Symposium to strengthen police response to HIV

A SYMPOSIUM focused on strengthening police response to HIV was held where senior police officers joined hands with Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society, civil society organisations and groups working on HIV prevention among marginalised populations to prevent the spread of HIV.

Pune district has an estimated HIV prevalence of 1.8 per cent. Not only are men in uniformed services such as the police more vulnerable to HIV, as law enforcers they have a major role to play among groups vulnerable to HIV such as sex workers, drug users, men who have sex with men.

Sankar Sen, IPS, and former director, National Police Academy, said it was their duty to uphold the rights of citizens, particularly marginalised sections such as sex workers.

"Many are playing an important role in HIV prevention by spreading safe sex messages in their community," he said.

Prakash Sabde, project director, Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society (MSACS), said the police had a large role in HIV prevention as they not only help maintain law and order but also act as a link between vulnerable populations and society. In addition, they must safeguard themselves from it. "HIV is a great leveller. As police officers we ask that you first respond to it as a person," he said.

The symposium was organised by the Avahan India AIDS Initiative with support from Constella Futures and Pathfinder International. The objective was to create a cohesive strategy to prevent and combat HIV. It explored ways of strengthening collaboration between different stakeholders such as the police and marginalised communities such as sex workers, injecting drug users and men who have sex with men.

Prabhat Ranjan, Joint Commissioner of Police, said HIV awareness levels in the police were not adequate to protect them from HIV. "We must educate our ranks and file on safe sex practices," he said. It was decided to train trainers and peer educators from the police staff to disseminate HIV prevention messages among the police force at all levels. Pathfinder International will conduct training programmes for the police stations at Pune, Shivajinagar, Swargate and other places in the city. Around six lakh people are infected with HIV in the state.

Maharashtra needs a multi stakeholder partnership to upscale prevention efforts. "As we enter the third phase of the NAtional AIDS Control Programme, we need to create meaningful partnerships and collaborations to catalyse a nation-wide movement against the spread of HIV," he said.

Chandrashekhar Daithankar, DCP, Zone III, suggested that every police station have posters and other information literature on HIV prevention. NGO Pathfinder International has agreed make available information materials on HIV/AIDS at each police station in the city.