Media urged to employ 'journalism of empathy'

Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The media can help people living with HIV/AIDS to lead a stigma- free, productive life by applying "journalism of empathy", activists say.

Kartono Mohamad and Maria Hartiningsih said on Tuesday that journalism of empathy would educate the public not to stigmatize people with HIV/AIDS because it would make the news full of insights about the problems that people face.

"Journalism of empathy requires journalists to write news articles that are individualized and personalized so that the public could learn a lesson from it," said Maria, who is also a senior journalist.

"Stigmatizing and discrimination create a situation where people with high risk behavior for the virus, are reluctant to take an HIV test. So, they also impede early prevention and detection efforts," said Kartono, who is also a general practitioner.

According to government statistics, there are currently some 4,000 people with HIV/AIDS in the country, but the World Health Organization estimated the figure at between 80,000 and 120,000.

The public often stigmatizes HIV/AIDS as a cursed disease from God as a consequence of deviant behavior.

Maria reminded journalists that stigmatization had made identification of victims an issue of ethics and sensitivity in the reporting of news on HIV/AIDS.

"Journalists do not enlighten the public at all if they only exploit the personal life of HIV positive people because it will lead to public panic and strengthen the negative stereotypes about people with HIV/AIDS," she said.

Maria said that journalism of empathy offered news that could affect the public in such a way as to give hope and psychological support to people with HIV/AIDS to do useful activities in their lives.

"Empathy and compassion in the news will make the public aware that anything can happen to them, so they should feel what others feel, and put themselves in somebody else's shoes," she said.

Kartono said that stigma and discrimination have hampered people with HIV/AIDS to prevent opportunistic infections because they were afraid to access health services, or to get support and proportional health care.

He hoped that objective and humane news reports could change the public stigma on HIV/AIDS and draw political support from government to handle the problem through supportive rulings.