9 December 2011

http://www.hivthebigpicture.org.au/

A new education campaign titled, The Big Picture, aims to put gay men in the picture about the state of the HIV epidemic in NSW in 2011. 

The aim is to provide research and notification statistics in a user friendly format that offers the most up to date information about where things are at with HIV.

The campaign, developed by ACON and the Metropolitan Gay Men’s HIV Prevention Interagency, is online on gay community websites and social media sites which link to a campaign website (www.hivthebigpicture.org.au) offering a series of questions and answers and the opportunity to explore each topic further for more in-depth explanation. The Q&A also take on some common misconceptions such as; ‘HIV is only an issue for older guys’ or, ‘HIV isn’t that much of an issue these days.’  

The campaign also features a lift out tabloid feature in gay print media and a booklet.

Big Picture updates are also aimed at getting men talking about HIV from an informed perspective of the here and now - and where to from here.

ACON's Director of Community Health, Geoff Honnor, described the campaign as a report to gay men on the current HIV moment in NSW and how we’re doing, as a community of gay men, in our journey through it. “Responses to some of the more commonly asked questions about HIV are also included and we hope they’ll stimulate a bit of discussion and lots more questions, which we’ll be happy to field. “

“The epidemic is ever evolving so it’s important to keep guys in the picture. As a community, our level of HIV-related knowledge is pretty good, though as always, it varies between individuals and there’s still a few surprisingly common misconceptions kicking around.

‘But overall, thirty years into it, the continuing resilience of gay guys – poz and neg - in this state in responding to HIV is pretty impressive. In fact, the comparative success attributed to the NSW HIV response owes a lot to that resilience and it could do with more acknowledgement.

‘So, in offering information updates, Big Picture also acknowledges the importance of the informed choices that gay men make about maximising pleasure and minimising risk - choices that ultimately deliver better outcomes for all of us.

To get involved or discuss The Big Picture campaign please follow ACONHealth on Twitter or Facebook.

Twitter Hash Tag: #hivnsw

More Info:  http://www.hivthebigpicture.org.au/