Would You Be Insulted to Learn More About HIV?

Do you think it’s offensive to point out to Canadians that their attitudes and knowledge about HIV/AIDS might be ill-informed? To point out that they don’t think heterosexuals get HIV or that people don’t use condoms? A company that had promised to support ads for the Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life is worried this is the case, and has pulled their offer to air them. Interesting. I watched the ad, and didn’t find it insulting at all. Given the kinds of phone calls and email enquiries we get at PWN, I don’t think it’s inaccurate. Thinking that the implication that Canadians don’t know enough about HIV is what’s considered “insulting,” I decided to see what Canadians do know. Luckily, the Public Health Agency of Canada thought of it first (convenient, I know).

HIV/AIDS- An Attitudinal Survey was completed in 2003. I hope things have improved since 2003, because after looking at this report, I’m all the more convince that the ad’s justified. Here are just a couple of examples of what Canadians know and think about HIV.

When 1406 people were asked about their sexual behaviour in the past year, about half of them never practiced safer sex. (Thankfully, 27% said they always did.)  Of those surveyed, 87% said that they’d only had one partner in the past year and felt it was okay to not practice safer sex. But when I looked at the statistics on HIV testing, I found that 72% had never tested for HIV, making that one partner argument look a little questionable to this HIV educator’s eye. If people aren’t testing for HIV, are they testing for other STIs?

Often called the "silent STI" because it may not produce any symptoms, chlamydia is one of the most common STIs. Yet because it often goes symptomless, you won’t know you have it if you don’t test for it. Having it increases the likelihood of getting other STIs, because tissue inflamed with infection is vulnerable to more. (See Miriam’s blog entry for more on this).

The national HIV/AIDS Epi Update from November 2007 (most recent report available) estimates that about 27% of people infected with HIV may not be aware of their status, as they’ve yet to come forward for testing (page 18 of the report). When people are unaware of their infection and don’t practice safer sex, it doesn’t matter if the infection risk is to one person or five- the risk is there. 

September 20′s AIDS Walk for Life is a fundraiser aimed at HIV awareness and education. We still sorely need it when look at facts like two thirds of youth surveyed didn’t know there was no cure for HIV.  The ad for the AIDS Walk not only promotes a good cause, it points out that maybe Canadians could use a few tips, a little prodding to get tested, a little reminder that HIV isn’t just for “other people.”

- Janet

This was posted on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 10:30 am and is filed under Education & Resources, HIV Prevention, News . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.

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