Panaji : A woman living with HIV has filed a formal complaint with the State HIV Ombudsman alleging denial of healthcare services, verbal abuse, and public humiliation at an ART Centre in Goa while seeking mandatory HIV testing for her six-month-old infant.
Copies of the complaint were marked to the Project Director, Goa State AIDS Control Society, and the Secretary (Health), seeking an inquiry and disciplinary action.
The complaint, filed under the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017, states that the woman first approached a Link ART Centre in mid-December to get her infant tested but was informed that testing facilities were not available there and was referred to the ART Centre at GMC.
When the woman visited the ART Centre on December 22, she was allegedly refused services by a staff member and told to return to the place where she had delivered the child. The woman further alleged that she was shouted at in the presence of other patients and was forced to leave the centre.
The woman, who requested anonymity, said the experience left her traumatised.
Celina Menezes, Lead – Advocacy and Social Protection at Human Touch Foundation, said the alleged incident reflected a serious failure of the public health system. “What happened is not just unacceptable—it is illegal,” Menezes said.
“No woman should be shouted at, abused, or humiliated for seeking healthcare for her child. Denying HIV testing to an exposed infant and publicly mistreating a mother violates the law, medical ethics, and basic human dignity,” she said.
She said inter-state migration or place of delivery is not an excuse.
“HIV services are a legal right, not a favour granted at someone’s discretion. If these allegations are proven, strict action must be taken. Silence or inaction will only embolden further abuse,” she said.
