As Guyana joins the rest of the world in celebrating World AIDS Day 2007, the National AIDS Committee (NAC) has welcomed the move by government to reform the Sexual Offences Act.

In its message on the occasion, the NAC said it has long promoted the position that sexual violence against women is a major driver of HIV in Guyana.

Consequently, the organization feels a reformed Sexual Offences Act will not only ensure greater access to justice, but will also ensure that the needs of victims attract greater priority.

According to the statement issued by the organization, a significant number of women who currently are afraid, ashamed, or deterred from coming forward to report sexual assault crimes often remain untreated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

The NAC said that in contrast the continued delay to enact the proposed legal reforms in Guyana, which emerged from the PANCAP/NAC National Assessment on HIV/AIDS law, ethics and human rights is a major source of disappointment. It said failure to provide social legislation of this nature sustains the misleading impression that HIV is merely a threat to health, but in its larger context it is a threat to development.

The NAC also commended all those reflecting on the issue of leadership during the commemoration of World AIDS Day to assess the extent to which their activities have emerged from their own experiences on the ground.

The national AIDS body also welcomed the new guidance issued by WHO and UNAIDS in May this year on informed voluntary HIV testing and counselling in all health facilities in order to significantly increase access to treatment, care, support and prevention services.