The latest campaign laugned by the VAC is the 'Get PEP' campaign. PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) is a 28-day course of anti-HIV drugs which, if accessed within 72 hours of exposure to HIV, prevents the virus from permanently establishing itself in the body, in the majority of cases. These are the same drugs taken by many people living with HIV, to minimise the virus’s ability to replicate itself in the body.

PEP may be an option following sex without a condom with a person who may have HIV, following sharing a needle with someone who may have HIV, or following a condom breaking or slipping off during sex with a person who may have HIV.

The campaign is aimed at increasing awareness of the existence of PEP, where to access it (The Alfred Hospital) , and a free-call hot-line (1800 889 887).

It is supported by a web-site (www.getpep.info), t-shirts, provocative post-cards and magnets featuring a picture of a naked arse, cards with a picture of a used syringe, stickers, fold-out information pamphlets, and an eye-catching billboard that will change locations around central Melbourne.

Please click on the link below, which will take you to the 'Get PEP' web-site.

Get PEP

For more information, please call the VAC/GMHC on 03 9865 6700 (or free-call 1800 134 840 for country callers). Or to e-mail, please click here.

This campaign was launched in December 2004 to run during the Melbourne 'Midsumma' GLBTI festival, and throughout 2005. It promotes staying HIV negative as something valuable in it's own right, something worth aspiring to' and making an effort to maintain. 'Staying Negative' is the first campaign in Australia to address HIV negative men directly, where previous campaigns targeted prevention messages at HIV+ and HIV- men 'in the same breath'.

There is no single, directive message, rather it invites it's audience to consider their own strategies and motivation for remaining negative. Campaign out-puts refer audience members to a web-site that offers food-for-thought, with narratives from ordinary gay men. The stories describe how they learnt about sex, relationships, break-ups, HIV, and STI's, and strategies for staying negative, including condom use, negotiated safety, and post exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

Staying Negative is a campaign covering a range of different media. It includes the gay press ('MCV' and 'B.News') and lifestyle magazines ('Blue'), the internet (www.stayingnegative.net.au), radio ('JOY Melbourne'), printed products including postcards (distributed across Victoria), safe-packs, a presence at 'Midsumma', a pocket-size printed resources (in fold-out 'Z-card' format), and transport banners posted at public railway stations and bus stops.

The invitation to think about what it takes to stay negative is well-supported, with extension materials including the website, and well-integrated into the broader health promotion program of the VAC/GMHC. The quiet miracle of the campaign is the generosity and courage of the ordinary men who have contributed their stories, with considerable candour, giving the campaign the concrete relevance of lived experience.

You can help!

When you visit the web-site, please take a moment to send us feed-back about the campaign. You can do this easily by clicking the 'Your Thoughts' link.

We are also looking for men willing to be interviewed, to add their stories to the campaign web-site. Interviews will ask in-depth questions about your sex-life, and how you learnt to protect yourself and others, and you will be able to review and edit both the transcript and final draft of the story before it is published. Stories are featured on the web-ite for three months with your first name and photograph, before the story is put into an archive on-line.

If you would be willing to help, we'd love to hear from you!

Please click on the link below, which will take you to the 'Staying Negative' web-site.

Staying Negative

For more information, please call the VAC/GMHC on 03 9865 6700 (or free-call 1800 134 840 for country callers). Or to e-mail, please click here.

'Cruising' is a campaign developed and designed for gay and homosexually active men who use beats, SOPV's (sex on premises venues), and on-line chat sites, for sexual and social purposes. The resources of this campaign aim to develop the skills, knowledge, and capacity of men who use these environments already, and for those who are planning to cruise for sex. The resources include a poster, a printed booklet, a fold-out 'Know Your Rights Card' that fits into a wallet or a glove-box, stickers, and a web-site that is an extension of the main VAC web-site,(www.www.vicaids.asn.au/outreach/cruising)

Please click on the link below, which will take you to the 'Cruising' web-site.

Cruising

For more information, please call the VAC/GMHC on 03 9865 6700 (or free-call 1800 134 840 for country callers). Or to e-mail, please click here.