Love Patrol Hemi Tuff Tumas!

Love Patrol hemi tuff tumas!

What role can a Pacific soap opera play in the HIV response?

Robyn Lavina Drysdale

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

University of New South Wales School of Public Health and Community Medicine Faculty of Medicine

May 2014

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Drysdale First name: Robyn Other name/s: Lavina

Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: PhD

School: Public Health and Community Medicine Faculty: Medicine

Title: Love Patrol hemi tuff tumas! What role can a Pacific soap opera play in the HIV response?

Abstract 350 words maximum: Communication plays a vital role in the response to HIV. However, within Melanesia cultural and traditional factors have kept discussion about sexual matters at a minimum. Love Patrol, produced in Vanuatu and broadcast throughout the Pacific region, is a television drama series specifically designed to address HIV-related issues. It tells the stories of young people, sex workers, men who have sex with men, and people living with HIV in the context of daily island life and is immensely popular with audiences.

Drawing on social representations theory, this thesis develops a detailed and contextual analysis of the processes of representation in Love Patrol and its potential contribution to HIV- related social change. In-depth interviews, thematic analysis and observation were utilised to examine how this Melanesian educational entertainment production represents the issues of HIV and what effect these representations have on audience attitudes towards those infected and affected by HIV in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

Findings demonstrate Love Patrol’s capacity to overcome social, cultural and religious taboos to enable HIV prevention education. The pervasive, popular platform of television is employed to engage audience imaginations within a context of local practice, provoking social dialogue around the contentious topics of sexuality, sex education, HIV/STI, sex work and homosexuality to reduce stigma and promote sexual rights. Love Patrol, it is argued, contributes to HIV responses by challenging and reshaping socio-cultural norms, stimulating private and public dialogue and debate, and in some cases, mobilising communities to catalyse social change.

This thesis strengthens understandings of stigma reduction and social change processes and adds knowledge on how culturally embedded approaches can contribute to HIV responses. It provides a basis for HIV prevention in Melanesia based on local social and cultural values in contrast with predominant awareness-raising approaches that target individual behaviour.

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Table of Contents Abstract ...... iv Acknowledgements ...... v Abbreviations ...... vi List of tables ...... vii

Chapter 1: Engaging effective HIV prevention in the Pacific context...... 1 The Pacific ...... 5 HIV in the Pacific...... 9 Pacific HIV prevention responses ...... 11 The Pacific communication environment ...... 14 Development of a Pacific soap opera ...... 20 Significance of the thesis ...... 23 Overview of the chapters...... 24

Chapter 2: HIV prevention communication – situating Love Patrol ...... 27 Preventing HIV ...... 27 Communication for social change ...... 31 The role of community dialogue and debate ...... 33 Mobilising communities ...... 34 Edutainment – a communication for social change approach ...... 36 A framework for theorising edutainment effects ...... 41 Parasocial relationships ...... 43 Social representations of HIV ...... 47 HIV and stigma...... 49 Reducing stigma through edutainment ...... 52 Conclusion: The argument and theoretical framework for the thesis...... 57

Chapter 3: Methods ...... 60 A qualitative approach ...... 60 Ethnographic methods ...... 61 Reflexivity ...... 62 A Melanesian research framework ...... 64 Data collection...... 65 Love Patrol scripts ...... 66 Description of key characters ...... 66 Synopses of storylines ...... 67 Observation ...... 68 Interviews ...... 70 Love Patrol viewer interviews ...... 70 Key informant interviews ...... 71 Field notes ...... 72 Participants...... 72 Country selection ...... 72 The research settings ...... 73 Republic of Fiji ...... 73

Papua New Guinea ...... 75 Republic of Vanuatu ...... 77 Data collection periods ...... 78 Sampling ...... 79 Recruitment ...... 79 Observation of Love Patrol viewing...... 79 Love Patrol viewer interviews ...... 81 Key informant interviews ...... 82 Interview procedures ...... 83 Data analysis...... 87 Thematic analysis...... 87 Love Patrol scripts...... 87 Interviews with viewers and key informants ...... 88 Field notes from observation ...... 90 Obstacles encountered ...... 90 Ethical issues ...... 91 Ethics approval processes ...... 92 Limitations of the research ...... 93

Chapter 4: Using culture as a vehicle for HIV prevention...... 94 The concept of culture...... 95 Production of Love Patrol...... 100 Local actors ...... 103 Local settings: village and settlement life...... 106 Local stories...... 108 Building on a culture of storytelling ...... 111 Audience reception of Love Patrol...... 114 Communal viewing ...... 114 Identification with characters and stories ...... 120 Social learning...... 123 Conclusion ...... 127

Chapter 5: No longer living in denial – young people’s sexuality in Melanesia ...... 129 The (lack of) public discourse ...... 130 Clandestine relationships ...... 135 Abstinence is the answer – or is it? ...... 144 Sex: It’s a thing that has to be talked about...... 149 Churches and the sticky problem of condom use...... 154 Supporting health workers and parents...... 156 Education and critical consciousness...... 164 Conclusion ...... 170

Chapter 6: HIV does not = death ...... 172 Reshaping the meanings associated with HIV ...... 173 Challenging notions of sin and social transgression ...... 174 HIV is amongst us ...... 181 Contesting ideas about contagion...... 183 Dispelling myths of danger and death ...... 188 HIV is a treatable illness ...... 192 Acceptance, support and empowerment ...... 198 Conclusion ...... 203

Chapter 7: Sex work in Melanesia – a reality check ...... 206 The sex worker stereotype...... 207 Re-presentation of sex workers: Love Patrol’s portrayal...... 209 Revealing the social context of sex work in Melanesia ...... 211 Exposing the vulnerability of sex workers to violence and HIV infection ...... 223 Moving beyond blame ...... 226 Locating sex worker vulnerability as a community concern...... 229 Supporting sex worker agency...... 231 Sex worker as educator...... 235 Supporting health-seeking behaviour...... 238 Conclusion ...... 241

Chapter 8: Unleashing the power of resistance amongst MSM...... 245 The context of sexual stigma...... 247 Putting sexual stigma on the agenda...... 253 The personal consequences of representation ...... 265 From abuse to autographs...... 265 From actor to activist...... 267 Harnessing the power of resistance ...... 269 Conclusion ...... 279

Chapter 9: Conclusions and implications...... 284 Culturally embedded HIV prevention...... 284 Shifting focus from the individual to the social level...... 288 Community mobilisation...... 291 Limitations and areas for further work...... 294 Conclusion ...... 297

References ...... 299

Appendices ...... 337 Appendix 1: Viewer interview protocol Appendix 2: Key Informant interview protocol Appendix 3: Participant information statement & consent forms Appendix 4: Ethics approvals

Abstract

Communication plays a vital role in the response to HIV. However, within Melanesia cultural and traditional factors have kept discussion about sexual matters at a minimum. Love Patrol, produced in Vanuatu and broadcast throughout the Pacific region, is a television drama series specifically designed to address HIV-related issues. It tells the stories of young people, sex workers, men who have sex with men, and people living with HIV in the context of daily island life and is immensely popular with audiences.

