New media guidelines for HIV/AIDS reporting

[Guest guest]

New guidelines for HIV/AIDS reporting

Posted: Mon, Nov 17 2008. 12:04 AM IST

Alarming reports and images of the sick and dying are to be avoided and showing

skulls, snakes and crossbones as accompanying graphics is

banned

Taru Bahl

New Delhi: The Press Council of India has issued a new set of media

guidelines for reporting within India on people suffering from HIV

(human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency

syndrome), revising a set of guidelines compiled in 1993.

The guidelines, released on Sunday, are likely to be controversial as

they impose a whole host of content behaviours, both in print and

television, including words that can't be used, as well as impose

restrictions, such as the need for a signed prior-consent form on

reporting about HIV-positive people.

The council is an autonomous statutory body set up with the objective of

preserving freedom of the press as well as to keep a check on the news gathering

and reporting practices of newspapers and agencies in India.

Because its decisions cannot be challenged in any court of law, the

council has power even if it is widely seen as not being very effective in

either policing or altering journalistic practices in India.

Also See: The Full Guidelines (PDF)

The guidelines, devised in association with UNAIDS, the United Nations

Programme on HIV and AIDS, came out on 16 November and lay down certain dos and

don'ts, potentially giving clarity on diverse issues such as how to photograph

or interview a person infected with HIV or AIDS. The guidelines also redefined

certain terminologies in reporting on the subject.

For starters, the council has mandated that HIV and AIDS are not

interchangeable.

" Being a syndrome or a collection of symptoms, AIDS cannot itself be

transmitted, nor is there an AIDS virus or AIDS carrier, " say the

guidelines. They maintain that terms such as " prostitutes " and " gays "

used while referring to high risk groups should be replaced with " sex

workers " and " men having sex with men " , respectively.

The guidelines maintain that HIV cannot be termed a " scourge " and

expressions such as " full-blown AIDS " , which are often used to denote

the progression of the infection, are misleading and meaningless

because there are no degrees of AIDS, as a person either has or does

not have AIDS.Before writing a story on any HIV-positive person, scribes will

have to get a prior-consent form signed

The new guidelines also mandate that before writing the story on any

HIV-positive person, journalists will have obtain a consent form duly

signed by the person.

As for images—in print or on television—the guidelines say the identity of the

individual shouldn't be disclosed. It has recommended that television cameras

should be kept behind the person so that only a silhouette can be seen. Ideally,

the camera should focus on the person's feet, hands or back of head and not the

face, the council says.

The guidelines prohibit the use of a hidden camera while shooting a

person with HIV or AIDS. It also says that the address of the person and the

location of the interview shouldn't be disclosed, recommending that the images

should preferably be organized at a neutral place.

The guidelines also say that " deeply " personal and accusatory questions are to

be avoided. In case of infected persons, reporters are to steer clear of

moralizing or even dwelling needlessly on how the person was infected. Alarming

reports and images of the sick and dying are to be avoided and showing skulls,

snakes and crossbones as accompanying graphics is banned.

Ranjan Dwivedi, technical adviser, UNAIDS, claimed that " intensive "

consultations were held between activist groups, representatives of HIV and AIDS

communities and select journalists from print and electronic media and that

draft recommendations were " widely circulated electronically " before the new

guidelines were finalized.

" We took six weeks to conclude the process, " said Dwivedi. " There was

consensus on ensuring responsible and accurate coverage of issues

related to HIV and AIDS. Misreporting interferes with confidentiality and comes

in the way of voluntary testing and morale of people. Guidelines must educate

about the disease. "

Mayank Agarwal, joint director, information, education and

communication, National AIDS Control Organisation, says it has

sensitized some 1,500 Indian journalists during 2005-07 to the nature of the

disease.

" We are very sensitive to the issue of HIV reporting and do not do

anything to socially or economically stigmatize patients. We routinely pixelate

faces and mask identities of HIV-positive persons, " says Sagarika Ghose, senior

editor and anchor of CNN-IBN television channel.

" Guidelines of any kind are statutory in nature and very sensitive. I

haven't seen these guidelines and can therefore not comment on them, "

says H.K. Dua, editor-in-chief, The Tribune.

http://www.livemint.com/2008/11/17000435/New-guidelines-for-HIVAIDS-re.html

A copy of the guideline is available from the following web link

http://www.livemint.com/2008/11/17000435/2BDB0818-5702-4399-A39D-65CCF3B5D34CArt\

VPF.pdf