The Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Rio de Janeiro recommended that the Military Fire Brigade of the State of Rio de Janeiro (CBMERJ) remove the requirement to submit an HIV test from the public tender for Public Notice nº 1/2023, whose infection is considered by the public notice of the corporation as a medical criterion for exclusion from the selection process. The recommendation highlights that the worker’s serology is confidential information and that demanding it constitutes a discriminatory and unconstitutional act. The MP-RJ asks institutions to respond to the recommendation within 10 days and warns that the persistence of the situation will constitute illegality. In case of refusal or delay in taking measures and providing information that proves that the recommendation was complied with, the prosecution will file a public civil action. The request is addressed to the Fire Department and the Universal Institute for Social Development (IUDS), organizer of the contest, which had an announcement published on January 23 and offers 800 vacancies in the positions of firefighter soldier and 3rd musician firefighter sergeant. The deadline for enrolling ended on the 12th. The recommendation was issued by the 5th Public Prosecutor’s Office for Collective Guardianship for the Defense of Citizenship in the Capital, which emphasizes that the Federal Constitution guarantees that all are equal and safeguards the dignity of the human person against any forms of discrimination, including discrimination against people living with HIV. The text adds that the Anti-Discrimination Law (Law nº 12.984/14) determines that it is a crime to deny work or employment to people living with HIV due to their condition. In addition, State Law No. 3,559, of May 15, 2001 and the decree that regulates it, prohibit discrimination against people living with HIV in the Bodies and Entities of the Direct and Indirect Administration of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Another point highlighted is that Ordinance No. 1927 of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, of December 10, 2014, determines that no worker can be forced to take the HIV test or reveal their serological status, and considers the requirement of tests to be discriminatory of job seekers. “The worker’s serological status must be confidential, also preventing the loss of access to employment and its respective stability, so that the work environment is safe and healthy enough to prevent possible transmission of HIV.” The text reinforces that living with the HIV virus does not harm work capacity. When contacted by Agência Brasil, the Fire Department of the State of Rio de Janeiro responded that, as it was a legal issue, the person responsible for the matter would be the Attorney General of the State of Rio de Janeiro (PGE-RJ). Questioned, the prosecution said that it will manifest itself when subpoenaed. Discrimination The coordinator of Grupo Pela Vidda, Marcio Villard, explained that there is already an international consensus that the requirement is discriminatory, but that security forces in Brazil insist on maintaining it to the detriment of international conventions and legislation on the subject. The Non-Governmental Organization has been fighting for the rights of people with HIV for over 20 years and was founded by writer and activist Hebert Daniel. “Since the 1990s, there has been an effort to withdraw this requirement, because it is highly discriminatory and there is already a consensus in the International Labor Organization that the compulsory testing of workers is illegal and should not happen. All signatory countries have protocols to working on this issue, but the security forces in Brazil have always been resistant and it was only from the 2000s onwards that we began to take action in some states”, said the coordinator of Pela Vidda, which has filed a lawsuit since 2009 against the Military Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro to drop the same demand. Villard considered that the recommendation issued by the prosecution is spectacular, due to the depth of its basis. He highlighted that the treatments available for HIV give people living with the infection the possibility of leading a healthy and active life, in addition to making their viral loads undetectable, interrupting the possibility of transmitting HIV to others. “A person living with HIV does not pose a risk to anyone. I hope that the Fire Department understands the recommendation and rewrites its public notice, because it is discriminating against several young people who could be excellent professionals in the future.” He revealed that, at the beginning of the AIDS pandemic, the security forces adopted this discrimination because they considered that people with HIV would soon need to be removed from work for health reasons. “Twenty years ago, it was a condition. Today, it’s another situation. So, the issue is prejudice. If you do physical evaluation and other tests for aptitude, what’s the problem? How many athletes have HIV and can handle their activities? They don’t this discrimination.” Human rights A member of the National Network of People Living with HIV in Rio de Janeiro, educational psychologist and sanitarian Salvador Corrêa considers that the requirement is an affront to the human rights of people living with HIV. “People with HIV have full condition to live a life like people who do not live with HIV, complete physical and health condition to exercise any profession and we cannot allow public notices of tenders to stand still in time”, he said. “What does it matter if the firefighter who will put out your house fire has HIV or not?”. he asked. Côrrea emphasized that people living with HIV who are treated have living and health conditions similar to those of anyone else and maintaining demands like this is stigmatizing, as it reinforces an idea that these people are dangerous and you cannot live with them. “Disclosure of the serological condition is the person’s right to do whenever they want. They have the right to secrecy. This is guaranteed by law and must be respected.” *Carolina Pessôa, from EBC Radio Journalism, collaborated
Agência Brasil
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