Drawing on social representations theory, this thesis develops a detailed and contextual analysis of the processes of representation in Love Patrol and its potential contribution to HIV-related social change. In-depth interviews, thematic analysis and observation were utilised to examine how this Melanesian educational entertainment production represents the issues of HIV and what effect these representations have on audience attitudes towards those infected and affected by HIV in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

Findings demonstrate Love Patrol’s capacity to overcome social, cultural and religious taboos to enable HIV prevention education. The pervasive, popular platform of television is utilised to engage audience imaginations within a context of local practice, provoking social dialogue around the contentious topics of sexuality, sex education, HIV/STI, sex work and homosexuality to reduce stigma and promote sexual rights. Love Patrol, it is argued, contributes to HIV responses by challenging and reshaping socio-cultural norms, stimulating private and public dialogue and debate, and in some cases, mobilising communities to catalyse social change.

This thesis strengthens understandings of stigma reduction and social change processes and contributes knowledge on how culturally embedded approaches can contribute to HIV responses. It provides a basis for HIV prevention in Melanesia based on local social and cultural values in contrast with predominant awareness-raising approaches that target individual behaviour.

Acknowledgements

First, I would like to thank all my research participants in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu for freely giving their time and insight. This research could not have been conducted without the support of a number of organisations and individuals who assisted me in my fieldwork. I am particularly grateful to Stuart Watson of UNAIDS PNG; Don Liriope of Igat Hope; Angela Kelly at IMR and the great team at the Komuniti Tok Piksa Project, University of Goroka. In Fiji I thank Anji Naidu; the HIV section staff at SPC, especially Jocelyn Deo, Robert Verebasaga and Sala Tupou; the Sekoula Project and FJN+. Most of all I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the inspirational team at Wan Smolbag Theatre in Vanuatu, what a privilege it has been to be able to work with you. Thank yu tumas!

I would like to thank my supervisor Professor Heather Worth, whose intellectual rigour and constructive comment have substantially shaped this thesis. I would also like to thank Henrike Korner for her mentoring, friendship and support. I am extremely grateful to Karen McMillan for reviewing my draft thesis and providing insightful feedback, despite facing her own significant challenges at the time.

I have been fortunate throughout the PhD process to be able to count on friends and colleagues across the region to provide a sounding board, support and generous hospitality during my fieldwork. I would particularly like to thank Jo Dorras, Peter Walker, Tamara Kwarteng, Elizabeth Morgan, Verena Thomas and Jovesa Saladoka. My gratitude goes to all my friends and family who have supported and tolerated me through the thesis process. Last but not least, I thank my partner Dan for his endless supply of humour, understanding, support and encouragement.

Abbreviations

ABC Abstinence, Be faithful, Condom use AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ART Antiretroviral Therapy AusAID Australian Agency for International Development BCC Behaviour Change Communication FJN+ Fiji Network of Positive People HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus IEC Information Education Communication MSM Men who have sex with men NAC National AIDS Council/ National AIDS Committee NACS National AIDS Council Secretariat NGO Non-government Organisation NZAID New Zealand AID Programme OSSHHM Oceania Society for Sexual Health and HIV Medicine PAC Provincial AIDS Committee PIAF Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation PIFS Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat PLHIV People living with HIV PNG Papua New Guinea SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community STI Sexually Transmissible Infection WHO World Health Organisation UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund WSB Wan Smolbag Theatre

List of tables

Table 1: Love Patrol series airing information & data collection periods ...... 78

Table 2: Interview participant demographics...... 85

vii

CHAPTER 1

ENGAGING EFFECTIVE HIV PREVENTION IN THE PACIFIC CONTEXT

“Love Patrol, hemi tuff tumas!” This quote, in Bislama, the Vanuatu pidgin, is from a young man in Vanuatu. In English it means “Love Patrol, it’s awesome!” and it alludes to the enormous popularity of the Pacific’s first soap opera. Love Patrol is a television drama series specifically designed to address HIV-related issues. It tells the stories of young people, sex workers, men who have sex with men, and people living with HIV in the context of daily island life. In April 2007, I was in the audience at the Fiji Village 6 Cinemas at one of the initial public screenings of Love Patrol. It was a highly participatory experience; the audience gasped, laughed out loud, chastised and offered advice to the on-screen characters. People were still talking about the show days later on the streets of Suva. As the show went to air across the region, the response throughout the Islands was immediate and overwhelmingly positive, piquing my interest in the potential for Love Patrol to stimulate dialogue on HIV with and within communities. Given the constraints of the Pacific cultural context whereby talk about sex and sexuality is severely circumscribed, how will Love Patrol, a series inherently about sexual behaviour, engage the attention and dialogical spaces of audiences, I wondered? And more importantly, what contribution will it make to HIV responses in Pacific Island countries and how might it do so?

The impetus of this thesis came from my experience working as a prevention adviser for HIV and other sexually transmissible infections (STIs) within the Pacific region from 2004 to 2010. This experience gave me insight into not only the unique cultural, social and geographic contexts of the Pacific, but also to the significant challenges in working regionally in response to HIV. The nature of being a regional-level adviser necessitates flying in and out of diverse settings where local communities are engaged in complex struggles with poverty, inequality, change and opportunity, and making assessments of the best strategies to prevent HIV in these contexts. The experiences I had working with prevention programs in different parts of the Pacific were both inspiring and confronting. I had the opportunity to meet and learn from a range of workers and volunteers trying to address HIV within the often-difficult realities of Islanders’ day-to-

day lives. I also experienced their uncertainty about what HIV prevention ‘should’ involve within the local context; moreover, what would be effective. The discourse of donors, non-government organisations (NGOs) and government bodies abounds with descriptions of HIV responses as ‘locally-owned’ and ‘community-driven’, yet I found that prevention projects at community level were rarely locally produced or understood.

