"Deadly Myths?" selected for screening at the XV International AIDS Conference

?“Deadly Myths?" is the fifth documentary produced by Jill Kruger (Deputy Director - Social and Behavioural Sciences, HIVAN) - a hard-hitting, 50-minute documentary which takes a harsh and unblinking look at the deadly myths which surround the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The documentary highlights what people at ground level are doing to cope with an epidemic that is affecting their daily lives.

The film gives a face to HIV/AIDS, as filmmakers join community home based carers from Bergville, a rural area in KwaZulu Natal highly affected by HIV/AIDS, doing their daily activities in nursing and caring for those dying of HIV related illnesses. Some of these women are also HIV positive themselves, because they had unprotected sex with their now-deceased husbands who had kept their HIV status a secret. Some did not want to test for HIV and still expected their wives to fulfill their duty as women and to serve and respect their husbands.

A young Indian mother and her children are all HIV positive. She talks about how her community has rejected her. Ishmail, a young, black HIV positive gay man, talks about his experiences, how his uncle continuously raped him over the years, how his family betrayed him by being paid not to report the crime, how he realised he was HIV positive when his late grandmother (the only adult who never betrayed him) came to him in a dream and told him to test because he had a deadly virus. The docu-drama highlights how he is caught between two worlds, between western and traditional medicine and how he deals with this.

The film has three sections. The first presents very direct statements from a wide range of people, about HIV/AIDS myths. The myths are clustered into broadly similar genres and include myths about transmission and cure. In the second section, myths are woven through people's life stories rather than stated directly. Men, women and school pupils reflect on the conflict that develops around myths about transmission and cure and the rejection and denial that is associated with such mythologising. The sexual abuse of women, girls and boys, and the way in which the virus is spread through this means, is presented starkly. Finally, an archetypal sangoma -- who is proving to be a powerful figure in commercial and government mass prevention campaigns in South Africa -- offers responses to quandaries in South Africa: What do we tackle? Which way do we go? Having been seen briefly in the opening, he weaves through, and closes the film.

There are innumerable myths around condoms. Two widespread ones, for instance, are that they carry the virus in the lubricant and that they are infested with worms. The genocide myths that are associated with these condom beliefs, however, reflect a deep-rooted class and race oppression in South African society.

The 'virgin cure' is popularly reported, but it is not as widely known, perhaps, that sex with older women is also believed to cleanse one of HIV/AIDS. It has been said that this belief emanates from the perception that when women reach menopause, they become ?“clean?” again, but - so far as is known - this notion has not yet been researched. It would be inaccurate to imagine that every case of rape of old women or of virgins or babies is due to this myth, even in communities where it is widely known. People do not necessarily act out their beliefs and fantasies.

The film does not merely list myths. It tries to place them in context so that viewers will think through the associations and understand the effects of their actions. It shows that there are many communities where people are afraid of transmission of the virus through indirect contact or association. People do not want to be in the same vicinity as those who are HIV-infected; they do not even want their children to accept sweets from HIV-infected persons.

The purpose of the film is not only to debunk myths by showing how widespread, varied and inaccurate beliefs around HIV/AIDS are, but also to convey the understanding that they are not idiosyncratic beliefs of individuals, but ones which derive from, and are bolstered by, cultural and religious norms.

The film is not only intended for self-reflection. It is meant to stimulate discussion and debate so that people will share their understandings, lessening stigma and discrimination. This, in turn, should lead communities to become more accepting of people who are HIV positive, community members to mobilise more to stem the tide of HIV and neighbourhoods to develop, in the long term, into health-enabling communities.

New myths relating to the epidemic are emerging constantly. Not only do they play a large part in perpetuating the spread of HIV, but they also encourage stigmatisation, prejudice and sometimes, sexual violence. There is a widespread perception that popularly held myths about HIV/AIDS are the primary barrier to education and prevention campaigns.

Merely debunking myths is likely to do little to change risk behaviour, however. Myths are often stronger than scientific knowledge in driving people's behaviour because they enable people to distance themselves from situations of crisis, which are difficult to accept or cope with in practical ways. Myths seem to explain unusual phenomena and to make sense of contradictions or paradoxes in the world. When people see how myths are used by others and by themselves, they are able to be more proactive in their discussions and interactions.

This documentary will be screened in the 25th International Film Festival in Durban in June 2004. For screening details: http://www.cca.ukzn.ac.za/Durban_International_Film_Festival.htm. The film will also be screened at the XV International AIDS Conference, to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 14 July 2004. Jill Kruger, alongwith two members of HIVAN's research team, Hema Ramduth and Anam Nyembezi will be on hand to field questions after the screening.