NEARLY four months after more than 21 lawyers signed a declaration to provide pro bono legal services for persons living with HIV/AIDS who are seeking legal redress for discrimination, only one person has taken advantage of the service so far.

However, the person who sought legal advice is facing criminal charges after allegedly getting into a fight with her landlord who evicted her when he found out she was HIV positive.

"Both of them were involved in a fight and this person was the only one that was charged," said Vivian Gray, advocacy officer at the National AIDS Committee.

The woman, said Gray, was also dismissed from her job when her employer learnt that she had HIV.

Gray said the fear of discrimination was the underlying reason why most persons living with HIV/AIDS refrained from seeking legal advice. He said these persons feared taking their cases to court in the belief that they would be chastised because of their status.

However, Tony Hron, an advocate at the Jamaica Network of Seropositives (JN+) said that there were mechanisms in place to ensure that these matters are dealt with confidentially.

Hron told the Observer, however, that the cases would be difficult to prosecute.

".There is no strong legal framework in the Charter of Rights to prevent discrimination on the grounds of one's health status. There is no language that says access to health care is a basic right," said Hron.

He said, too, that cases of discrimination would be hard to prove unless there was evidence to support the claim.

".If an employer or a landlord discriminates against someone they can make all kinds of claims. For instance, the employer can say that the person is not performing and the landlord can say that the tenant is causing trouble," said Hron.

The Legal and Ethics Committee, he said, would be making a submission to the Joint Select Committee of Parliament that is dealing with the Charter of Rights, asking that it be amended to include non-discrimination on the grounds of health status and the right to health care.

However, Hron supported Gray's view that a lack of knowledge about the legal service available was a problem, even though efforts were made to sensitise persons living with HIV/AIDS about the services.

"We have support groups and outreach officers across the island, but some of the members do not come to the meetings," he said. JN+, he said, would be launching a website where information about the pro bono legal services could be found.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World