My doubts about the failure of HIV-prevention efforts to effectively facilitate community engagement and dialogue were strengthened by a growing body of evidence suggesting that despite years of prevention work in the region, there was little indication of success in reducing people’s risk or vulnerability to HIV infection (Secretariat of the Pacific Community [SPC], 2009a; Worth, 2012). These concerns were reinforced by the continued focus of national prevention responses on awareness-raising approaches, despite clear evidence that raising awareness does not equate to behavioural change. Nor does it address the social and structural forces which shape people’s lives. It became clear that taboos associated with sexual health and sexuality were barriers to effecting the social change necessary for HIV prevention in the region. Equally clear was the need for culturally nuanced approaches to circumvent these taboos.

These experiences with HIV-prevention efforts in the Pacific Islands shaped the research questions described in this thesis. My development work has led to a growing understanding that too often prevention communication is conceived as information dissemination, but seldom seen as dialogue. Underpinning this is a strong belief in the importance of Pacific Islanders hearing their own stories, in their own voices, and making their own decisions about that which affects their lives.

This thesis argues that Love Patrol harnesses important social issues around HIV, sexuality and violence in ways that engage communities, enables dialogue about these sensitive issues and challenges socio-cultural norms to reduce stigma and promote sexual rights. It contends that although about HIV-related issues, Love Patrol is distinctly different from the usual ‘awareness-raising’ approach in the region. Love Patrol engages with the social and community level. It is embedded in culture and does specific things including challenging and reshaping socio-cultural norms, stimulating private and public dialogue and debate, and in some cases, mobilising

community, as I will show in this thesis. I argue that Love Patrol provides a basis for HIV prevention in Melanesia based on local social and cultural values, in contrast with predominant approaches that target individual behaviour. I show how Love Patrol utilises the pervasive, popular platform of television to engage people’s imaginations within a context of local practice and creates ‘visions’ of social transformation which may shape and change culture and social norms.

The overall aim of this thesis is to unpack ways in which Love Patrol stimulates critical reflection and attitude changes within its Melanesian audiences. It is an exploratory, critical study that examines how engagement with the show facilitates a reconsideration of social relations and actions, and how this may contribute to HIV- related social change within the Melanesian context. This aim is developed for two key reasons. First, theory and research reinforce the importance of HIV prevention approaches being grounded in, and linked to, social and cultural narratives (Airhihenbuwa & Obregon, 2000; Galavotti, Pappas-DeLuca & Lansky, 2001; Wight, Plummer & Ross, 2012), yet many current approaches in the Pacific are culturally inappropriate and they fail to speak to the cultural experiences of local communities (Meleisea, 2009). This thesis places culture at the centre of prevention responses and argues the importance of engagement with the Melanesian socio-cultural context. In doing so, the thesis responds to calls for culturally compelling approaches to HIV prevention, grounded in local understandings and experiences (Lepani, 2012) and challenges current approaches of generic awareness-raising utilised in the region. It is anticipated that the analysis contained in this thesis can inform the way Pacific HIV prevention programs are conceptualised and put into practice.

Second, a culture of silence and taboos about sex impedes successful HIV responses in the region. Prevention of HIV requires working with people’s attitudes to, and beliefs about, sexual behaviour, yet within Pacific cultures sex can only be talked about in a certain proscriptive way. Traditionally cultural, social and religious beliefs have played a strong role in keeping public dialogue on issues of sexual behaviour and sexuality at a minimum and restricting education about STIs including HIV (Family Planning International, 2009; United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF], 2005). This thesis contends that these beliefs present enormous challenges for HIV/STI prevention

in the region and argues Love Patrol’s capacity to overcome social, cultural and religious taboos to enable HIV prevention education. This production, I argue, provokes social dialogue around the contentious topics of sexuality, sex education, HIV and other STIs, sex work and homosexuality in the Pacific’s communicative landscape. However, as I will suggest, it also does something more. Love Patrol simultaneously seeks to normalise relatively novel characters in Melanesia: the person with HIV, the sex worker, and the gay man. Through appeals to the familiar and the local, transnational ideas of sexual rights are brought ‘home’.

This thesis illustrates that Love Patrol is an actor in reducing prejudice and improving community attitudes around HIV. It does not attempt to attribute Love Patrol’s effect to changes in practice. The focus is on changes in the hearts and minds, as opposed to the actions, of the viewing audience. The evidence does not suggest that Love Patrol viewers are necessarily changing practice; however, that is not the primary concern of this thesis. I am interested in how Love Patrol helps people rethink their social relations and its utility as an HIV-prevention resource in the context of the Pacific, with all its constraints and possibilities. Within the thesis there are some examples where engaged changes in behaviour are attributable to the show: Love Patrol appears to have increased sex workers attending services in Vanuatu (Chapter 7), and the show has empowered MSM to join support networks and have a greater public presence (Chapter 8), but I do not wish to overstate what Love Patrol can do. What I can claim is that people are thinking and talking about the HIV-related social issues raised in Love Patrol, and this is extremely important as a preliminary step in the social change process.

The argument is articulated in this thesis through an examination of the representational practices of Love Patrol and their impact on marginal populations; the dialogue and debate stimulated (and disseminated in social networks), and in some instances, the actions subsequently taken in communities. First, I examine how Love Patrol represents the issues of HIV and what effect these representations have on audience attitudes towards those infected and affected by HIV. Second, I show how audiences receive the Love Patrol text, how they interact with the characters, how they negotiate meaning, and how this meaning is transferred into their own lives. Third, I

demonstrate how Love Patrol challenges and reshapes social norms through the communal processing of HIV-related issues and what effect this may have on social change.

This introductory chapter outlines the context of this thesis, describing the cultural, social and economic situation of Love Patrol audiences within the Pacific Islands. This is followed by an examination of the HIV situation in the Pacific, particularly in Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Vanuatu, and the emphasis taken in regional and national approaches to HIV prevention. I then consider the Pacific communication environment, highlighting the dearth of indigenous media productions. Subsequently, I will review entertainment education in the Pacific, including background to the development of the Love Patrol series. Finally, I discuss the original and significant nature of my thesis. This chapter concludes by introducing the material to come, explaining how the eight remaining chapters of this thesis are organised.

