Friday, March 29, 2024

HIV based divorce cases increase on the Copperbelt

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The Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) on the Copperbelt has revealed that cases of divorce among married couples with HIV are on the increase in the Province.

YWCA Regional Coordinator, Jurita Mutale, revealed this in Kasama yesterday during a provincial consultative meeting on gender based violence organised by the Women In Law and Development In Africa (WILDAF) Zambian Chapter.

Ms. Mutale said her organisation was worried at the rising cases of divorce being granted by the Local Courts to discordant couples especially in a situation where a woman is discovered to be HIV positive.

She pointed out that YWCA was totally against the granting of divorce on account of one’s HIV status as doing so was defeating the whole purpose of marriage.

Ms. Mutale has since appealed to the courts of law not to entertain couples who seek divorce after discovering their spouses were HIV positive.

She said there was need for married couples to be compassionate if their marriages were to last a test of time.

Ms. Mutale also urged society to refrain from stigmatizing and discriminating people living with HIV as they, too, were human beings who deserved to live normal lives.

She further said the fight against gender based violence required concerted efforts, hence the need for everyone to be actively involved in combating the scourge.

Meanwhile, National AIDS Council (NAC) has urged all stakeholders involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS not to relent in seeking innovative ways of combating the pandemic and lessening its impact on both the infected and affected.

Speaking at the launch of the process of body mapping for people living with HIV, NAC chairperson Bishop Joshua Banda said body mapping is an innovative way of helping people living with the virus to keep graphic illustrations of their feelings and developments on their health.

Speaking at the same occasion, NAC Director of Impact, Mitigation, Care and support Goefrey Chishimba said such innovative ways in the fight against the epidemic must be embraced by all.

Dr. Chishimba noted that HIV/AIDS is no longer an ordinary disease but a social, economic, cultural and development problem.

And Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange Project Manager Tricia Smith explained that body mapping is a process that uses biomedical information and takes note of side-effects experienced by people living with HIV/AIDS.

Body mapping methodology was developed by a South African artist Jane Solomon to generate visual material for long life and related advocacy campaign.

The programme has been implemented in three countries namely Canada, Tanzania and Zambia.

47 COMMENTS

  1. Society has a lot to do with this increases in divorces coz of stigmatising and discriminating the people living with HIV AIDS.

  2. Remind them of God’s purpose for marriage and the sacred vow. “To love and to cherish. In sicknes and in health, till death do us part”

  3. What a SHAME..Local court justices should be serious…Its high time they were put in “check” ….ABASH VILLAGE MENTALITY…lets protect our women…..I just wonder if these local court justices know their HIV status….

  4. Run for your life,this is sucide,divorce should be granted urgently,In the first place how did she become infected,it means she has been cheating unless otherwise,she might as well go alone,I dont think even the judge can stand it,its better to divorce and save life than sacrifice life.

  5. If the man is negative, then let the so called stigma be. Where the hell would she get the virus from if not from the husband. These women want to go too far with their rights. If a man is positive as well there are high chances that he is the one who brought it, and divorce must never be granted. But if he is negative… Women should try to fight for realistic issues if their cause is to be respected.

  6. Divorce is expected because the Bible says the only basis for divorce is unfaithfulness.So if a couple is HIV positive then a lot can be said about their faithfulness to each other.

  7. We have seen the erosion of morals – from our religious leaders all the way to politicians (surprise?). We are seeing a case of society trying to use law to handle matters of morality. And a general abdication of personal responsibility and care for others. A family – Husband, wife and children – is the cornerstone of society. The moment this fundamental unit is destroyed, you see a general decay in society – lack of discipline,respect, self-centredness(me!me!). What kind of society do you want to leave for your children? One would think a society of hope, compassion and personal responsibility is a better legacy to leave behind. The govt is not looking out for you. Be responsible.

  8. when a product has expired you throw it away,the reason we do that is because we know the consequences of eating rotten foods or using expired products,those that are advocating for no divorce might as well start eating rotten products and see if you will survive,how do you get HIV when your husband is negative?,unless it was by blood transfusion or other reasons,otherwise throw it.

