In health centers in the city of São Paulo it is possible to have access to the 'Adolescent Health Care Manual', published in 2006. Its content deals with various topics: young people with disabilities, life at school, sexuality... And that's it in this Lastly, the problem lies. In the article 'Development of sexuality', written by pediatrician Lígia de Fátima Nóbrega Reato, which deals with the development of sexual orientation, the author makes the following statement:
"One of the sexual games played by boys is commonly known as "exchange" which, when discovered by adults, usually generates doubts and concerns regarding a possible homosexual identification in adult life... among the participants or when, due to group pressure or by his own will, the young man always becomes the passive one; remaining in this passivity can make the pubescent person a homosexual".
Murilo Sarno, vice-president of the São Paulo GLBT Pride Parade Association (APOGLBT), said he became aware of the material recently and points out the measures taken by both gay organizations in São Paulo. "The Paulista LGBT Forum, with the support of APOGLBT, notified the Health department. Whether they will take it out of circulation, I don't know."
Murilo defines the author's statement as "highly unfortunate and not at all technical", when she says that whoever is passive in the "exchanges" will be homosexual.
Regarding the measures to be taken in response to the material, Ferdinando Martins, from the GLS Communicators Network, says that "the first step is for the Municipal Health Department to recognize the errors contained in the publication. Then, the material needs to be collected." Ferdinando believes that for the secretariat to demonstrate seriousness and ethics in its work it must "send a statement to health professionals clarifying what happened and provide new materials".
LGBT activism groups in São Paulo sent a letter to the Municipal Health Department yesterday in which they claim that "the aforementioned manual has a publication date of 2006. However, it was distributed this week in some health units in the city." In the document, they emphasize that "it is known that sexual orientation is not the result of a choice", as stated in the controversial material.
In the end, the groups ask for an immediate review of the 'Manual…' and for publications with such a statement to be removed from circulation. The document is signed by the Group of Parents of Homosexuals (GPH), the Brazilian Association of Gays, Lesbians, Transsexuals and Transvestites (ABGLT), E- Jovem, Fórum Paulista LGBT and Rede de Comunicadores GLS.
The website report The Cape He tried to contact the Municipal Health Department and Secretary Januário Montone this afternoon, but was unsuccessful. Until the closing of this note, the Secretariat had not commented on the case.
Check out the letter in full below:
São Paulo, February 03, 2009
Office no. 013/09
Dear Sir. Januário Montone
DD. Municipal Health Secretary
São Paulo City Hall
Considering that one of the guidelines of the current municipal administration is to "improve policies aimed at promoting and preventing the health of the LGBT public", it is surprising and indignant to read the recently distributed "Adolescent Health Care Manual", prepared by the Health Development Coordination SMS/SP Health Programs and Policies, passages with prejudiced content that are in no way in accordance with recent medical, psychological and pedagogical literature. The aforementioned manual is published in 2006, however it was distributed this week in some health units in the city.
On pages 112-3, the Manual says: One of the sexual games played by boys is commonly known as "exchange" which, when discovered by adults, usually generates doubts and concerns regarding a possible homosexual identification in adult life. According to Tiba, this type of practice is more related to role training than the search for sexual satisfaction; In these situations, the teenager views the other as a mirror. The possibility of harm is only real when there is a difference in age or stage of development between the participants or when, due to group pressure or their own will, the young person always becomes the passive party; remaining in this passivity can make the pubescent person a homosexual.
It is known that sexual orientation is not the result of a choice, much less the result of an isolated practice as referred to in the text above in the passage about "remaining in passivity". Furthermore, the excerpt cited above associates "concern" with "homosexuality", which leads to the interpretation that homosexuality is something "negative". After all, no one cares about the possible heterosexuality of a teenager.
It is worth remembering that in 1973 the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders. In 1990, the General Assembly of the World Health Organization approved the removal of code 302.0 (Homosexuality) from the International Classification of Diseases. In its last revision, in 1995, the ICD officially declared that homosexuality does not constitute any disease. Therefore, the suffix "ism" (which refers to "disease") was replaced by "dade" (which refers to "way of being"). In 1999, the Federal Psychology Council (CFP) appointed a commission of experts to deliberate on the matter. Resolution 001/99 was formulated, considering that "homosexuality does not constitute a disease, disorder or perversion", that "there is, in society, an uneasiness surrounding sexual practices that deviate from the socio-culturally established norm" (that is, heterosexuality), and, especially, that "Psychology can and should contribute with its knowledge to clarify issues of sexuality, allowing prejudice and discrimination to be overcome".
With the aforementioned manual being an important piece of SMS communication for health professionals who work with adolescents, the Paulista Forum of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Transsexuals, the ABGLT – Associação Brasileira de Lésbicas, Gays, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Transsexuals, the E-Jovem group of Gay, Lesbian and Allied Adolescents and the Group of Parents of Homosexuals, ask that the manual be revised and that an explanatory note be sent to all health professionals in the municipality regarding the topic, to be prepared by the Coordination of Sexual Diversity Affairs, of the Municipal Secretariat for Participation and Partnership.
