Report
from the Hon. Maria Minna, P.C., M.P. (Beaches-East York), Chair, Commonwealth
Women Parliamentarians – Canada Branch, “Parliamentary Workshop on HIV/AIDS and
Unpaid Work” hosted by the Parliament of Barbados, Bridgetown, 4-5 June 2010
The two
day workshop included presentations from various experts on HIV/AIDS and
caregivers’ situation in the Caribbean and Africa in particular. The
discussion focused on the fact that while the world is aware of the dire need
to help people living with or dying of AIDS, we have completely ignored the
caregivers who are almost always women and much too often children – mainly
girls. The discussion then centered on unpaid caregivers and their loss of
human rights, and what role parliamentarians should play to address the
problem.
Also
discussed was how culture in many cases slows down education regarding HIV and
prevention methods. An example was given of a disturbing practice of raping
virgins in the belief that it will cure HIV.
It was
agreed that HIVAIDS is a gender issue, especially in rural parts of Africa and
around the world. The need for men to be educated and the need to address
cultural issues was agreed upon.
It was
also pointed out that there is a shortage of nurses in Africa – approximately 40,000
short and over 12,000 doctors short as well. The main recommendation here is
to pressure donor countries to stop poaching doctors and nurses from the south.
Parliamentarians
were encouraged to make sure that they have accurate information on availability
of health services in their area, services including sexual reproductive
health, voluntary testing and counseling services, condom distribution outlets
and treatment and support centres. Parliamentarians also need to ensure that
national budgets allocate funds and then are distributed to ensure health
services but also to assist families where parents are dying of AIDS.
Gender
of Policy Dimensions of Unpaid HIV care in Household
Women
and children, mostly girls lose their human rights when they lose the right to
work, to go to school, to access health services and live in safety.
The end
of life for an AIDS sufferer may be violent for 3 to 4 months. In many cases,
both husband and wife are dying. However, the gender division of labour means
that, whoever is responsible for looking after the household before AIDS, is
the same person, (the mother, sister, etc.) who cares for the dying.
Therefore, in a household where both husband and wife are dying the wife will
care for the husband and when he dies, another woman comes to help her die.
Many times that person is a child as young as 7 or 8 years old and most often
it is a young girl. Girls (sometimes boys) are taken out of school to become
caregivers and watch parents die. Income disappears because both parents are
ill and children become the ones doing everything. They become the breadwinner
and caregiver. Families are hit hard by unpaid care and proper nutrition
disappears. AIDS affects every member of the household and where there was domestic
violence, it often gets worse.
Because
households are omitted from the economic definition of work, gender is not part
of the analysis done in the programming of AIDS services. As a result
children are compromised and lose their rights to education, health, safety,
and the freedom to just be children. Women also lose their rights to
participate in society, to access education, training and personal safety.
These women and children do not choose to live this way. One example given is
of a woman looking after whole family with AIDS including her daughter who is
HIV-positive because she was raped at age 9. There was no choice here.
There is
a great deal of stigma and discrimination also faced by women and children
facing HIV/AIDS. One young woman said, “I had no choice and no one comes to
help me. I want to study so I can look after my siblings but I have no time as
mother is dying of AIDS”. Because of the stigma, many children stay at home
instead of going to school because their parents are ill.
Because
gender division of work and domestic violence often does not get addressed,
prevention does not take into consideration that women do not control
situations such as condom use. Also, it is assumed that if the mother is given
a bottle of pills so she can raise her children, she will take all of them for
herself. The reality is that she will split them with her husband and only take
one instead of two for herself.
Current
monitoring evaluation does not take the gender approach into consideration to
see what is really happening in families. Women’s roles are invisible and
embedded and parliamentarians need to address this in order to meet the MDGs.
Parliamentarians need to approach this as a human rights issue for women and
children.
The final
part of the two day workshop was spent discussing what mechanisms
Parliamentarians could use in their respective parliaments to address the issue
of unpaid caregivers. Some suggestions were motions in the House, private
members bills, statements in the House, standing committee’s studies,
introduction of gender-based analysis on all government policies and petitions
At the
end of the sessions, the attached communiqué was developed.
The work
done will help to inform decision makers and to change the horrific condition
that thousands of women and children live in every day.
Respectfully
submitted,
Mr. Russ
Hiebert, M.P., Chair
Canadian Branch
of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) for
the Hon. Maria Minna, P.C., M.P.