As someone in their late 30s I know that I’m probably among the youngest of people who really remember what the AIDS crisis in the 1980s was like. The Australian Government was one of the first Governments to take the problem seriously. While US Republicans played politics with a public health crisis, the Australian Government took strong action.

Here is the advertisement that scared Australians into having safe sex in 1987:

It was a highly successful campaign – but not without controversy. If you ask anyone over the age of 40 how long the ad ran for, they’ll probably guess a several months – whereas it was just about three weeks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grim_Reaper_%28advertisement%29

Ultimately – it was successful – today Australia has a rate of HIV infection of 1.3 per 100,000 population, a fraction of the about 14 per 100,000 seen in the US – See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/grim-reaper-stemmed-aids-tide/story-e6frg8y6-1111114997299#sthash.VUnmiN9K.dpuf

If you have a few minutes, please read the following:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/11/what-gay-men-have-forgotten-about-aids.html

Play safe – the dangers of HIV are greatly reduced, but it’s better to be safe.