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Gemma Matthews, a 22-year-old peer education volunteer from Greenock, Inverclyde, explained: “We’re trying to break down stigma, get people to realise that anyone can contract HIV and re-educate them about the risks and how to prevent it.”
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World AIDS Day events
To mark World AIDS Day, Red Cross volunteers in the UK have been organising awareness-raising events.
Gemma’s group will give a talk about HIV to more than a hundred pupils at their local high school, one of a number of peer education sessions taking place in schools across Scotland and the north of England.
On Sunday, the Red Cross organised a flash mob – a large group that gathers quickly, performs an unusual action and then disperses – in Glasgow city centre. The participants froze in the act of passing a red ribbon and a condom to someone else. They used the event not only to pass on information but also to fundraise for the Red Cross’ HIV work in Lesotho.
A group from Glasgow University is also holding several events for fellow students. These include a lecture hijack – where volunteers will stand up in the first five minutes of lectures to talk about HIV – a film night and a ‘cake and a condom’ stall.
In Hertfordshire, another Red Cross group is holding a conference to launch its peer education project. The group of 36 young people from across the south-east have recently trained to become HIV peer educators.
Glasgow to Kathmandu
As well as talking to people about how to prevent HIV, Red Cross volunteers also highlighted the global and local impacts of the epidemic.
Around 33 million people have HIV globally, making it one of the world’s biggest humanitarian problems. Here in the UK, an estimated 80,000 people are living with the disease, a third of whom are undiagnosed.
Gemma is part of a group of young volunteers who are training to become peer educators as part of a new project called ‘Friendship for HIV prevention’. The project links the group with Red Cross peer education volunteers from Kathmandu in Nepal, using social networking sites, email and webcams to stay in touch.
“It’s been quite an eye-opener,” said Gemma. “In Nepal, women are not allowed to see a doctor to get contraceptives unless their husband is with them or they have permission from a male. Obviously here, it’s up to the individual.”
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See our online campaign HIV: What’s the story
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Read coverage of the flash mob on BBC website and the Scotsman website
See a video interview with a flash mobber on stv website | 
