An explicit anti-HIV campaign from the Victorian AIDS Council has failed, according to gay community leaders who are worried over spiking numbers of young men being infected with HIV in the Aussie state. "Explicit but ineffective": Victoria's 'Protection' campaign New figures show the number of twenty-something men being infected is likely to be double 2007 levels by the end of the year. "Most HIV infections happen within the first 12 months of a relationship, so it's not casual sex that is driving the epidemic in Australia," former safe sex campaign coordinator Daniel Reeders told Melbourne gay newspaper MCV. "I'm 28 and I have never seen a campaign that was about protecting yourself from HIV when you're in a relationship and I just don't think these ads are reaching young, gay men in the context of their lives," he added. The Victorian AIDS Council's explicit Protection ads and website shows men engaged in a variety of sexual acts. "You have to remember that gay men see a lot of porn," Reeders reacts. "In the context of the queer media images of shirtless men having sex don't stand out at all, every other advertiser is using the same kind of cheesecake imagery. "It may be revolutionary for the VAC – but for most gay men it's not that big a deal." Other community commentators agreed, saying realistic images of young gay men talking about their relationships would be more effective.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Sunday, 18th October 2009 - 4:54pm