An 11-year-old boy, who reportedly informed a doctor that he deliberately contracted HIV from his 18-year-old girlfriend “to become buddies”, has stirred up a commotion on social media, according to the “Aggressive not Doctor” web page.
A post on the page on Monday recounted the tale of an unidentified boy who went to a doctor with a venereal infection. The doctor, whose name was not mentioned, recommended an HIV test, but the boy supposedly told the doctor that there was no need for a test because he had willingly exposed himself to the disease, in order to become infected like his 18-year-old girlfriend.
The story drew many comments, most of which expressed worry for the boy.
One of the comments came from Rinthipond Varinvatchararoj, a party-list MP for Pheu Thai party, who wrote in her “X” post expressing concern over the increasing number of HIV infection among minors.
In 2022, she mentioned that there were 54 HIV cases involving minors under 15 and there were 4,379 HIV cases in the 15-24 age group.
She criticized sex education in Thai schools as being outdated, adding that the Ministry of Education must openly acknowledge the necessity of straightforward sex education in classrooms, not just for preventing sexually-transmitted diseases, but also understanding the joy of sex and recognizing abortion.
