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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, May 26, 2003 — PSI/Cambodia has officially launched its integrated, multimedia HIV/AIDS prevention campaign (loosely translated as Punishment of Love), with the regal blessings of the king of Cambodia. The campaign's centerpiece is a 12-episode television soap opera. The glitzy launch event took place at the Sofitel Cambodiana Hotel and featured speeches from high-ranking members of Cambodian government and donor agencies U.S. Agency for International Development and British Department for International Development, extracts from the campaign and a guest appearance from the entire soap opera cast. A large press conference was organized, attracting all major local media and Reuters. The event took on an even more regal significance when, only hours before the ceremony, a letter arrived from His Royal Highness Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia, giving his blessing to the campaign and praising PSI/Cambodia. "In expressing my admiration to the PSI-Cambodia for its so many achievements extremely beneficial to the health of the Cambodian people, I would like to express my deep gratitude to all its members and to present my warmest congratulations and fervent wishes for the continuous success of their so noble endeavor." The campaign's main communication objectives are to stimulate discussion of HIV/AIDS among relatives and friends, improve personal risk assessment skills, encourage care and compassion for people living with HIV/AIDS and to promote social acceptance of condom use, particularly between regular partners. The target audience is 15-49 year old people, with a focus on youth, couples and sex workers and their partners. The campaign began on May 27 and is running for 12 weeks. Each of the 35-minute episodes of the TV drama are followed by a 25-minute talk show entitled "Forum For You" to discuss some of the more socially controversial issues raised in the show. For instance, the series features a woman who insists on using condoms with her husband because she knows he gets drunk and goes to brothels on a regular basis. One talk show features the secretary general of the National AIDS Administration who informs viewers that half of all new infections are currently being transmitted from husband to wife. He urges men to be responsible for their family's well-being and encourages women to protect themselves if their husbands are not. Each week, a different radio spot and newspaper insert featuring a storyboard will reprise key messages. The TV drama is based on the PSI/Cambodia's popular 1999 radio soap opera of the same name but scripts were updated based on findings from the sweetheart couples research1 and recent surveillance data2. The talk show was entirely produced by PSI/Cambodia's Communication Department and all other graphic materials were developed in-house. The TV series itself was shot and edited with the assistance of an outside production company. — Jacqueline Devine, deputy director for PSI/Cambodia 1 Sweetheart Relationships in Cambodia: Love,Sex and Condoms
in the Time of HIV, December 2002. Contact spillai@psi.org.kh
for copies of this report.
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