Current Affairs

Outraged mum speaks out after teacher asks school kids ‘if they are HIV positive’

May 12 2018
Written by Ella Braidwood

The treatment can lead to blood-borne infections if not carried out properly (Creative Commons)

An outraged mum has spoken out after children at a school in New Jersey were allegedly asked if they were HIV positive before a trip.

The alleged incident happened at Hackensack Middle School, when sixth-graders were asked the question before a four-day camping trip, reports ABC 7.

“A teacher had mentioned in the classroom, where if you had HIV positive, you are not allowed to come on the trip, which is a sixth-grade camp trip,” parent Janete Mendes told ABC 7.

“I felt defensive about it, and he didn’t know what was HIV,” she added. “Where he asked me, ‘What is HIV? How do you catch HIV.'”

Mendes said that parents were left alarmed by the claim, calling for the teacher involved to be sacked.

She said: “I spoke to other parents, and they were shocked as well. They say that he should be fired for that, which I agree. That’s something that you don’t expose.

“If somebody in there has that, you really aren’t supposed to say anything about it, because that’s confidential.”

(Getty)

However, the school released a statement to ABC 7 claiming that the incident was a misunderstanding. According to the school, the children were asked by the teacher about “HIB”, an acronym for “Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying.”

But the family stands by the story, insisting that the children were asked if they were “HIV positive”, and that this use of language could not be mistaken for “HIB” instead.

Earlier this week, it was reported that a school in Oregon had forced an LGBTQ student to read bible passages as a form of punishment.

And, earlier this month, Hermiston School District, also in Oregon, banned pupils from taking part in a statewide reading competition because the list of books includes one about a trans child.

Meanwhile, also this month, schoolgirl in California reportedly claimed she was told to cover up a T-shirt emblazoned with the words: “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning.”

Terrence Higgins Trust recently launched a new programme to make HIV self-testing kits free to all gay and bisexual men, as well as trans women.

PinkNews tried out the HIV self-testing kit live on Facebook with Terrence Higgins Trust’s Liam Beattie at PinkNews’ London office.

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