Media Watch
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Sticks and stones
Skinnymalinks! that's just one of the many names they used to call me, those little brats,. What a mean place the primary school playground can be. I had long forgotten that crippling fear of being teased, but two weeks ago I had a rather mean reminder of how it all felt.IN THE NEWS: Aids hits Muslim community
The most frequently cited study of HIV in the Muslim community found that more than 2.5% of Muslim men were HIV-positive. That is significantly lower than South Africa's general population but enough to worry leaders in the community. Health-e News Service visited a centre that's reaching out to support women and children affected by HIV.IN THE NEWS: Gays and lesbians, speak up!
More than 100 gay men and women demanded respect for their human rights from their communities over the weekend. This happened after they were invited to speak about Aids at an awareness event.IN THE NEWS: ‘School kicked out my HIV-positive kid’
The little girl is just five years old and her mum finds it hard to explain to her why she's not going to school anymore.Striking a balance: Normalisation vs trivialisation of HIV
Given the advances in treatment and the proliferation of stories on ‘positive role models,’ the media should be aware of the delicate balance between addressing stigma that people living with HIV often experience and trivialising HIV as a condition.
Another ‘living positively’ story was born last week when former Isidingo actress, Lesego Motsepe, chose World AIDS Day to make public that she has been living with HIV for over a decade.
In a context where HIV is now a manageable albeit chronic condition, personal good news stories around positive heroes often feature in the media.
And while these vignettes do have the potential to address stigma through normalising HIV (especially when they are backed by serious star-power, as is the case with Koyo Bala, Criselda Kananda and of course Motsepe herself), the media should ensure that that these personal stories are covered in such a way that they do not give people the impression that living with HIV is easy.
HIV Stigma still stifling SA
An employer’s angry and paranoid reaction to the news that her domestic worker is HIV-positive illustrates that South Africa still has a long hard road to travel to disseminate knowledge around HIV and sow the seeds of acceptance for those living with the virus.
According to The Times and the Sowetan the woman’s employer obtained her HIV results without her consent from an equally guilty National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) employee.
Besides the obvious violation of the worker’s rights by her employer and the NHLS staff member there is also the issue of stigmatisation.
News reports say that the woman’s employer has subsequently developed a “horrible attitude” towards the employee threatening to fire her if she makes her “sick”. The employer also stopped the domestic worker form making her tea and will not let the woman near her room.
Daily Sun readers HIV aware
JournAIDS has blogged about the Daily Sun and Sunday Sun tabloids’ ‘HIV friendly’ approach before but Monday’s edition of the Daily Sun showed that readers are responsive to the tabloids’ HIV priority.
Monday’s edition of the Daily Sun featured a letter from a reader, encouraging people to talk about HIV. Content from the same day’s lonely hearts style ‘Sunlove’ section also shows that readers are aware of HIV, are addressing HIV-related stigma and are taking steps to protect themselves from the virus.
