Fighting HIV/AIDS prejudice

China Youth Network member Zhang Yinxian was chosen to present an exhibition and drama on discrimination and the stigma of HIV/AIDS in China at the 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna last month.

The six-day conference, held from the 18-23 July, which attracted an estimated 19,300 participants from 197 countries, was a platform for non-government organizations, international bodies, policymakers and persons living with HIV to exchange their views on the current situation of HIV prevention and treatment, new research in the field and recent scientific developments.

Zhang played the role of a roommate of a girl who had discovered she was infected with HIV, after having unprotected sex with her boyfriend. Zhang cursed her roommate's boyfriend, calling him a "silly beast" and pleaded with the girl's father to love and support his daughter.