If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

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If I kept it to myself Pen Moni Being a young woman living with HIV, I have committed to make things happen and improve the conditions of our lives, even if it takes a long time. I am the second child in a family of five children. My parents were poor farmers, and always fought. When I was seven years old, my dad took a new wife and would drink and hit my mother. Every day, I would wonder why he treated her so badly; my mother was a woman, not an animal! When I was nine, my father raped me and threatened to hurt me more, should I tell anyone. I never told my mum but tried to tell my brother, although he could not fully understand what I was saying as he has a disability. In 2001, I married a good man who was working for the immigration department. We planned to have three children and bring up a family in a nice little house in the countryside. In 2002, we both tested for HIV and the results were HIV positive. We promised to take good care of ourselves, because we needed to do things for others who were infected and affected by HIV and AIDS, in particular women. I don’t want to see the rest suffer because of HIV and AIDS. I know how it feels. 12 In 2000, I joined Oxfam Hong Kong and the Womyn’s Agenda for Change Project in Cambodia, as an assistant to the Sex Workers’ Empowerment Programme. People believed sex workers to be bad, and not worthy of the dignity of the rest of society. I knew that we should not stigmatise against this group. They are women and if we isolate them, they will remain vulnerable to HIV and AIDS and other issues. During that period, sex workers faced many problems including stigma, lack of power to negotiate condom use with clients and harassment, and their health status meant an end of income from brothel owners. Mostly, they
Young women intervene in a world with AIDS lacked information on HIV, AIDS and human rights. As a programme assistant, I supported the development of the Women’s Network for Unity and I was responsible for building the capacity of and mentoring the Network, facilitating workshops in areas such as strategies for working with sex workers, leadership, negotiation, facilitation, communication, information on HIV and AIDS and women’s empowerment. For three years, I worked with sex workers, gay men and lesbian women. I came to understand their situation well, earning their trust and enjoying my work with them. In my volunteer time, I am now a Consultative Board Member of the Positive Women of Hope Organisation (PWHO), the first group in Cambodia to provide support by and for women living with HIV and AIDS in Cambodia. I joined this group because they can make a change and improve the quality of life of women, and address gender and HIV and AIDS issues. My responsibility with the PWHO is to seek appropriate funding for them and to provide technical support for sustaining and strengthening the group. I spend my weekends working with PWHO. I am also on the Advisory Committee of KANHNHA, a community based organisation of men having sex with men. My role is the same as the one with PWHO. I usually attend their meetings once a month. My work as a HIV and AIDS Junior Programme Officer for the Policy Project is to work with the Technical Advisor and Senior Programme Officer to build the capacity of organisations for PLWHA, including the Cambodian People Living with HIV and AIDS Network (CPN+) and Vithey Chivit NGO in order to strengthen their networks and members on advocacy, public speaking and access to treatment. In Cambodia, it is estimated that one in 52 people are infected with HIV yet the level of involvement of these people in HIV and AIDS policy-making processes is limited. Moreover, they experience stigma and discrimination, lack access to information on treatment, education and services, and have low income generating activities and high unemployment. In addition, the commitment from NGOs, donors and government to the greater involvement of PLWHA (GIPA) is low and access to medical treatment is limited to the provinces. Being a young woman living with HIV, I have committed to make things happen and improve the conditions of our lives, even if it takes a 13
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