Mon 27 Sep 2010 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Mama Tere Strickland The New Zealand AIDS Foundation Trust Board says it's taking a complaint about the decision to award Life Membership to Mama Tere Strickland very seriously. Strickland is a South Auckland-based transgender prostitutes' outreach worker, who is among those who is to receive the NZAF honour in November. Christchurch New Zealand Prostitutes Collective worker Anna Reed was also to be made a Life Member, but has told the NZAF she feels unable to accept the award. Her stance is backed up by the NZPC, which has complained to the Foundation and urged it reconsider the honour. The NZPC is particularly horrified with the NZAF's description of her as "a key advocate for transgender sex workers," despite the fact she is strongly against the decriminalisation of prostitution and aligned herself with the Maxim Institute, an ultra-conservative Christian lobby organisation, when the law was going through Parliament. The NZAF has released a statement saying the Life Memberships will be awarded in November, the final event to mark its 25th anniversary. "The Trust Board awarded these life memberships after receiving nominations from NZAF members and assessing each nominee against the published criteria for Life Membership." It says the Trust Board is taking NZPC's complaint very seriously and is dealing with it in accordance with the normal NZAF complaints process. "Out of respect to all the parties involved, the NZAF Trust Board will not comment publically until the conclusion of that process." You can discuss this gay community news story in the GayNZ.com Forum
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 27th September 2010 - 12:17pm