The Pacific

Love Patrol audiences are found in the 11 million inhabitants of the 22 diverse island nations spread across the vast Pacific Ocean. It is a unique and vulnerable region that spans a third of the world’s surface and accounts for just 0.14% of the world’s population (SPC, 2011). Countries vary in scale and structure from small compact islands such as Nauru and Niue through to those such PNG and Vanuatu, which comprise many scattered and isolated islands or provinces, each with their own customary ways and language. Melanesia1, the sub-region of focus for this thesis has just over 80% of the region’s population (SPC, 2011). Although the population of the region is small, it is home to one-third of the world’s languages, with more than 1000 languages spoken in Melanesia (SPC, 2010d). The Pacific region is characterised by enormous diversity, an evolving mixture of cultures, traditions, languages, political systems and living conditions. Although positioned within a public health rather than

1 Throughout this thesis I employ the terms ‘Melanesia’ and ‘Melanesian’ for expository convenience. I acknowledge the flawed and contested nature of this term (Finney, 2002; Hau’ofa, 1994) and that it was colonialism that imposed this arbitrary division within the Oceanic region. In the context of this thesis, the terms refer to the countries of Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Thus the selected countries are all within the ‘Melanesian’ region. In doing so I acknowledge that the ‘region’ is characterised by considerable linguistic pluralism and cultural diversity. 5

anthropological paradigm, this thesis argues that regardless of this diversity, Love Patrol appears to have engaged audiences across the region.

Despite cultural diversity, much has been written about a common set of values within the region. Pacific cultures are based on the assumptions of a collectivist society where the group’s goals hold more importance than those of the individual. People in villages and those in urban areas share the communal obligations and rewards of community life (Ratuva, 2006). Relationships are the core to Pacific values. In particular, the relationship of the individual to the family, the community, the land, and the spiritual world is emphasised. Love Patrol stories are embedded within and articulate these relationships. Pacific islanders tend to be motivated by individual benefit within a wider value of communications; are likely to see mutual help as bringing future security more effectively than individual policies; like to take time to properly understand and come to a consensus view; emphasise spiritual dimensions and see the church and pastor as very important; highly value reciprocity; and may pay greater respect to the authority and value status specific to their nation (SPC, 2010d). This thesis is concerned with how Love Patrol storylines engage with these ‘Pacific’ values.

The Pacific Islands live with the legacies of more than a century of colonial rule. Love Patrol is a post-colonial piece about Melanesia coming to terms with prominent social issues. Colonialism has left its imprint in many areas of politics, culture and economy: growing cities, surrounded by peri-urban settlements; a proud nationalism and regionalism amongst the newly independent island states; an uneasy mix of customary and parliamentary systems of government and administration; systems of education and government dominated by English and French as the major regional languages; a deep tradition of Christianity, with mainstream denominations largely run by local clergy but under challenge from new Pentecostal and Evangelical sects; and disputes over borders which artificially divide or consolidate cultural and ethnic groups (Maclellan, 2003; Naidu, 2010). Pacific peoples are working to transcend the colonial boundaries through regional organisations and non-government, church and community networks, building one region of islands in a common sea (Hau’ofa, 1994).

The majority of the population in most of Melanesia identifies as Christian, predominantly Catholic and various Protestant denominations2. Regardless of the increasing multi-ethnicity of much of the region, all countries continue to strongly identify themselves as ‘Christian nations’ and Christianity has been incorporated into the social structures and everyday lives of islanders, and as I will argue in this thesis, has significantly impacted on sexual and social behaviour and attitudes. Christianity in Melanesia has been thoroughly appropriated and has been deeply incorporated as a key aspect of local worldviews (Eves, 2012). This thesis articulates the strong pull that Christianity has on the Pacific, the church’s role in the social representations of HIV, and how this shapes HIV responses. Many scholars reinforce that Christianity did not entirely replace existing Melanesian spirituality but rather built upon traditional belief systems (Trompf, 1991; Vunagi, 1998) thus although Christianity has become dominant, traditional religious belief systems endure. This thesis will examine how Christianity and traditional beliefs shape meanings associated with HIV and drive sexual stigma that marginalises vulnerable populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM)3 and may constrain effective sexuality education of young people.

Love Patrol is set in a semi-urban area (Port Vila, although it is not named) of informal settlements where education and health services are limited and unemployment high. High population growth rates in a number of countries and young populations4 place huge pressures on the provision of education, health services and employment (SPC, 2010b). There has been an intensification of population mobility in the last few decades, with islanders moving from outlying islands and inland areas to coastal regions and urban places. Rapid urbanisation has spurred the growth of informal settlements.

2 The exception is Fiji where due to the significant population of Indo-Fijians, Hinduism and Islam are also prominent. 3 Throughout this thesis I use the term ‘MSM’ as a generic term as it serves a functional purpose. The acronym ‘MSM’ was first coined to describe the sexual behaviour of men who may not identify as gay or homosexual (Dowsett, 1990; Young & Meyer, 2005). Men who have sex with men (MSM) is a purportedly neutral term commonly used in public health discourse, yet recognised as problematic. The term is widely used in the area of HIV prevention in the Pacific. Pacific genders and sexualities tend to be categorised according to western understandings, such as ‘gay’, ‘transgender’, and ‘MSM’, although this has been noted by a number of researchers to be problematic (Besnier, 1997; Schmidt, 2010). In parts of Melanesia ‘MSM’ has also been adopted as an identity, possibly driven by donor language and funding. It is important to note though that there is a range of indigenous terms for diverse sexual identity, which vary from country to country, province to province or even island to island (Pacific Sexual Diversity Network [PSDN], 2009) although there are growing populations who self-identify using the imported term ‘gay’. 4 Over 56% of Pacific Islanders are under 25 years of age. 7

Squatter settlements are on the increase in many countries, resulting in overcrowding, inadequate housing, lack of water and sanitation. In Port Moresby, PNG and Suva, Fiji, settlements house more than half the urban population (Connell, 2011) placing pressure on traditional social protection of kinship systems (Australian Agency for International Development [AusAID], 2010). Urbanisation and migration for employment and education have also allowed young people more freedom away from the watchful eyes of their parents and extended family networks. This has changed mechanisms of social control over sexual activities, relationships and drug and alcohol use (Buchanan- Aruwafu, 2007). Love Patrol articulates the context of settlement life in its scenes of local families navigating the challenges and constraints of living on the urban fringe. Although the level of absolute poverty is not high in the Pacific, access to basic services and economic opportunities are limited, especially in the rural areas and remote outer islands (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat [PIFS], 2012). Certain sections of populations are more susceptible to poverty than others; women, in both rural areas and squatter settlements, are increasingly vulnerable to poverty and its effects (SPC, 2010b). Poverty and hardship is a key driver in increasing levels of sex work in the region. PNG in particular faces significant economic and social challenges in addressing poverty.

