Group calls for safer sex messages in film and TV programming

In an effort to stem the rising tide of HIV infections in American youth, a group of business, media, and HIV prevention experts are joining forces on a new HIV prevention approach to convince young people to protect themselves against HIV. At a recent planning meeting, 45 leaders from public health and private industry agreed to call upon the nation's marketing power to create compelling safer sex messages that deal with today's reality of youth and sexuality.

"New hope in AIDS treatments has overshadowed the fact that the virus continues to spread, and AIDS is increasingly an epidemic of teenagers and young adults in America," said Dr. Thomas Coates, director of the AIDS Research Institute and Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) at the University of California, San Francisco. "All youth, particularly young people of color and young gay males, need prevention messages that speak directly to their lives, values, and sense of self-worth."

Compelling statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that: one-half of all HIV infections in the United States are in people under 25; one-quarter of new infections are in people under the age of 22; every hour, two Americans under the age of 25 become infected with HIV; and every minute, 50 young Americans contract a sexually transmitted disease.

"We must deal with the sexual realities of today's young people or risk losing them," said Richard Marlink, MD, executive director of the Harvard AIDS Institute. "We must incorporate into our public health efforts the marketing strategies that have been effective with youth."

To confront these statistics and create new prevention strategies, the Harvard AIDS Institute and CAPS hosted "Marketing HIV Prevention," a retreat that brought together writers and producers of prime time television shows such as Beverly Hills 90210 and ER; marketing executives from entertainment and retail industries, such as MTV and Levi Strauss; youth-focused marketing and advertising experts; leaders from youth advocacy organizations; HIV prevention experts from academia and the CDC; and young people themselves.

The participants called for joint private and public sector initiatives to create and implement effective strategies for promoting sexual safety among youth. These include:

* Calling upon cable and network television executives to accept condom advertising;

* Incorporating responsible sexual health messages -- including condom use and HIV testing -- into film, radio and television programming; and

* Fostering public and private partnerships to share resources and expertise to fight the HIV epidemic among youth.

"We need to urge the key influencers of pop culture to deliver messages that safer sex is cool," said Jessica Klein, executive producer of Beverly Hills 90210. "All of us in Hollywood need to continually examine how we can take a proactive approach to preventing new HIV infections."

"Messages that corporate America have used so well to get brands into people's heads can be used to help save young lives," said Neal Baer, MD, co-producer of ER.

Mario Cooper, a member of the Harvard AIDS Institute International Advisory Council and the driving force behind the planning meeting, said, "This program is an example of how the

public and private sectors can combine knowledge and resources to bring about change in the way we address HIV prevention among the young, particularly those in disproportionately affected communities, where entertainment and consumer marketing are powerful communications tools."

"Our country's approach to sex education closely resembles those of highly restrictive societies . . . we'll glorify violence and sex on television, but we won't portray safe, responsible sex," said Robert Hanson, vice president of marketing for Levi Strauss. "Decision-makers in government, education, the media, and entertainment must recognize that although we live in a free and democratic society, our unwillingness to educate our youth about safe, responsible sex is leading to tragic and unnecessary deaths."

Two initiatives undertaken in conjunction with the retreat -- a report by CAPS entitled, "Dangerous Inhibitions: How America Is Letting AIDS Become an Epidemic of the Young," and qualitative research on young people's attitudes toward safe sex, conducted by Michaels Opinion Research Inc. -- challenge the traditional public health approaches to HIV prevention among youth.

"Our research indicates that because of low self-value, sexually active young people are not practicing safe sex," said Maureen Michaels, president of Michaels Opinion Research. "We need to get them to understand that it's perfectly fine to say no to risky sex and that their lives are worth protecting."

The Center for AIDS Prevention Studies is an internationally renowned HIV-prevention research organization. The Harvard AIDS Institute is an international organization that conducts and catalyzes research to end the worldwide AIDS epidemic. SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare, makers of the OraSure HIV test, supported the meeting with an unrestricted grant.