A campaign to "de-stigmatise" women with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was launched in Auckland yesterday.
The campaign is using five women with HIV to put a public face on the disease, in a bid to overcome ignorance and complacency.
Positive Woman, an HIV and Aids support groupbased in Auckland, said that in the past five years there had been a steady increase in the number of people, particularly women, with HIV.
National co-ordinator, Jane Bruning, said the campaign wanted all New Zealandersto question their assumptions about thoseliving with HIV.
She said many people believed HIV would not touch them and the risk was confined to specific sectors of the community.
"We are saying the risk is a lot closer to home, our faces and our stories are not so different to many New Zealand women."
She said because of the stigma of living with HIV, many women kept their HIV status secret, fearing negative reaction and discrimination. "The truth is that those living with HIV in New Zealand are everyday people leading everyday lives.
"No matter how a person contracts HIV, they shouldn't have to deal with the added burden of stigmatisation on top of chronic health problems."
The campaign will feature advertising on buses, a website and in magazines.