Progress on health goals across the Pacific is uneven and a number of countries in the region have poor social indicators, with many islanders facing low life expectancy, low literacy levels, limited economic opportunities and uneven standards of service delivery (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS [UNAIDS] Pacific Region, 2009; PIFS, 2012). Inadequate attention has been given to addressing the social determinants of health contributing to poor reproductive, maternal, child and adolescent health (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2011) and there is concern over the high rate of teenage pregnancies and STIs in Pacific Island Countries. Love Patrol centres on HIV and sexual health, in doing so issues of STIs and unplanned teen pregnancy are brought into sharp focus.

Violence against women is still a significant issue in many countries. Gender inequalities and the overall status of women vary across the Pacific Islands region, with the levels of family and sexual violence high in many settings (Buchanan-Aruwafu, 2007; United Nations Development Programme [UNDP], 2009). The widespread

nature of violence against women has been recognised by Pacific leaders, gaining attention as a key national and regional development issue (PIFS, 2009). The promotion of gender equality is of particular importance in the context of HIV as violence against women and girls fuels the epidemic (Gardsbane, 2010; UNDP, 2008). This thesis examines the articulation of women’s vulnerability in Love Patrol, which features characters who are driven to sell sex to survive, women who remain in abusive relationships, and those who escape to find social support lacking. Issues of gender and human rights have been highlighted across the region (WHO, 2011) and their links with HIV epidemics made clear. Gender inequality and in particular violence against women is recognised as one of the key factors driving the HIV epidemic in PNG, therefore reversing the course of the epidemic will depend to a significant degree on the empowerment of women (Butcher & Martin, 2011; Meleisea, 2009).

HIV in the Pacific

HIV arrived relatively late in the Pacific and for the first few years spread slowly. The majority of the Pacific region is classified as a low prevalence setting for HIV. Cumulative reported cases of HIV across all Pacific Island countries at the time data was collected for this thesis were 33,218 of which the vast majority occurred in PNG (SPC, 2013)5. Accurate figures are hard to obtain, however, as underreporting and poor surveillance is a key issue in the region (Loo et al., 2012; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). Stigma and discrimination may also deter people from seeking HIV testing. While the exact number of people living with HIV (PLHIV)6 is not known for all countries, anecdotal evidence suggests that HIV prevalence is on the rise (SPC, 2013).

For Pacific Island countries, even a small number of PLHIV can translate into high incidence and prevalence rates that can have significant impacts on individuals, families, and communities. Notifications of HIV in the Pacific do not always report

5 The number of new HIV diagnoses in PNG in 2010 was 4,208 (PNG National AIDS Council Secretariat, 2012) whereas in other Pacific Island countries the total number of new HIV diagnoses was 68 in 2010 and 98 in 2011. 6 The term PLHIV is known and used within the region, as is ‘HIV positive’ in description of someone with the virus. A number of participants use ‘HIV positive’, and the support group in Fiji is known as the Fiji Network of Positive People (FJN+). In keeping with the global norm of UNAIDS suggested language, within this thesis I have used the term PLHIV when referring to people living with the virus, but have also used ‘HIV positive’ to refer to specific participants as they self-identify.

mode of transmission, but the majority of those that do indicate heterosexual transmission (UNDP, 2009). All available evidence suggests that HIV is primarily transmitted through unprotected sex, both between men and women, and between men (SPC, 2013). However, stigma makes it difficult to obtain accurate figures, consequently it is possible that routes of transmission may be misreported as heterosexual due the stigma associated with men having sex with men (UNDP, 2009). In contrast with the low prevalence of HIV in much of the region, there is a very high prevalence of other STIs (SPC, 2010c). Central to this thesis is how Love Patrol engages with the nature of sexual transmission of HIV and other STIs in its storylines.

This thesis focuses on three countries in the region where Love Patrol has been consistently televised and has developed large followings, namely: Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. These countries also represent the three distinct clusters of HIV infection within the region: PNG as the overwhelming locus of the Pacific epidemic, Fiji as a country with a significant number of cases, and Vanuatu with few known cases. At the end of 2010 the number of cumulative cases of HIV in PNG was 31,609. Excluding PNG, Fiji represents 24% of cumulative reported HIV cases in Pacific Island countries and territories (SPC, 2013). As of the end of 2011, a cumulative total of 420 confirmed HIV cases had been reported in Fiji (Fiji National Advisory Committee on AIDS, 2012). Fiji is still considered a low HIV prevalence country but the number of confirmed cases has continued to steadily increase each year. There were 54 new HIV cases reported in 2011. In Vanuatu there remain few known cases; to December 2011, six people have been diagnosed with HIV (Republic of Vanuatu, 2012).

While the burden of HIV remains relatively low in the majority of countries in the region, significant known risk factors and vulnerabilities exist. The Pacific is characterised by a predominantly young and mobile population experiencing a rapid pace of socio-economic and cultural change. The continuing significant vulnerability to the risk of infection demonstrated by the lack of knowledge of HIV transmission, continued risky behaviours around sexual practices and the higher rates of STIs is emphasised by the socio-cultural context of the Pacific. Gender inequity and violence against women coupled with HIV-related stigma and discrimination present continuing challenges. Where religious beliefs are interpreted in a way that discourages the use of

condoms and perpetuates misconceptions about marriage protecting individuals from HIV, they may contribute to unsafe sex and unwanted pregnancies (Jenkins, 2007). Traditional practices, a culture of silence and taboos about sex add to the risk and impede successful HIV responses. Compounding these factors is the varying health infrastructure across the region and the lack of robust surveillance systems (Murry, 2008; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009; WHO & SPC, 2009). I will examine how these critical factors are articulated within Love Patrol storylines and the extent to which the show engages audiences in their consideration.

