. Under current rules, Australia has the safest blood supplies in the world, he concluded. The hearing is continuing this week.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 13th August 2008 - 10:55am