Ideas received that are still circulating. A new survey carried out by Ifop and published this Wednesday, November 29, highlights the ignorance and prejudices of young people between 15 and 24 years old about HIV, the virus responsible for AIDS.
79% of the people surveyed say they are well informed about HIV, the AIDS virus, its modes of transmission, its treatments and its prevention. In detail, 55% say they are fairly well informed and 24% even say they are very well informed about HIV. On the contrary, 21% responded that they were poorly informed (18% quite poorly informed and 3% very poorly informed).
Although this is, according to the general director of Sidaction Florence Thune, the “highest level of declarative information” obtained since the health crisis, “we see that a lot of false information is still circulating. The ideas received about people living with HIV have changed.” It has never been so present in the minds of young people between 15 and 24 years old.
One in four young people believe they can contract HIV in public bathrooms
76% of young people surveyed believe that they can contract HIV by having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive person who is under treatment.
“Today, HIV-positive people who receive effective treatment no longer transmit the virus,” explains Florence Thune.
An important reminder, as more than a quarter of young people think that an HIV-positive person in treatment could pose a danger to others.
Furthermore, almost one in three young people (30%) believe that the AIDS virus can be transmitted by kissing an HIV-positive person. One in four young French people (25%) even think that they can contract HIV by coming into contact with the sweat of an HIV-positive person, drinking from their glass or simply sitting in a public toilet. A proportion that has increased since the last survey carried out in February 2023.
Call to “intensify HIV awareness and prevention”
Other data that this survey tells us: 16% of the young people surveyed even believe that the AIDS virus can be transmitted by simply shaking the hand of an HIV-positive person.
Therefore, Florence Thune considers it “urgent”, in view of this new survey, “to react to these stigmas and intensify HIV awareness and prevention.”
The survey was carried out among 1,003 people, representative of the population between 15 and 24 years old. The representativeness of the sample was ensured using the quota method (sex, age, occupation of the head of household, level of education) after stratification by region and urban area category. The interviews were conducted using a self-administered online questionnaire from October 19 to 26, 2023.
Source: BFM TV
