“Live and Let Live”: An Analysis of HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination in International Campaign Posters

Abstract

As a corollary to The Declaration of Commitment adopted by the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS in June 2001, UNAIDS developed a World AIDS Campaign that sought to eradicate HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. The campaign incorporated several educational strategies, including a poster campaign that advocated the just and equal treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS. In an effort to develop an understanding of these educational efforts, this study deconstructs the 2002-2003 World AIDS Campaign posters. While the overall results suggest that the campaign has been successful in redefining images of HIV/AIDS, they also show that certain aspects of these posters may actually serve to reinforce stigma and discrimination. Using a visual studies approach to textual analysis, this study explores the underlying ideological and cultural assumptions that exist within the posters and provides a method for evaluating such materials.