Hot in the media – Media Watch
Sies, Sowetan for failing to address safe sex angle
The Sowetan’s borderline-pornographic coverage of police officers bonking (in their words) certainly has, as the editor predicted, got the nation talking.
But forget drawing any real attention to police negligence or failures of the system, the gratuitous material got tongues wagging about one thing more than any other - sex.
And this is not necessarily a bad thing. In the context of our HIV epidemic, it is about time we have a public and open debate about sex and particularly about risky sex.
But this is not it.
Turned away: No test, no treatment!
The Times and the Sowetan have reported that a public clinic in the North West has refused patients treatment for various illnesses on the grounds that they would not consent to an HIV test. Both articles report that visitors to the clinic are refused treatment for anything from diabetes to high blood pressure if they do not consent to an HIV test.In addition to this even those seeking preventative measures such as immunisations and contraceptives are refused these if they forego the proffered test.
This kind of treatment could see preventable and manageable illnesses being left unaddressed eventually increasing the burden on the facilities in the area. Most alarming is that lives could be lost because of the irresponsible and inexcusable actions of the clinic staff involved.
Gauteng misses the mark
Today many Johannesburg based newspapers have run articles reporting that Gauteng has fallen just short of its HCT (HIV counseling and testing) target. The campaign’s June 2011 deadline saw only 3 015 440 people tested in Gauteng rather than the 3.3 million target set.Not exactly spoilt for Choice™: Government issue condoms scrutinized
The New Age have chosen to highlight striking students’ demand for condoms among a list of other grievances that were laid before the management of Durban’s University of Technology (DUT) during protests that began last week.
This raises questions about the perceptions of government-issue condoms.
