Approaching the HIV epidemic: the community's response

The HIV epidemic comes to people's attention through the language of its texts and its spokespersons. The way it is brought to people's attention will be the critical determinant of how they will respond to it. Currently, the discourse is based on metaphors of epicentres of spread identified as core transmitter groups. These are metaphors of distancing which encourage blame and denial. There are, however, within affected communities, new discourses emerging of inclusion, empowerment and processes and of the complexity of the reality of the epidemic. These discourses are associated with a new way of responding to the epidemic described here as one of community mobilization.