'Manto is making the media a scapegoat'
HIV/Aids-prevention organisations have voiced their support of the media after Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said the industry would be to blame if the government's HIV-prevention campaign failed.
She was referring to reporting of the Jacob Zuma rape trial, saying the media had "sensationalised" Zuma's statements on HIV-Aids without putting across the government's policy.
"You are making my task difficult. You are misleading the people, and it hurts," said Tshabalala-Msimang.
However, loveLife, the Gender Aids Forum and Engender said the media had highlighted the shortcomings in the government's response and had re-ignited public debate on the issue.
The CEO of loveLife, Dr David Harrison, said the media's posters and headlines had reinforced the inaccurate statements made by Zuma in court.
However, the media had also assisted HIV prevention greatly by focusing on problem areas encountered by those in the field of prevention.
"The type of myths and inaccuracies expressed in court are typical of the dilemmas we face in South Africa," said Harrison.
Last week he called for "damage control" after Zuma's statements.
In his testimony, Zuma said he had showered to minimise the risk of contracting HIV/Aids after having unprotected sex with the HIV-positive woman who has accused him of rape.
Vicci Tallis from the Durban-based Gender Aids Forum said it was unfair to blame the media if the government's campaign failed. She said although NGOs and Aids activists had responded to Zuma's statements, the government had done nothing to counter them.
"They need to put out their message more strongly," said Tallis. She said the government was "scapegoating the media".
Bernedette Muthien from the advocacy group Engender said that although the media tended to sensationalise, it also had the powerful ability to educate.
"Alongside JZ's ridiculous shower prevention for infection, the media should add accessible, responsible, educational HIV infection prevention tools," said Muthien.
Earlier this week the media also came under fire from Umafrika editor Cyril Madlala who said the media had failed the public in its coverage of the trial and were in contempt of court.
l Zuma will spend his 64th birthday today watching his lawyers defend him on the charge of rape in the Johannesburg High Court.
He revealed his birth date when sworn in for his testimony last week. At the time, Judge Willem van der Merwe pointed out Zuma's probable birthday venue. He was born in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal in 1942.
Zuma is accused of raping a 31-year-old HIV-positive family friend at his home in Johannesburg on November 2 last year. He claims the sex was consensual.
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