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The education bureau of Jinxian
County, China, agreed to pay a former teaching applicant 45,000 yuan ($7,228)
in damages because the bureau allegedly turned him down after a pre-employment
health check found he was HIV-infected. The settlement represents the first
time an HIV-infected Chinese citizen has received compensation in an HIV
employment discrimination suit, according to Cheng Yuan, director of the
non-governmental organization (NGO) Tianxiogong. The NGO targets discrimination
against people with hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and disabilities.
Xiao Qi (pseudonym) initiated the
milestone anti-discrimination suit against the education bureau in November
2012, and the parties reached agreement December 27 in local court mediation.
In exchange for the payment, Xiao Qi agreed to drop discrimination charges
against the education bureau.
China’s 2006 Regulations on HIV/AIDS
Prevention and Treatment protect the marriage, employment, medical treatment,
and education rights of HIV-infected people and their relatives. According to
China’s Ministry of Health, there were 492,191 reported cases of HIV among the
country’s 1.3 billion people in October 2012, and an estimated total of 780,000
HIV-infected people in China.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
