HIV-AIDS cases increase among young professionals, not only seafarers
29 January 2010- Human immuno deficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV-AIDS) is no longer just prevalent among seafarers and other overseas Filipino workers but also among call center agents as its incidence rate increased recently.
The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) said in its latest report the number of Filipinos infected with HIV rose dramatically in the past 10 months and now includes young urban professionals such as call center agents.
Doctors at the PGH Infectious Disease Treatment Complex said the number of HIV cases in the hospital rose to 100 in the past 10 months.
Former Labor Undersecretary Susan Ople, daughter of deceased Labor Secretary Blas Ople and a senatorial candidate, noted that a still-to-be-published study conducted by the University of the Philippines (UP) Population Institute, has shown a significant number of call center employees engaged in non-romantic but regular casual sex through a system dubbed as “FUBU” or “Fucked Buddies”.
“I validated the results of this survey with several call center agents and they told me that FUBU is gaining ground especially among nightshift workers,” the labor advocate said, adding that values enhancement services and activities should be made available to call center agents.
Records from the Department of Health showed that the number of HIV cases rose to 709 last year, compared to 528 in 2008.
Dr. Edsel Savana of the PGH Infectious Disease Treatment Complex said 80 HIV cases were recorded for November alone and the spread of AIDS in the country is already epidemic.
Dr. Katerina Leyritana said hospitals have also recorded HIV cases among young urban professionals such as call center agents.
She said majority of the recent HIV cases tend to be younger, mostly from ages 15-29, who are well educated.
Some of those infected said they got the illness after engaging in casual or group sex, which they discovered through social networking sites on the Internet.
Dennis Estopace of Business Mirror wrote in the UP study that F’K Buddies (FUBU) is a phenomenon that involves regular non romantic sexual intercourse among call-center workers , some of who do it at the fire exit area, or in the lounge.
Ople explained that the labor department should consider the results of the UP study from a perspective of improving safety and health standards n the workplace. “Clearly, certain ethical standards must be adopted at the workplace to discourage “Fubu” especially among young workers”, she added.
The survey was carried out in 22 call centers in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu with 675 respondents. Done between September and November last year, it revealed that three of four call center workers and two of three non-call center workers have had “penetrative premarital sex”.
Ople said that the UP study underscores the need for the following initiatives to be carried out through a joint effort of DOLE and the BPO industry:
1) No unisex facilities including private resting places and toilets because these have been transformed by some as “short-time FUBU areas”;
2) Strict monitoring of all staff on office decorum including supervisors some of who use their position and clout to hit on unsuspecting young call center agents;
3) An in-house counseling service that is on duty 24/7 for troubled and emotionally distressed workers;
4) Strong warnings regarding administrative sanctions against those who use office premises for sexual dalliances and encounters;
5) Video surveillance in strategic locations within the office premises and dark corners most favorable to FUBU encounters
Ople said that she has been hearing about Fubu from friends familiar with call center operatons but this is the first study to validate such reports.
“Nothing beats raising professional and ethical standards to promote decency and productivity in the workplace. This is something that the BPO industry leaders should work on jointly with DoLE,” Ople said.
“I hope that the call center industry will take this UP study very seriously and come up with safeguards against sexual promiscuity in the workplace that could lead to emotional stress, sexually transmitted diseases and even broken marriages,” Ople stressed, adding that call center work can be intense and more challenging than the usual office job especially for those in the night shift.
