HIV/AIDS in News – Journalists as Catalysts - United Nations ...

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HIV/AIDS in News – Journalists as Catalysts
Stigma and Discrimination
Despite such heartening developments, the subtext of media reports reveals stigma
and discrimination in overt and covert forms. The orientation and slant of some stories
gives a mixed message. This could indirectly lead to the marginalisation, exclusion
or discrimination of affected groups who could feel a sense of shame, discredit
and psychological trauma.
A small report in
Suryodaya on the
incidence of HIV/AIDS
among BSF soldiers
appeared on the front
page. The infections
are played up in a
manner that indirectly
stigmatises the
entire force
Most reports are passive and seemingly neutral, but the language used in some
cases is negative and loaded. For instance, there are some articles that carry headlines
which blame a particular segment of society. The headline of a prominently
placed, long article in The Hindu, ‘HIV infection is more among non-literate pregnant
women,’ clearly blames this group for being carriers of the virus. Moreover, the headline
is misleading as the article deals with the fact that the low literacy levels of
many of those affected needs to be addressed by designing different approaches to
HIV/AIDS prevention. The spin-off effect of such a headline is that it could lead to
stigma and discrimination of the “non-literate pregnant woman”.
A report in The New Indian Express states: “Of the 1,300 persons registered with
ARV therapy centres in the state, the majority are men, mostly those who had been
working in other states. Many belong to the middle class and lower middle class.”
This again could convey the impression that the virus is present only among a certain
segment of society and those who are migrants. The reality however is that the
epidemic can be found across all classes of people. In yet another case, the headline
reads, ‘Men continue to be in high risk group.’ The article on drought and
HIV/AIDS in Vijay Times points to families facing poverty but has an extremely negative
and judgemental statement saying women are resorting “to prostitution as an
easier way of making money rather than working in a legitimate manner.”
In the Kannada press, a small report in Suryodaya on the incidence of HIV/AIDS among
BSF soldiers appeared on the front page. It stated that 98 of the two lakh soldiers are
affected by the virus. The infections are played up in a manner that indirectly stigmatises
the entire force. There is no other qualifying statement or balancing opinion. Another
news item in Suryodaya that pointed to a particular segment of people as carriers of the
virus related to the Mumbai police. Carried prominently in the central section of the
newspaper, it was based on the growing number of infections in the Mumbai police and
that the affected men are allowed to avail of medicines from police hospitals.
A small report in Vijaya Karnataka reveals the research findings that Indians and