A worrying report from the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) emerged today that the latest group to be hit with a surge of HIV infections is Malaysian fishermen, according to the 130 men they spoke to.
The spread of the disease is being blamed on lack of risk awareness, combined with rampant needle sharing and unsafe sexual activities. Even after a positive HIV has been determined, one fisherman did not seek further medical help. He told MAC officials that he “feels healthy,” and thus had no reason to go to the hospital. Another fisherman admitted to engaging in high-risk behavior such as frequent meth use, and added that he had visited at least 50 sex workers. The rate of syabu dependency was seen with 1/3 of the men interviewed.
Fifty-six percent of the fishermen do not use protection, and upon returning home, will have sex with their wives, exposing them to potential infection. Some claimed that they were able to discern whether a woman was HIV-free, or not, by the way she looks. Only 16 admitted to visiting sex workers.
Documentation is another factor for the 139 fishermen across six states – Johor, Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak and Kedah – interviewed. None of them had proper work documents, and unfair dismissals and conflict on boats were commonplace. This caused frequent shifting from boat to boat, adding to the spread of the effects of high-risk behavior.
The men interviewed were deep-sea fishermen, whose work took them off-shore for weeks at a time. Over 65% of those spoken to knew of someone who had died at sea.
MAC has called for greater awareness and education, as well as better working conditions, saying that, “given that they work without contracts and work in environments of coercion, they should be categorised as trafficked persons.”
Sarawak, has lead the way in reforming their fishing industries, and now requires all fishermen to sign a contract with terms of dismissal, and fair working conditions, that employers are legally answerable to.
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