Sex Taboos Hamper Safety Message for Gay Chinese
…In China, homosexuality, while no longer officially considered a mental disorder, is still an off limits subject for many. That taboo often extends to discussions about AIDS and condom use for men who have sex with men… "Sex is taboo, and condoms have mainly been used as part of family planning rather than for safe sex," said Lee Folland, a graduate student doing research at Cambridge University on the social marketing of condoms in China. In a Beijing survey, only 15 percent of 482 men who had sex with men understood that they were at risk of contracting HIV, according to a 2005 report by the United Nations' UNAIDS. [More coverage.]
San Francisco Gay Clubs to ‘Bar AIDS’
Thirteen bars in seven San Francisco neighborhoods will donate a portion of their sales on Thursday, Aug. 24, to support the work of the STOP AIDS Project… STOP AIDS and several bars and clubs have worked together on social marketing campaigns, fundraisers, and safe-sex workshops as early as 1984 and as recently as last June to mark 25 years of HIV/AIDS.
Consumers Demanding Firms Support Charities
In previous years, companies were eyed with skepticism when they tried to use ties with charities to advertise their goods. For some reason, consumers disliked the fact that for-profit firms were making donations to sell more of their products. It seemed that such firms should be making donations, but not in a high-profile way, and not linked to product sales.
Today, many firms are actually creating links with charities in order to give their brands more substance. McDonald’s started it years ago with Ronald McDonald house. Tim Hortons expanded this notion, not just with their camps for underprivileged children, but through very heavy sponsorship of children’s sports teams, from hockey to soccer… While there is certainly more money going toward a variety of philanthropic endeavours, firms are still very concerned about the marketing return from social marketing.
Council to Review Report on Meth
A long-awaited report on what steps the city should take to combat the devastating effects of methamphetamine will be presented to the [Long Beach, CA] City Council Tuesday night…
Also scheduled for Tuesday's council meeting is a presentation on a much beefier report prepared by a group of local health care and research organizations… The health organizations advocate a social marketing campaign centered on the drug and more support groups for parents, students and meth users.
Condoms Critical in Reducing HIV Prevalence in Zimbabwe
Although measuring condom use is difficult, many studies in Zimbabwe show that the condom is the prevention method of choice among single, sexually active men. They appear to be relying on condoms as the prevention method of choice for non-marital relationships. Condoms also serve a dual purpose—both as a contraceptive and as a prophylactic.
Although a causal relationship linking condom use to the HIV decline is hard to trace, trend data show that as condom distribution has expanded dramatically -- from just over 20 million in 1994 to over 80 million in 2004 — the HIV infection rate has slowed and even dipped among certain groups.
The female condom has also been enormously successful since women’s advocacy groups lobbied for its introduction in 1997. The number of female condoms publicly distributed and socially marketed increased from about 200,000 in 2000 to a peak of 1.4 million in 2002—before declining to just under 1.2 million in 2005. Today, the female condom is widely available in Zimbabwe’s urban areas, and the Government is now seeking to meet the needs of women living in more remote, rural regions.
technorati tags: Health_Communications, Health_Education, HIV/AIDS, Methamphetamine, Social_Marketing, Social_Responsibility
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