Charlie Sheen: Commentary from Australian HIV advocates

On 17 November the news broke that actor Charlie Sheen was about to do an interview in which he would disclose that he had HIV. 

On 18 November this rumour was confirmed, with Sheen announcing that he had been living with HIV since 2011, had an undetectable viral load, and had been blackmailed to the tune of millions of dollars by people to whom he’d disclosed.

Social and online media exploded, and concern about the potentially stigmatising impact on people with HIV was uppermost in the minds of HIV advocates around the world. Organisations such as AFAO and our members rapidly put out media statements or circulated information to encourage the media to report sensitively.

On the positive side, the media circus provided an opportunity to raise awareness about HIV and publicise accurate information to counter the decades-old myths that still circulate.

This blog post links to Australian community media and HIV sector responses to Charlie Sheen’s disclosure.

If you have links to other useful Australian stories commenting on Charlie Sheen, please post them in the comments.

The M-FORCE : Media, HIV and Young people

'We would like to invest in young people by increasing their capacity, so the approach should be situated  in their dynamism. 

'Developing skills in interpreting and using data, content development, media and advocacy in a fun and participatory ways is needed' - Setia Perdana, Media coordinator of GWL-INA.

On 14 -15 December 2013, 15 young gay, waria (transgender) and other MSM gathered in Jakarta for a two day workshop called 'M-FORCE, the Media for Change'.

The purpose of this workshop was to develop capacity and skills on media, HIV and human rights for the gay, waria and other MSM community in Jakarta.

Setia Perdana reports on the workshop for AFAO.