Mexico: Gay Marriage Would Reduce HIV Transmission Rate

Jorge Saavedra, Director of the Mexican government's National Center for Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS, said the following to participants at an HIV prevention conference this week:

Marriage is a factor in the reduction of sexual partners for heterosexuals, it reduces the risk of contracting AIDS, which is why to open that possibility for homosexuals would be positive in reducing infection rates.

This according to an EFE article published today by the Mexican newspaper Cambio. There have been attempts in the past by Mexico City legislators to pass a 'Cohabitation Bill' which would basically extend benefits afforded to heterosexual couples in common law marriages but they have largely failed. A Valentine's Day rally to demand the right to marry for Mexican same-sex coiples (which has become an annual event) drew more than 800 people on February 14th, according to La Jornada, but gaining the right to marry remains an uphill struggle in a country as machista as Mexico.

Back in November at the 4th Central American Congress on HIV/AIDS, Dr. Saavedra was awarded the AIDS Responsibility Project's Leadership Award for his efforts to fight homophobia in Mexico. Under his watch, the gubernmental agency he leads launched a series of groundbreaking radio ads which directly taclked the issue and led an effort to get business agencies to get involved in supporting efforts to fight AIDS in Mexico.

You can download the Spanish-language audio files for both radio spots, "La Cena" and "Preguntas" here (they're a little more than half-way down the page, under the title "Arranca en 7 ciudades campaña radiofónica contra la homofobia".