  9. A husband can be a carrier and passes it on to the wife.look at all facts before making comments

  10. Wewe nyondo angela, even if the husband is a carrier he may test hiv positive. this is not a justification. indeed we have to understand the root of the problem.

  11. You chaps are very ignorant about the pathogenesis of HIV/AIDS- from discussions above. Increase your knowledge about this disease, it will definitely pay off. Learn to be queit if your knowledge is humble about some topics.

  12. “aids kills” thats the summary,the more you learn about it,the more you are made to believe that its just a disease like any other disease,slowly you start inserting your fingers in the snakes mouth,and only to realise when its too late, and now you want to sit your a** down,and reconstruct the marriage which you betrayed by your promiscuity,just cause you can’t tamanga no more,hell no,we cant accept that.Those that live by a gun die by a gun,you live by sex you die by sex,thats the bottom line ,thats what am talking about.

  13. Going by the comments above, in deed stigma has come to stay. And i wonder how many marriages would survive if there was a mandatory testing. No wonder nowadays, its encouraged to go vct before marriage, because people went into marriage when they’re already bagard.

  14. Please ladies and gentlemen lets have mercy,how surely for God’s sake can you leave your ailing spouse just because someone is HIV positive.You never know what happens it might be you dying first inspite of the other one’s status.

  15. Sad reading. Why divorce someone who knows his/her HIV status when you don’t know yours? Clearly, such divorces are a recipe for future infections of those the HIV related divorced couples to their new would-be partners – for surely they will want to re-marry.

  16. #5,#6 and number 10 i will advise you to read abit about a discondant couple, to me when it comes to this case of discondant couples i even think HIV&AIDS is just a curse from god and it has come to harvest.

  17. how do you espect somebody you have been having unprotected sex from monday to friday,1 to 30 and jan to december to have a virus and you comes out clean? separating at this point is shollow thinking because despite the stutus of your friends it’s still not clear who brought the virus in the home, reseachers pliz do your job on this.

  18. #18&19 HIV is harder to transmit from a woman to a man. HIV is a fragile virus that requires the right environment. The eye of the penis, without any sores or lesions on the shaft or head, is the only real entry point for HIV. This is why having other STD’s raises the risk of HIV transmission. The eye of the penis, the urethra, is tiny compared to the vagina. Therefore, unlike semen that enters the vaginal cavity and stays there after unprotected sex thereby having time to penetrate any tears or cells, the eye of the penis is not subject to this prolonged exposure to large amounts of virus. In one act of unprotected sex with an infected female partner, the man runs a 1 in 2000 chance of bein

  19. infected.Another reason is:
    Your partners HIV viral load may be low. While a low viral load makes a person less “contagious”, it is still very possible to pass on the virus. However, for the reasons explained in above together with a potential low viral load of your partner, the eye of your penis may not have been subjected to enough virus. Most infections occur at this time given high viral load. Your partner will probably have to have a PCR RNA test which measures viral load now that is HIV+.

  20. #7 I hope you are either joking or are drunk and will come back to your senses when you sober up. If the man brought the HIV in the house (which is 99% of the time), then it is ok? Are you for real? This is 21st century. Stop showing your backwardness on this forum.

  21. #20,21, This is sex in marriage we are talking about; doesnt frequency count for anything?? Sounds to me like the explanation you have given would hold more water in an irregular relationship (or with a one-nite stand); dont you think? If you have sex with your spouse 3 times a week for 7 years, its the frequency rather than the size of the opening that puts you at risk. Not to mention oral sex…

  22. As a positive person I would like to say a few words. I did not go out to look for it. I was in a marriage for 15 years and only knew my status when I went for test to get life insurance.My husband did not want to hear about it even when he started getting sick. He refused to get tested.I know I was a very faithful wife and got this because I loved my husband and of course did not used condoms.He went and married another young girl,they are both dead.So we are not positve because we were careless. I am on medication and doing very fine. I have meet a wonderful man who is negative and has accepted me.My viral load is non detectable and I look great.Read and we aware!!!!!!

