Life> Health

Fighting HIV/AIDS prejudice

By Jenelle Whittaker (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-05 09:51

China Youth Network member Zhang Yinxian was chosen to present an exhibition and drama on discrimination and the stigma of HIV/AIDS in China at the 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna last month.

The six-day conference, held from the 18-23 July, which attracted an estimated 19,300 participants from 197 countries, was a platform for non-government organizations, international bodies, policymakers and persons living with HIV to exchange their views on the current situation of HIV prevention and treatment, new research in the field and recent scientific developments.

Zhang played the role of a roommate of a girl who had discovered she was infected with HIV, after having unprotected sex with her boyfriend. Zhang cursed her roommate's boyfriend, calling him a "silly beast" and pleaded with the girl's father to love and support his daughter.

"We should know that HIV/AIDS is not the end of the world. It also has nothing to do with morality or evil. We don't need to be afraid or frightened by it," her character said in the play encouraging people not to discriminate against people with AIDS.

After attending the conference and meeting many different people, including sex workers, people living with HIV, transvestites and activists, Zhang feels the experience has enriched and broadened her view.

"I met a boy with HIV and he wanted to be my friend, not a friend in need of special care. They (people with HIV) don't want special treatment; they just want to be normal," Zhang says.

According to data from a 2008 United Nations AIDS survey of over 6,000 respondents in six Chinese cities, 30 percent think HIV positive children should not be allowed to study at the same school with normal children.

The 19-year-old Zhang from Guizhou province in Southwest China is in her third year at Renmin University of China. She has been a member of the China Youth Network for two and half years.

The network, founded in 2004 by four university students, is a student volunteer organization and has local youth networks in 30 provinces. The aim of the organization is to advocate for adolescent sexual and reproductive health and work with the China Family Planning Association to build partnerships between young people and adults.

"People are not willing to talk about sex in public," Zhang said. "I want to raise awareness to young people that you can protect yourself. The consequence of not using condoms is dangerous; maybe you'll get infected with HIV or become pregnant."

Zhang traveled to Vienna with three other members of the China Youth Network and two alumni. The group was sponsored by the Family Planning Association and also received scholarships from the conference organizers.

China's national AIDS Ambassadors, singer Peng Liyuan and actor Pu Cunxin, hosted the "Eye on China" session, which included a presentation from the Ministry of Health's AIDS Working Committee.

At the conference, the China Youth Network held an exhibition booth, two poster presentations and a performance.

China Family Planning Association's director of International Cooperation Hong Ping says that as a consequence of a lack of sexual and reproductive health education, young people are more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. "The government and society should provide more information and education to young people about STD's, HIV and AIDS."

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