by Christopher Cappiello

Gay British cop loses promotion over Facebook

In an example of the increasing use of personal Internet pages by potential employers, a senior British police officer had a promotion withdrawn after a background check revealed controversy over his page on Facebook, the social networking website, BBC News reports.

Inspector Chris Dreyfus, 30, of the British Transport Police, had been offered the position of chief inspector with the Bedfordshire Police on Feb. 13. After making the offer, the Bedfordshire force discovered that Dreyfus had received a disciplinary warning last year about explicit references to being gay on his Facebook page, BBC reports. Dreyfus allegedly wrote on his Facebook page that he was looking for “whatever I can get.” The Telegraph newspaper reports that Dreyfus also posted “suggestive” comments to other Facebook users. His Web page also included photographs of him in his police uniform.

Dreyfus removed all references to his job on his site after receiving the warning.

“As long as I do not do anything to disgrace the force, then what I do privately is acceptable,” he told the Telegraph. He also insisted there is “nothing sexually explicit” on his Facebook page.

The British Transport Police oversees security on the country’s extensive railroad network. As head of royalty and government protection, Dreyfus is in charge of ensuring the safety of members of the royal family and government officials when they are riding trains. A spokesman for the force told the Telegraph that he will continue in that position.

African lesbians demand rights

During a conference in Mozambique, an African lesbian group issued a call to governments across the continent, on Feb. 26, to stop treating gays and lesbians like criminals.

“Our main goal is that lesbian[ism] and homosexuality can no longer be seen as a criminal offense,” said conference spokeswoman Fikile Vilakazi, Reuters reports. “You should not be arrested and charged for how you use your own body.”

The conference, organized by the Coalition of African Lesbians, attracted almost 100 participants from throughout the continent. Organizers pointed out that 38 of the 85 United Nations member states that outlaw homosexuality are in Africa.

“I’m finding myself as an individual who is every day trying to get the people that I identify with ... every day having to educate them about who I am, but finding it difficult for them to open their minds and their hearts,” conference attendee Nahlahla Mukize told BBC News. “I haven’t found myself being attacked or kicked out of home, but it’s just the discourse—how people talk about lesbian issues … how they tend to sideline people like myself.”

In general, African countries are extremely conservative in their treatment of same-sex relationships. In Mauritania, Sudan and parts of Nigeria, homosexuality is punishable by death. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has said gays are “worse than dogs and pigs.” On the other end of the spectrum, South Africa is one of only five countries in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.

As HIV rates soar, China targets gay men for prevention

In the same week that Chinese officials announced a new HIV prevention initiative aimed at men who have sex with men, the country also revealed a staggering 45 percent increase in HIV/AIDS cases from 2006 to 2007.

“The sharp increase in reported cases of HIV/AIDS doesn’t mean the HIV/AIDS situation is getting worse,” said Gao Qi, project manager for the China HIV/AIDS Information Network, to the Shanghai Daily. “The increase might be due to more screening tests.”

Chinese health officials reported the 45 percent increase in HIV/AIDS cases without elaborating on specifics. At the end of November 2007, the health ministry reported that approximately 700,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS in China.

The ministry’s new prevention initiative for MSM will include expanding the availability of condoms, prevention training, consultations, HIV testing and expanded treatment for other sexually transmitted diseases. In 2005, just 0.4 percent of new HIV infections were attributed to sexual activity between men. That number rose to 11 percent in 2007. It is unclear whether this alarming rise is due in part to an increased likelihood that men will reveal how they believe they contracted the virus.

“By learning more about gay people, we can better protect them against this incurable disease,” said Wang Weizhen, deputy director of the ministry’s HIV/AIDS prevention department, to the China Daily. “Studies are under way in several cities to collect information on gay men, such as their distribution and behavioral patterns.”

Activists see the proposed prevention efforts as a sign of new openness on the part of Chinese health officials in acknowledging the reality of MSM in their culture.

“This is good news for China’s gay community,” said Xiao Dong, a Beijing-based activist who opened the first HIV/AIDS clinic for gay men. “The government is beginning to take this long-neglected segment of society into consideration in a bid to combat this deadly disease.”