  23. a curse from God!? give me a break! denmark, sweeden and china are ethiest countries…their HIV prevelance rate is 0.2%!!..dont legalise prostitution, discourage condom use coz its unbiblical according to your hypocritic christian laws..oh discourage family planning as well and remain poor as u await the ‘joyous’ return of the already dead jesus christ!! The problem with some shallow africans is that they think malaria, Hiv AIDS and poverty are a world’s problems…well, thy r not! its up to us to step and find solutions to these problems and not God!

  24. Way to go Gaga (#24). Dont let any haters bring you down! Sad as it may be, I guess your hubby finally got what he deserved (like most married men should!!) I wish you many more years of positive living.

  25. what happens if the clegy are involved!!! do we divoce from from the church????? of late we have alot of the clegy who have been cought with the epidemic !!! judge not but what happens in such situations….????

  26. #24 I feel for especially that you were faithful,trust in the lord with all your heart,I know you will recieve your miracle one day.You are strong,keep your head up,stick your chances up and have a good life.God bless you.

  27. 25 if you analyse this issue critically you’ll realise there is something wrong with africans, talking abt a curse in africa doent mean the world, infectious diseases and nutritional related diseases together in one continent is deadly, people in europe have less suffering, their economy is powerful,less infectious diseases but they dont go to church , for us we pray everyday but die like flies.

  28. Signs of the times are everywhere nobana ba Leza!end times are here and so don’t be surprised when such things begin to happen!!abstainance ili che for life!!

  29. So many bloggers have contributed positively to this topic.
    I think we must face the reality and that should not only be by the book..I have never heard a businessman saying his products are the waste otherwise no man will buy his items.A country like China calls a condom as “Bi yun tao”,meaning that in the mind of the buyer,it’s not a container/cap/shield against diseases but,as a contraception thou even as a contraceptive method grants no 100% in perfection apart from the natural one being staying away from Danger.Why do we have increasing prevalences of infections day and night even after getting more oriented to condoms and th like?Why invest our precious lives into CONDOMS?
    ,,,,,

  30. Lets wake up and ponder over all we see,including vamene vibwela vamahala.
    I really support the stance the former republican presdo has taken in terms of de-campaigning the condom.Examine any condoms with an electronic microscope on a high field range then you will have a simple understanding about what i mean.
    Stay away from kudoba-doba ba muna na ndule.After all man can live a healthier life without elicit sex.Tune your minds and yr libido will definately drop.Sex is just a psychological excitation of yr endocrine system.oooh i leave this to the qualified dudes,,,

  31. do you use a condom yourself? or do you abstain? face the facts of life than just hap! hap! hap!, if you reach a certain age you need somebody to be with for life and every attempt you make you may think its the mr or mrs right but just to come and realise you a wrong, pipo pretent to be good sometimes.

  32. Gaga I commend you for quickly taking the meds…..I wish some of my own family members and society at large could exercise such quick wisdom and decision making.

    Generally our cultyre promotes a man’s promiscuity and until people realise that drinking and having multiple women simply results in poverty and death, Zambia will lag behind.

    God bless you with a Bible based marriage and a settled home.

  33. Your body should be trated with jealous and not allow every jim and jack or mary and jane to know your nakednes. The spirit of GOD lives in you and that is why it is said “your body is the temple of the Lord”. GOD DESIGNED SEX TO BE ENJOYED IN MARRIAGE WHERE TWO PEOPLE ARE CONSUMATED. But we have defiled God’s purpose for marriage and sex. A lot of us will admit that HIV/AIDS is mainly caused by having multiple partners, contrary to the original design of GOD. Our modified methods of approaching marriage and sex generally has given birth to a ripple effect of the HIV/AIDS. A matter of cause and effect.

  34. I say leave him or her esp. if the other person is negative…they were enjoying Zenon, Nchez Nthemba, Times, Uweka, New Londe motel, cockpit, lusaka hotel etc and other just a normal 1 night stand…please pipo RUN if you are negative

  35. with the 18%, lets think before doing anything sexual people. There is no need to have such a high rate of HIV/AIDS cases.

  36. Every 1 has a duty affected or infected.Lets all do away with our irrational thots as an individual,couple,family,community and a country at large.Hiv/Aids is real lets Think,Talk and Act in a good way.

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