World Aids Day

Last Monday was #WorldAidsDay, a date first held in 1988 “for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died” (World Aids Day.org, 2014). Governments and NGOs, celebrities and ordinary people around the world remembered the day with posts on social media and messages on the internet. Although there are some similarities, it is interesting to notice how differently people address the same issue by framing their messages in diverse ways.

The Executive Director of UNAIDS delivered his message in the World Aids Day using the frame  a world free of Aids is possible. The same frame was used by President Obama. Since both videos were produced to represent political institutions, a certain level of accountability in their content is expected. In this sense, it is possible to infer that the need to justify their actions to the public may explain the use of the same frame.

In common, the two videos emphasizes that – although there is much that still have to be done – we are on the right track, since there is a hope that the world is going to be free of Aids in a near future. While the Executive Director of UNAIDS is assertive and affirms that “together we can end Aids epidemic by 2030”, the President Obama is more cautious and says “lets recommit ourselves to achieving an Aids free generation in our life times”.

However, the messages on the internet on 1 December was not only about optimism. Another frame used was the importance of fight against stigma, which emphasizes that prejudice may keep HIV patients away from treatment. This frame is used in campaigns such as the one promoted by Jared Leto and in posts like this one of Open Society Foundations. 

Through this frame, Aids is seen not only as a health issue but as a social issue as well. According to those campaigners, due the stigma, some HIV’s patients loose their jobs and need to stop their treatment, while other people even initiate their medical care because they are afraid to share their secret. This reality also motivated Prince Harry to launch a campaign that was quite commented in the media in the UK.  

A third frame that this blog have identified is awareness save lives. Through this approach, the Brazilian Ministry of Health, for example, is encouraging people to get tests in order to find out if they have the disease and, as consequence, start the treatment as soon as possible. In addition, the awareness of the disease is a way to stop the contamination, since people may be more careful and curb the spread of virus.

I protect myself, I have myself tested, I move on. #goingtotest

Source: http://ow.ly/i/7M8RQ

The multiplicity of frames in 2014 World Aids Day, rather than causes confusion, may complement each other. The most important thing is the social responsibility that they involve. Campaigners need to be careful when choosing frames, since they “enable individuals to locate, perceive, identify and label occurrences within their life space and the world at large” (Goffman cited in David et all, 1986). Frames as Aids kills used in an Australian campaign of 1987, for example, just trigger homophobic attitudes and fear. "What we found at the time was a lot of people with very low risk went and got tested while high-risk people were too scared after the ad."(Cairns Sexual Health Service director in Herald Sun, 2012)

Therefore, one same issue may be framed in many different ways. In this post, it was identified and analysed only a few of the many possibilities in framing Aids. Despite its diversity, it is interesting to notice that in the 2014 World Aids Day, Aids is not being considered as something scary (a person can live with Aids. What this person need is treatment and respect). The disease is being framed, above of all, as something that you need to be aware.

 

References:

Russel, D. (2012) in Herald Sun. Available at <http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/notorious-1987-aids-ad-returns-in-gentler-reincarnation/story-fndo45r1-1226457971283?nk=e0a5bcd1bb7d3800b022239e0a6f0a30> Accessed at 4/12/14.

Snow, D. A., Rochford, E. B., Worden, S. K., & Benford, R. D. (1986). Frame Alignment Processes, Micromobilization, and Movement Participation. American Sociological Review, 51(4), 464–481. 

World Aids Day.org (2014) Available at <http://www.worldaidsday.org/about-world-aids-day.php> Accessed at 4/12/14