TNSACS in a soup for using woman’s pic in AIDS advertisement

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TN AIDS body in a soup for using woman's pic in ad

4 August 2009,

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (Tansacs) has found itself in

a legal tangle for having displayed the pictures of a young woman and her

infant in hundreds of billboards used in an AIDS awareness campaign.

The traumatised woman and her now-four-year-old daughter have now approached the

Madras High Court seeking Rs 1 crore compensation stating that her reputation

and that of her family had been shattered by the advertisements.

The petitioner-woman is a housewife living happily with her husband and child in

a rented premises in Triplicane. She said neither she nor her daughter suffered

from any disease, " much less AIDS as alleged and displayed by the TANSACS. " She

said: " At one point of time, I decided to end our lives, instead of living with

such shame (brought upon us) by the careless and negligent act of the TANSACS. "

The TANSACS posters, which sprang up all over Tamil Nadu as part of the

society's AIDS awareness campaign, came as a bolt from the blue, with relatives

and neighbours of the woman started suspecting her character and even avoiding

any contact with her.

Her child also suffered ostracisation, and her husband himself " slightly "

suspected her initially. " The banner with its wordings only make people think

that both of us are suffering from AIDS, and are undergoing treatment with the

TANSACS, " she said.

The blunder committed by TANSACS shattered their peaceful family, the

petitioner's counsel G Mohanakrishnan and DS Rajasekaran said in the affidavit.

Neither the TANSACS nor any other authority obtained the prior consent of the

petitioner-woman to print her photograph, along with that of her infant child,

in the hoardings, they said.

Noting that such grave incidents should not be brushed aside as a mistake, the

petitioners said people behind the incident should be treated with iron hands

and made to realise the social stigma and mental agony suffered by them.

They wanted the court to forbear the TANSACS from displaying the hoardings,

remove the already displayed ones, and tender an unconditional public apology to

the petitioner-woman and her daughter. They also sought a compensation of Rs 1

crore from the TANSACS.

Justice K Suguna has directed the TANSACS to file its reply to the affidavit by

August 5.

When contacted by The Times of India, Health secretary V K Subburaj said the

advertisement came out more than two years ago. " We received a complaint some

time back. Usually, advertisements are designed and issued through agencies.

They should have checked with the woman in the picture. I do not know if they

had done that. I have asked TANSACS to conduct an inquiry and submit a report. "

However, advocate Mohanakrishnan said advertisements could not have been

displayed without the approval of the TANSACS chief. " My client has been

pleading with them to remove the hoardings, but TANSACS kept increasing the

number of hoardings and putting them in different locations across the state, "

he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/chennai/TN-AIDS-body-in-a-soup-for-\

using-womans-pic-in-ad/articleshow/4854218.cms