I had no inkling whatsoever about my HIV and AIDS status until I took a medical exam that was required as part of my application to board a foreign ship as a seaman.  Telling me it’s the usual process, they took some of my blood for testing – which I readily gave, because, of course, I wanted to get the job.  But when I didn’t hear from them for months, I worried.  Not so much because I may be sick – who ever thought I would be? – but because I may have failed to qualify for the job, and I needed to earn big time.  When I called them to follow up on my application, they told me I was refused, though they didn’t offer any reasons.  And then, after more weeks passed, I heard from friends who also applied with the same company that they heard from somebody from the inside that there was this one man – meaning me – who had to be dumped for testing positive.”

Ruel, 27

According to Counseling Persons with HIV/AIDS: A Manual (Remedios AIDS Foundation Inc., 2000), disclosure is the “process or act of exposing something that was once hidden.  To disclose is to lay bare, uncover, make known, divulge or open up.  In a way, it means coming to terms with one’s reality.”
For PHAs, disclosure means the knowing of the person’s HIV and AIDS status – whether that person involved is the infected person him/herself, or those affected by that status.  As such, disclosure is a very sensitive act for all involved.

DISCLOSURE AND THE LAW

To guarantee that any person’s HIV and AIDS status is not involuntarily disclosed, RA 8504 specifically:

• Prohibits compulsory testing.  No one, except ordered by a court that deems it necessary, can be forced to undergo HIV and AIDS testing.
• Provides for anonymous testing.  Those who decide to test may not reveal his/her identity to the testing center.

In fact, to ensure that the disclosure (read: spread of information) is limited, the law requires the release of test results only to: 1) The person who was tested; 2) Parents/guardians of minors, orphaned, or persons with mental disability who were tested; 3) People authorized to receive results under AIDSWATCH; and 4) A judge of a Lower Court, Justice of the Court of Appeals, or Supreme Court Justice.

Seaman Ruel’s case shows how any of these weren’t followed (he had to know about his status from the grapevine, with those on the know disclosing – even gossiping – his status for him), which, under the law, is highly illegal, and can be addressed in the courts of the land (if any positive person would dare do so).

To up the ante, “popular” people, when rumored to be positive, can even sue defamation or libel those who spread the rumor, especially – as is usual in such cases – if it inadvertently affects these people’s status (e.g. societal, financial, et cetera).  Simply put, this is much like sexuality – for as long as any person refuses to say the truth, then no one can say it for him/her.

TIMING DISCLOSING

The emphasis on the “it’s up to him/her” when it comes to disclosing means that the timing to do so depends on when the person feels he/she is ready – meaning that until that time comes, then the time is not right.

Often, disclosure depends on who the disclosing is to be made to.

For one, there’s the disclosure to oneself.  Many people, from the start, refuse to take the HIV antibody test to determine their HIV and AIDS status for fear of knowing with certainty that, yes, they are positive.  At the onset, this is already problematic because, especially for those in high-risk groups, knowing that they may be positive could lead to lifestyle changes that: 1) if they are negative could save them; and 2) if they are positive could alter the way they live to prolong their lives.

Secondly, disclosing to others.  After accepting one’s status, telling others of it may be seen as the next step.  This is not necessarily true, with many refusing to disclose to others for fear of, among others, losing their jobs, being left by loved ones, losing the right to visit their children, et cetera.  There is, thus, a need to be selective on who to disclose to – and knowing who to disclose to greatly relies on the support system of the person who tested positive.

And lastly, disclosing to a child.  Already, disclosing to adults is complicated – but disclosing to a child may just be as complicated, or, perhaps, even more so, mainly because they do not have a grasp of life and death, T cells, et cetera just yet.  A different approach may thus be needed when dealing with them, should the positive person decide to do so.

HELP NEEDED

According to Remedios AIDS Foundation Inc., “counselors (may) play an important role in enabling the (positive person)” – whether that is to disclose, or, when somebody prematurely did that for him/her, to seek redress for that act.

But beyond helping on disclosure, “counselors may be able to help (PHAs address their issues, thus hopefully able to) prevent the further transmission of HIV and AIDS in society.”