For Journalists 

‘Be Humane!’
HIV is Not Transmitted Through Friendship

A mass media campaign on solidarity with people living with
HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) to be launched in Moscow and 10 other regions of Russia

‘I can always tell if someone is scared of me but doesn’t say so. They don’t want to drink tea with me, they won’t shake my hand. I hate to have to force my company on someone, so sometimes I just avoid contact to begin with.’

According to official statistics, there are currently more than 300,000 PLWHA in Russia, and each and every one of us can be affected by this problem. Tomorrow, you or someone you know — a close friend or relative — can be diagnosed with HIV. Although HIV does affect certain aspects of people's lives, they still remain the same people they were before: friends, daughters, sons, colleagues and loved ones. People infected with HIV/AIDS are still human beings. Don't alienate people who are dear to you: be humane!

The main goal of the ‘Be Humane!’ mass media campaign is to dispel unfounded fears and negative attitudes towards PLWHA. The campaign’s main tool is knowledge: it aims to remove stigmas by providing accurate information about HIV and how it can and cannot be transmitted.

Research conducted in 10 regions of Russia revealed that negative attitudes towards PLWHA are especially prevalent among people over the age of 40. The research shows that people in this age group often are scared, angry, disgusted and in favour of isolating people with HIV from the rest of society. Such attitudes stem primarily from misconceptions about how HIV is transmitted. For this reason, the campaign targets men and women ages 25-50. Since older generations influence the views of younger generations, organisers anticipate that the campaign message will also reach a younger audience.

The campaign materials are based on true stories: stories from HIV-positive people who are faced with injustice and rejection and also the stories of HIV-negative people who share their fears and their experiences of overcoming these fears.

‘The creative concept of the campaign is based on the idea that life is not a game of noughts and crosses,’ said Eugenia Alekseeva, director of the ‘FOCUS-MEDIA Foundation’. ‘Receiving a HIV diagnosis does not annul everything that a person is at that moment. Rather, it is a different page in their life, not a void, but a different aspect in their relationships.’

In addition to using traditional methods of disseminating information (i.e. radio and television advertisements, educational pamphlets and booklets, etc.) the campaign will also target its audience by holding special events in supermarkets, shops and pharmacies. The campaign will also run a competition for publications in the media.

Campaign materials were developed by the public health and social development organisation ‘FOCUS-MEDIA Foundation’ with advisory support from AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW). FOCUS-MEDIA and AFEW have been conducting joint mass-media public awareness campaigns on HIV/AIDS prevention for the last eight years. The ‘Be Humane!’ campaign is part of the GLOBUS project (Global Efforts Against AIDS in Russia).People living with HIV/AIDS were involved in the development of the campaign materials.