HIV stigma in UK press reporting of a case of intentional HIV transmission

Bibliographic Data

ID22988166
AuthorsR Jaspal (0000-0002-8463-9519, Nottingham Trent University, corresponding author), Brigitte Nerlich (0000-0001-6617-7827, University of Nottingham)
Year2022
Volume26
Issue3
Pages319-337
Publication date2022-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health Illness and Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1363-4593 • E-ISSN: 1461-7196
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1363459320949901
PMID32772595
OpenAlexW3048005617
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited22

The UK has set itself the ambitious target of zero new HIV transmissions by 2030. HIV stigma is a significant barrier to achieving this target. Media reporting plays an important role in shaping social representations of HIV and of stigma. Between 2016 and 2018, the media in the UK reported on the Daryll Rowe case – the first criminal prosecution for intentional transmission of HIV in the UK. This article examines the way that UK newspapers reported this case, which may have exacerbated HIV stigma. Using Nexis, 178 UK newspaper articles were extracted and subjected to qualitative thematic analysis through a social constructionist lens. Informed by social representations theory, the analysis yielded three discursive themes: (1) Representing the perpetrator through HIV-focussed metaphors; (2) Constructing volitional ambiguity; and (3) Anchoring the lived experience of HIV to misery and death. UK newspapers constructed an ‘evil vs victimhood’ dichotomy in relation to Rowe and the men infected with HIV, respectively. This article argues that news coverage of the Rowe story constructs HIV in ways that are inconsistent with public health messaging. Reporting failed to note innovations in HIV treatment and prevention but instead disseminated stigmatising social representations of HIV. This is important because stigma impedes effective HIV prevention, engagement with HIV care and ultimately our ability to achieve the zero-infections target.

Criminology · Family medicine · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) · Media studies · Newspaper · Psychiatry · Qualitative research · ROWE · Social science · Sociology · Stigma (botany) · Thematic analysis · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology

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