Pacific HIV prevention responses

Prevention continues to be the mainstay of the regional response to HIV in Pacific Island countries and is a high priority for national HIV strategies. Nevertheless, after two decades of responding to HIV it is unclear if implemented prevention strategies have been successful. Prevention initiatives have expanded exponentially; however, there has been little attention to impact evaluation (Fiji National Advisory Committee on AIDS, 2012; SPC, 2009a; Worth, 2012). In addition, national plans do not appear to have sufficient detail or accountability and monitoring to achieve stated national prevention priorities (Fiji National Advisory Committee on AIDS, 2012; Murry, 2008; Republic of Vanuatu, 2012; SPC, 2009a). A PNG literature review found no formal evaluations of HIV awareness messages (King & Lupiwa, 2008) and similarly in other countries, UNGASS7 reports indicate little information about any behavioural changes that have resulted from the implementation of the range of prevention activities undertaken8. Consequently, Love Patrol is broadcast in a sea of uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of HIV prevention initiatives.

7 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS. 8 The data for UNGASS behavioural indicators are far from complete. In Fiji, data for young people aged 15–24 years is available for tertiary students only, with 54% of females and 50% of males reported as having comprehensive HIV knowledge (Republic of Fiji Islands, 2012). In PNG, 22% of young people (25.8% of young men, 16.7% of young women) aged 15–24 are reported as having comprehensive HIV knowledge (PNG NACS, 2010). PNG reports 67% of MSM and 37% of sex workers reached by prevention programs (PNG NACS, 2012). In Vanuatu 24% of young people (29% of young men and 20% of young women) aged 15–24 are reported as having comprehensive HIV knowledge, although this data is not generalisable to the youth population (Republic of Vanuatu, 2012). There is no data available on the percentage of sex workers and MSM reached with HIV prevention programmes in Fiji and Vanuatu. Overall, up-to-date information about how well many Pacific countries are doing in HIV prevention is not available. The numbers reported are not encouraging, and neither is the fact that many countries are unable to report on many indicators.

The predominant approach to HIV prevention in the region can best be described as awareness-raising. The vast majority of programs emphasise individual HIV ‘sensitisation’ and ‘raising awareness’ about the virus and how its transmission can be prevented (Aggleton, Bharat, Coutinho, Drew & Wignall, 2007; Vaughan, 2011). Programs targeting low-level individual behaviour changes supplement this. There is an over reliance on the ‘ABC’ (abstinence, be faithful, use condoms) approach to prevention, with most countries implementing strategies based on the ‘ABC’ concept with a greater emphasis on the A and the B. Such an approach focuses on individual level behaviour changes rather than highlighting structures of vulnerability; yet simply knowing how HIV transmission can be prevented does not necessarily mean that people will (or will be able to) act on this knowledge (Campbell, 2003). There is an implicit assumption that individual decision-making is the key site of risk minimisation, ignoring the influence of the gendered social and economic context in which these decisions are actually made (Collins, Coates & Curran, 2008). Within this thesis, I consider whether Love Patrol is also situated in awareness-raising, or if it goes further.

To date, much of the prevention work in the region has focused on generic population- based awareness activities, with little attention to key populations or contextual factors (UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009; Worth, 2012). In recent years this is starting to show signs of changing, with PNG in particular focusing more on targeted interventions, but a great deal of scale up is required. This is despite clear evidence that raising awareness does not equate to behavioural change; rather that widespread social changes are required (Kippax, 2008, 2012). Additionally, HIV prevention in the region does not have the intensity and coverage required (Aggleton et al., 2011; Worth, 2012) with the concentration of services and awareness activities in urban areas in many countries leaving large proportions of populations underserved (Murry, 2008). With HIV prevention messages and approaches in the region frequently criticised as ineffective due to gender insensitivity, cultural inappropriateness and irrelevance (Eves, 2010; Eves & Butt, 2008; McPherson, 2008; UNDP, 2009), this thesis asserts that Love Patrol is a culturally compelling approach which is grounded in social relations. A need has been identified for programs that are grounded in social change, empowerment and dialogue that address the structural barriers to change (King & Lupiwa, 2008; Worth, 2012). In forthcoming chapters, I examine Love Patrol’s coverage and capacity to infiltrate social

networks, considering its potential to contribute to social change.

People who are socially excluded are vulnerable to HIV (Campbell, 2003), and there is concern over whether HIV prevention in the Pacific is effective in reaching those most vulnerable to infection. The civil society response within the region has strengthened engagement with communities, particularly with groups of people most vulnerable to HIV (UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). However, progress on strategies for working with vulnerable populations such as sex workers9 and MSM and promoting the inclusion of prevention education on HIV and other STIs in formal school curriculums has been limited (SPC, 2009c). Although HIV prevalence is currently relatively low, the epidemic appears to be growing among marginalised populations in some countries, including sex workers, MSM, and transgender communities, yet too little is being invested in focused prevention programming (UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009; Worth, 2012). As key characters representing these populations are included in Love Patrol, I consider audience engagement with these characters, and the implications for prevention education.

Despite prevention and other efforts to reduce unprotected sex, HIV vulnerability and risk remain high in the Pacific region. The capacity for those most at risk and vulnerable to HIV to engage in prevention activities remains severely impacted by stigma and limited access (Murry, 2008). An enabling environment for HIV prevention has been identified as lacking in many countries, with stigma against PLHIV, MSM and sex workers hampering prevention efforts (Aggleton et al., 2011; Godwin, 2010; UNAIDS, 2007a, 2011b; United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 2011). Pacific political leaders have been criticised for remaining silent on protecting the rights of people who are vulnerable to and affected by HIV (UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). The hidden, denied and illegal nature of activities such as sex work and sex between men directly impacts on HIV prevention efforts. Sex between men and sex work is not addressed appropriately in most national HIV plans, and limited funding and programs addressing these issues exist at country level (Lowe, 2009; SPC, 2009a; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). Currently less than 10% of prevention funding is spent on

9 Few people who sell or exchange sex in Melanesia identify as ‘sex workers’; however, this term is used throughout the thesis for ease of reference. Though not frequently used by research participants, this term is widely used in the literature, in other research in the region, as well as policy documents. 13

protecting these key populations, impeding efforts to reach MSM and sex workers with essential prevention services in the region (UNAIDS, 2011b, 2013)10. In addition, current surveillance systems in most Pacific countries do not include key populations (Yu & Lo, 2012). There are a number of issues with the practices of public health: the stigmatising effects of interventions which utlise the categorical framings of ‘key populations’ and ‘targeted interventions’, and the inherent biopower11 in the surveillance of these groups. However, this thesis focuses on how Love Patrol brings sex work and same-sex sexual behaviour to the fore and engages with the social context that produces HIV transmission risk.

