HIV Media Guide

Avoid stereotyping

Good media reporting should reflect that people living with HIV are a diverse population, and come from all walks of life.

The notion that HIV only affects people belonging to ‘high-risk groups’ is wrong and potentially damaging to public health measures aiming to educate the public about high-risk practices.

Everyone has a responsibility to minimise the risk of HIV transmission. It is important to avoid making value judgments about how people acquire HIV and instead focus on reporting on its impact. Value judgements may be made accidentally or implied through the use of stigmatising language, so take a look at our 'Take care with language' pages for tips on how to avoid this.