Free AC05 - Death Mask by Kathryn Fox Page B

to sexual partners. You don’t have to have symptoms to develop complications either.’
    She fielded some questions about condoms and explained, ‘They don’t guarantee you won’t pick up infections, like pubic lice, scabies or even herpes at the base of the penis. But when used properly, condoms are one of the most effective ways of protecting you and your partner from infections, including HIV.’
    ‘Oh man.’ Janson shifted in his seat. ‘Now you’re doing the grim-reaper crap all over again. We all know faggots get HIV and there are no faggots here. Am I right?’ He stood and raised both hands above this head.
    The crowd let out a resounding ‘Yes’, which took Anya by surprise.
    ‘See, no faggots here,’ said a dark-haired man on the other side of Janson.
    Anya looked around the room. No one disagreed.
    ‘HIV doesn’t discriminate. And it spreads more easily if certain other genital infections are present. Does it ever occur to you that a woman you have casual sex with could be carrying a potentially fatal infection such as HIV?’
    Some of the men shook their heads. Others looked stunned.
    An African-American from the front row, wearing a navy shirt and dress trousers, turned to the players.
    ‘What about Magic Johnson? He got it from having sex with lots of women. He was as hetero as they come, and had a wife and unborn baby he could have infected before he found out.’
    ‘Backdoor Benny got it at college,’ Janson retorted, ‘only he had bets both ways. You tell me you know for sure about Magic?’
    Some of the players were either ignorant or in extreme denial about HIV. Anya wondered if homophobia blinded them to the facts.
    ‘Come on.’ The man in the front row did not seem fazed. ‘During hospital visits I’ve met haemophiliacs who’ve had blood transfusions, even drug users who caught HIV. The doctor’s right. Unsafe sex is like playing Russian roulette.’
    Another hand rose. ‘Ma’am, why are men the ones who have to wear condoms? Why don’t women protect themselves?’
    ‘That’s a good question. Female condoms exist but they aren’t as readily available, and cost a lot more than male condoms. The advantage of you men taking precautions is that you can prevent pregnancies as well. You may not be so keen on supporting children you didn’t plan for the rest of their lives.’
    Mention of money captured everyone’s attention.
    ‘And for those of you with wives and girlfriends, think about what you might be bringing home to them if you choose to have other partners and don’t use condoms.’ She paused to let that sink in.
    ‘There is actually
another
reason for using condoms. In recent years there’s been more than a twenty percent increase in head and neck cancers.’
    On the screen the slide changed. A tumour deformed what was a woman’s tongue. Her eyes were blacked out to maintain anonymity.
    ‘Based on what I’ve already told you, can anyone suggest why?’
    A voice from the back offered, ‘I heard the pill causes cancer? You can’t blame us for that.’
    ‘No, but as we already discussed, the human papilloma virus is implicated in cervical cancer. It can also cause oral cancers – tongue, mouth, throat and neck. Since oral sex has become more common, it’s no surprise we’re seeing an increase in those types of cancer.’
    The group objected loudly to the notion.
    ‘Come on!’
    ‘This has gotta be crap!’
    ‘Man, that blows, that really sucks!’
    Awkward laughter followed.
    ‘One way to prevent it, apart from being vaccinated against the HPV virus, is to always wear condoms for oral sex.’
    As she had anticipated, the advice was not well received.
    ‘Now you’re telling us we’re causing cancer.’ A red-haired man who looked barely old enough to be a rookie stood up angrily. ‘There’s got to be lots of reasons for things like that.’ He motioned to the screen. ‘Like … like smoking, there’s more pollution these days, more chemicals in food.