Behind the numbers, a silent mechanism: trivialization of the virus, misplaced confidence and ignorance of scientific advances. A cocktail which further exposes young people, while fueling discrimination.
A generation less cautious about HIV
The observation is crude, almost disturbing as it contradicts the idea of informed and protected youth. According to the survey conducted by OpinionWay for Sidaction among 1,516 young people, 60% of 15-24 year olds say they have had at least one sexual partner during the year. A majority. But, at the same time, 62% admit to not systematically using a condom.
A relaxation that worries health professionals. Especially since screening does not follow: only 38% of sexually active young people say they have taken an HIV test in the last twelve months.
Florence Thune, general director of Sidaction, bluntly warns:
“These figures reflect a worrying relaxation of preventive behavior among young people. HIV has not disappeared, STIs are on the rise and the lack of protection or regular screening constitutes a real risk both in terms of individual health and public health..
The phenomenon is even more marked among young people having relationships outside of the couple: 27% of them do not use a condom. The reason given? Trust. It is cited by 68% of respondents as the main justification for not getting tested with a new partner. A confidence that reassures… but deceives.
“Trust, mentioned by a very large majority of young people (68%), remains the primary reason for not carrying out screening with a new partner. The perception of risk is still largely poorly assessed, reinforcing a feeling of false security“, continues Florence Thune.
Insidious transition: as HIV seems to recede in representations, risky behaviors regain ground.
False beliefs: when misinformation fuels danger
The paradox is striking. Nearly three in four young people (74%) believe they are well informed about HIV. However, the results of the survey paint a landscape of profound ignorance. Four out of ten young people still believe that a vaccine exists and that HIV can be cured. Even more worrying: 77% believe that an HIV-positive person on treatment can transmit the virus during unprotected sex – a statement that is scientifically false today, thanks to antiretroviral treatments.
The preconceived ideas do not stop there:
- 39% think that HIV can be transmitted by kissing;
- 33% mention a risk when sitting on public toilets.
So many beliefs which reflect a gap between scientific advances and their appropriation by the general public.
Florence Thune recalls an essential reality, still too little known:
“Today, a person living with HIV on treatment does not transmit the virus. That this scientific reality is still largely unknown shows how urgent it is to increase information campaigns aimed at the general public..
This lack of knowledge is not just a problem of knowledge. It has concrete consequences: it distorts the assessment of risk, slows down the use of screening and maintains an irrational fear of the virus.
Gradually, disinformation becomes a factor of vulnerability.
Serophobia, a silent violence that persists
Beyond the risk of infection, the investigation highlights another reality, more intimate, more painful: the weight of the social gaze.
If young people found out they were HIV positive, more than one in two (56%) say they would feel ashamed — a number that is rising. A heavy emotion, revealing a still-rooted stigma.
“HIV status remains loaded with social and symbolic weight which fuels shame and self-stigma. As long as prejudices persist, prevention cannot be fully effective. Fighting HIV also means fighting serophobia“, underlines Florence Thune.
Distrust is also increasing: 39% of young people believe that an HIV-positive person undergoing treatment could represent a danger to others. And in the romantic sphere, representations directly influence choices: 66% consider HIV status as a determining criterion for considering a relationship.
In other words, the fear of HIV does not disappear — it transforms, shifts, and continues to isolate those living with the virus.
Relearning to talk about HIV: a public health issue
Faced with these findings, Sidaction calls for renewed mobilization: strengthening prevention, reaffirming the importance of condoms and screening, but also fully deploying education for emotional, relational and sexual life throughout school.
Because behind the figures, there is a deeper urgency: to reestablish a link of trust between young people and scientific information. Give meaning to prevention again, without dramatizing, but without minimizing either.
HIV has not disappeared. But his face has changed — and our way of talking about it must evolve with it. At a time when treatments make it possible to live with the virus without transmitting it, the issue is no longer just medical. It is also social, educational, and deeply human.