How Do You Know What You Know? - Phase 2 (2001)

SF AIDS Foundation Unveils Second Phase of 'Assumptions' Prevention Campaign

Recent Data Indicate Near Doubling of New Infections in San Francisco

San Francisco, February 7, 2001 -- In the light of studies showing a near doubling of the HIV infection rate in the city, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation unveiled the second phase of a multi-year HIV prevention initiative focused on the assumptions many gay men make about the HIV status of their sexual partners and their subsequent decision not to use condoms. The campaign targets San Francisco's gay male community, which continues to be the community at highest risk for HIV infection in the city.

"Studies tracking new infections in San Francisco indicate that the men most likely to get or pass on HIV engage in unprotected sex upon making the assumption that they and their sex partners share the same HIV status," said Brian Byrnes, SFAF's Director of Prevention Services. "This campaign aims to challenge those assumptions, to get men thinking about their sexual decision making and question how they know what they assume they know."

Using "How do you know what you know?" as its theme, the campaign is based on studies conducted by the AIDS Foundation, UCSF's Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These studies indicate that many gay men who engage in unprotected anal intercourse do so based on the assumption that their sex partner shares their own HIV status and consequently, there is little risk of a new infection occurring. The data, however, indicate these individuals and their partners may be at high risk for HIV infection.

The assumptions campaign comprises billboards, bus shelters, underground Muni, magazine and bathroom advertisements. The campaign also promotes the SFAF Gay Life Program's individual and couples counseling, small-group workshops and community events, which provide men with opportunities to discuss the complexities of sexual decision making twenty years into the epidemic. The campaign can be viewed on the Gay Life web site at: www.gaylife.org

This phase of the assumptions campaign will run from February through July 2001. The first phase of the campaign ran from fall 1999 through spring 2000.