There is a need for HIV prevention programs in the regions to shift from their current individual level behavioural focus to the wider social context, addressing social and structural factors that shape vulnerability to HIV infection. With stigma against PLHIV, MSM and sex workers hampering prevention efforts, the need to create an enabling environment for HIV prevention is clear and this thesis considers how a local media production, which addresses the social context of HIV, may make an important contribution.

The Pacific communication environment

Love Patrol is a mass media production. Although mass media offer effective channels for communicating health-related messages with potential to increase knowledge and influence behaviour of audience members (Bertrand & Anhang, 2006; Brodie et al., 2001), to date it has played a fairly limited role in Pacific HIV responses and the coverage influenced by the conservatism of Pacific cultures. Broadcast media have the ability to disseminate information to large audiences efficiently, and television can be a particularly important channel (Whittier, Kennedy, St. Lawrence, Seeley & Beck, 2005). The media and mass media channels have the potential to play a more effective role in promoting HIV prevention and awareness in the Pacific, and in bringing about attitude change in the region (UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). I consider how the pervasive, popular platform of television may be harnessed to engage people’s

10 Most of the spending of the HIV response in PNG is non-targeted, with less than 6% of the HIV prevention spending in 2009–10 on programs for sex workers and MSM (Nitsoy, 2012; PNG NACS, 2012). In Fiji, it is even lower, of prevention expenditure only 2% targeted sex workers and 1% MSM (Fiji Ministry of Health, 2010). 11 Techniques for achieving the subjugations of bodies and the control of populations (Foucault, 1978). 14

imaginations within a context of local cultural and social practice.

For the majority of the Pacific Islands, television is a relatively recent phenomenon. In terms of the countries of focus of this thesis, PNG, Fiji and Vanuatu television broadcast commenced respectively in 1986, 1991, and 1992. Television reached critical mass in some countries more quickly than others and still today there is a disparity of program availability and audience sophistication from region to region, island to island and between urban and rural areas. Characteristic of Pacific Island television broadcasting organisations are the small-scale systems, which service the centres of population in and around urban areas (Bentley, 2003).

Many Pacific Islanders live in rural or outer island areas where neither electricity nor television is available, although this varies widely from country to country12. In terms of access to television, there is limited data available, particularly for Melanesia. In 2008 in Fiji some 75% of all households had televisions and this is envisioned to have significantly increased in the last 5 years (Narsey, 2011). In Vanuatu, the coverage of the sole station, Television Blong Vanuatu, is limited to the capital, Port Vila and the second largest town, Luganville on the island of Espirito Santo. Overall some 15% of households have access to television (Vanuatu National Statistics Office, 2010), although anecdotal evidence suggests there are many more with access to DVD players. In PNG, EMTV, the station that broadcasts Love Patrol, has the most coverage; based on current census information its footprint is approximately 45% of the country’s total population13. You would think television access in PNG and Vanuatu in particular would limit the reach and effectiveness of Love Patrol as a television series but as I will show, it does not. Despite the limitations in various parts of the region, television viewing continues to grow and DVDs are also growing in popularity, making Love Patrol, especially pirated copies of the series, widely available.

As many Melanesians live at poverty level or are unemployed, they may not be able to afford electricity or may not have access to power. Consequently, people are more

12 In PNG, for example, 87% of people live in rural areas; in Vanuatu 76% live in rural areas, whereas in the Fiji Islands 49% live in rural areas (SPC, 2011). 13 This is changing rapidly however, with reach continuing to grow as the population continues to grow, as televisions become more affordable and as communication infrastructure is developed (Media Niugini Ltd, n.d.). 15

likely to view television at the house of a friend or family member, or in a public setting such as a bar or store. Communal viewing is a major phenomenon across the region, but has specific characteristics in PNG where people go to a trade store or other location in a town or village and sit and watch television. Daily programs such as the National EMTV News and major sporting events are particularly likely to attract massive numbers of viewers. Likewise, Love Patrol is drawing large crowds for communal viewing (Wan Smolbag Theatre [WSB], 2010). Television or movie viewing is thus frequently a group activity shared with friends or family in community settings, such as small market places or other gathering places. This thesis will show how this has important consequences for Love Patrol’s audience effect. The remoteness of many Melanesian communities, lack of infrastructure, and the increased availability of media technologies such as DVD players, has contributed to the rise of informal media distribution networks. Throughout the region, outer island and rural communities commonly gather in villages to watch programs (on television or video/DVD) in communal settings, using generator power. This has become more formalised in PNG with the emergence of ‘haus piksa’ (literally ‘picture houses’), especially in the densely populated Highlands region. These makeshift village cinemas are central houses in the community, equipped with a television and DVD player and usually operate on generator power. The owners operate small businesses by charging audiences a small amount (approximately 25c or 50c) for film and soap opera screenings, which are predominantly foreign in content. Since their emergence in the new millennium, haus piksas have steadily increased in numbers, becoming one of the main ways that people in the Highlands consume audiovisual media in their communities (Thomas, Papoutsaki & Eggins, 2010).

