Sexual pathologists Ruzan Azatyan and Aram Barseghyan are convinced that prostitution and homosexuality facilitate sickness rate growth of HIV/AIDS in the region. The rate of this disease in our region is higher than in European countries.  

According to specialists the risk of catching these diseases is especially high among homosexuals. There have always been homosexuals in Armenia but today according to sexual pathologists the attitude of the society towards them has changed.  

The doctors say that "exposure" of homosexuals testifies to the fact that Armenia has chosen the path to European standards.

Doctor Barseghyan says often adult men having problems with homosexualism apply to him. As for women they apply not to change their orientation but because they want to experience orgasm.

"The risk of catching sexual infections is higher among gays than among lesbians since the latter can limit their action by caresses only," he says. "Gays are more likely to have HIV/AIDS since their sex from anatomical viewpoint is not quite natural."

Barseghyan remembers a case when a 20-year-old young man came to him and asked for help to change; he said that at 14 he was very rudely put on the wrong way.  

Specialists think that sexual upbringing is very important mentioning that children have to get an idea about their sexual organs from school.

"It is not obligatory to speak about sex with school age children, children of each age should get information adequate to their intellect," Azatyan says mentioning that lesbians too apply to them. The attitude towards them in Armenian society is more tolerant.

The sexologist-doctor explains this by the fact that lesbians can get into bisexual relations and have a child, and when a man becomes gay he stops being a man, head of a family. 

The specialists also mention that homosexuality is not a deviation and that such people in European countries are full-fledged members of the society and that is the reason that many homosexuals come and ask for certificates to move abroad.  

Head of the "Public Information and Need of Knowledge" NGO Mamikon Hovsepyan says the attitude towards homosexuals as compared with 10 years ago has changed but doctors keep to the mentality of old Soviet medical literature that defines homosexuality as mental derangement etc. He says that sexual pathologists and psychologists spread distorted information about homosexuality especially in virtual environment.  

"One has to understand that being a homosexual does not depend on someone's decision, wish or influence of the environment," Mamikon explains. "It is the sexual orientation of the person just like in case of heterosexuals."

Christine Vardanyan