Dr. Gul receiving his token of appreciation from one of the organisers of the 1st Annual International Graduate Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities in Bangkok, Thailand where he first presented his research paper on Commercial Sex Workers in Paki

Dr. Gul during his fieldwork in Pakistan, interviewing one of the sex workers

Kuala Lumpur, 10 June 2009 - Men having Sex with Men (MSM), AIDS, HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Those were just some of the issues which Dr. Gul Muhammad Baloch, Senior Lecturer at UCSI University’s School of Medicine touched upon during the University’s first Lunch Lecture series. His riveting research on Commercial Sex Workers in Pakistan attracted not only students from various other faculties, but staff members as well who wanted to learn more about his research paper.The hour-long lecture, held between 12 noon to 1 p.m., focused on MSM and its role in spreading the HIV virus and AIDS in Pakistan. Dr. Gul’s research was especially significant, as it showed that up to 86.7% of those surveyed had no idea on how HIV/AIDS spreads or how it can be detected. 91.6% of those polled who have been sex workers for more than 10 years were also unaware as to how HIV/AIDS spreads. According to Dr. Gul, as a Pakistani, even he found the numbers downright shocking. “Even I didn’t expect to come across such numbers; nor did my peers from other countries,” he said.

A majority of the sex workers charge between an equivalent of RM3 to RM6 for each session, and all testified that they would never force their clients to use a condom, as it would be bad for business. According to Dr. Gul, a government-sponsored screening for HIV/AIDS is needed to control the epidemic and to include sexual studies in the school syllabus. “In Pakistan, sex is such a taboo that no child growing up knows anything about it, until they enter university. This does more harm than good, and leads to many who are ignorant about sex,” Dr. Gul asserted.

The UCSI University’s Lunch Lecture will be held fortnightly from June onwards, and aims to highlight and publicise research and studies done by the University’s academic staff. Organised by the University’s Centre of Research Excellence, the hour-long lectures will hopefully not only inspire students and other staff members to pursue research work in fields that they are passionate about, but would also give lecturers an avenue to discuss and share their work. The Lunch Lecture series is in line with the University’s efforts in embedding important graduate attributes such as lifelong learning and knowledge of disciplines that will enable UCSI University students to become well-rounded individuals.

The second Lunch Lecture series will commence on the 24th of June 2009, from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Mr. Arnel Banaga Salgado from the School of Nursing of the Faculty of Medicine, will be presenting his paper on the “Development and Validation of Personal Meaning Inventory.”

About Dr. Gul Mohammad Baloch

Dr. Gul Mohammad Baloch was born in Sindh, Pakistan.  He completed MBBS in 1990 and then proceeded to finish his M. Sc. in Public Health & Masters of Arts in Sociology. He is currently enrolled as a Ph.D. student with Leeds Metropolitan University, United Kingdom. He has worked with Department of Health and Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences in Pakistan since he joined public services in 1992. Dr. Gul also worked for WHO and UNICEF as a consultant in immunization and adolescent empowerment interventions for almost 4 years in Pakistan. He has been doing independent research on HIV/AIDS, Commercial Sex Workers, Adolescent Health and Violence against women. In all, he has worked with local, national and international NGOs such as Mercy Corps, OXFAM of the United Kingdom and Amnesty International. During his leisure time, he plays basketball, badminton and reads a lot. Dr. Gul has written and translated four books on philosophy, poetry and literature which have been published and is currently on the authorship list of the Oxford University Press. An avid reader, he has a personal collection of about 3000 books. Dr. Gul joined UCSI University in June 2007 as a Senior Lecturer and teaches Behavioural Sciences to medical students. His research interests include gender studies, adolescent health, social psychology, and sexual behaviour. He is currently involved in an ongoing research project with University Malaya on female criminality in Pakistan. He has presented his research papers internationally in Malaysia, Thailand and Japan.