The vast majority of program material being conveyed by the Pacific airwaves and occupying island viewers’ time and attention is foreign, typically ranging from 80 to 100% of transmission (Bentley, 2003). With a conspicuous lack of indigenous productions on Pacific television, Love Patrol is a distinctively local creation broadcast in a vacuum of local material. A 2003 report commissioned by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) investigating the use of television in Pacific Island countries noted the lack of local content evident across all media and information channels with “the overwhelming presence of content coming

from non-local sources, reflecting language, values and lifestyles which are often vastly different from those of the community ‘consuming’” (Bentley, 2003, p. 3). Key recommendations of the report included the critical need to increase the production of local television programs to assist community education, community development and community entertainment efforts, yet to date there remain very limited Pacific productions for TV programming. The few Pacific-produced programs that do exist are extremely popular across the region, such as The Pacific Way produced by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Regional Media Centre. A weekly magazine show broadcast throughout the region, The Pacific Way has widespread popularity and until Love Patrol was one of the best-known regional television programs. Its primary focus on topical Pacific issues provides island communities with an important forum for discussion, and it has on occasion aired stories related to HIV. As a documentary-style program, it is distinctly different from Love Patrol however. Although the importance of Pacific Islanders participating in media production to a much greater degree in order to increase representations of Pacific culture and identity has been noted, little progress has been made within the region (Loto et al., 2006). Ultimately, Pacific Islanders are left with entertainment choices that mostly include films and television programs imported from Australia, New Zealand, France, the United States and Asia. Love Patrol, in contrast, is uniquely Melanesian, and I consider its impact within a general void of mediated Pacific Island celebrities and role models.

As a drama series, Love Patrol exists within a context of largely documentary-style productions. Of the HIV-related productions, the vast majority within the region are documentaries, such as those produced by the Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation featuring HIV positive Pacific Islanders and predominantly distributed on DVD14. In PNG, the most populated country in the region with the highest prevalence of HIV, growing attention to the epidemic in 2004 resulted in documentary-style stories starting to be produced and aired. Mist in the Mountains (2006) is a documentary set in a large goldmine in the centre of the PNG highlands. The Seventh-day Adventist Church produced O Papa God (2006), a film based on a true story about what happened to children when their parents died of AIDS-related conditions, aired on EMTV and

14 The first, Maire (1999), was a film about the Pacific Island AIDS Foundation’s (PIAF) founder, one of the first Pacific Islanders to go public with her HIV status. To date, PIAF has produced six documentaries featuring HIV positive Pacific Islanders. 17

subsequently sold on DVD. Stori bilong Helen (Helen’s Story) (2007) comprised six episodes15 broadcast on EMTV following the life of the then 25-year-old Papua New Guinean who was diagnosed with HIV in 1999. Subsequently, the episodes were combined and made available on DVD. Young people in PNG have named documentaries such as Stori bilong Helen and Mist in the Mountains, and films like O Papa God as significant sources of HIV information (Kelly et al., 2009). Overall there have been few locally produced films and documentaries and these are of varying quality, but generally well received due to their cultural relevance and resonance. As a series of the dramatic genre, Love Patrol’s engagement with audiences is distinctly different from these productions.

Love Patrol is a form of educational entertainment or ‘edutainment’16. Edutainment uses entertainment and the power of media to educate whilst entertaining and gets people in their local communities talking about HIV or other social or development issues. Although Love Patrol is the region’s first televised edutainment, the approach has a long history in the Pacific in the form of traditional storytelling, dance and drama. Based on indigenous forms of edutainment, organisations in the region have long utilised drama, puppetry, concerts and music designed to raise awareness about health issues, including HIV. Entertainment is used as a core strategy for engaging and educating young people in particular. In PNG, drama has been used widely as a form of edutainment, and there are several organisations using community theatre as a means of HIV education and awareness with varying degrees of success (Corrigan, 2006). The recent Pacific AIDS Commission Report recommended a significant expansion of entertainment to spread HIV messages in the Pacific (UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009).

By far the most prolific and well known of producers of edutainment in the Pacific is Wan Smolbag Theatre, a non-government organisation based in Vanuatu. Working in the field of health education since 1989, Wan Smolbag have written and produced a large number of plays, drama sketches, participatory drama workshops, dramatic films,

15 Produced in a diary format, the 10-minute ‘episodes’ allowed Helen to talk about her daily experiences as a person living with HIV, how it affected her life and her relationships, and how she coped with the various challenges related to the infection. 16 Edutainment is the process of purposely embedding educational and social issues in an entertainment program, in order to achieve individual, community, institutional, and societal changes (Wang & Singhal, 2009). 18

radio plays and more recently, the Love Patrol series. Using drama to disseminate information and create debate at the grassroots level throughout Vanuatu and the Pacific region, a main focus of their work has been reproductive health including issues of STIs and HIV. In addition to live drama, Wan Smolbag have been the most successful organisation in the region to produce local film to address various social and development issues (AusAID), 2008), using the camera as a “mirror” for communities to scrutinise their problems and find solutions. With their films distributed to both television stations and on DVD across the region, their material is accessible and extremely popular with both urban and rural audiences (New Zealand International Aid and Development agency [NZAID], 2007)17. In contrast to the documentary focus of most HIV-related productions in the region discussed above, Wan Smolbag have always focused on dramatic productions using entertainment for educational purposes. Their first video, Like Any Other Lovers (1992), was the first dramatic film in the region focusing on HIV-related issues. The film proved very popular in the region and was widely used in early HIV prevention work; Positive (2002) and Sori Susie (2004) followed. Thus Love Patrol builds on a background of film production of the dramatic genre. Although Love Patrol is the first television series, Wan Smolbag also has a history of producing radio drama. Famili Blong Serah (Sarah’s family) was a popular, long-running radio serial focusing on various health issues including STIs, HIV and nutrition. The drama was broadcast weekly across Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and PNG on Radio Australia Tok Pisin18 service from 1999 to 2008 (WSB, 2008).

The need for a locally produced television series to further development agendas had long been recognised by regional agencies, and an attempt to produce one was made in 1998 in Fiji. Pasifika Productions, funded by UNICEF, produced a 4-episode pilot Suva City (1998) focusing on young people dealing with issues including alcohol abuse, HIV, pre-marital sex and traditional values. Although initial response to the pilot was reportedly positive, lack of funding prevented the production continuing (D. Hermanson, personal communication, July 27, 2010) and the Pacific remained without its own television series until Love Patrol first aired in 2007.

17 The films are mostly produced in English (for regional distribution), although there have been a number produced in Bislama, the lingua franca of Vanuatu and understood in Solomon Islands and PNG. 18 The lingua franca of PNG. 19

Development of a Pacific soap opera

By 2006, Wan Smolbag’s radio soap, Famili Blong Serah, had been running for seven years and its availability on DVD frequently requested. With this background, Wan Smolbag had often been asked by agencies in the Pacific whether they had thought about producing a television series. There was a strong feeling in the region that the time was ripe for the Pacific to have its own television soap opera, with characters, storylines and scenes relevant to the region (Gooch, 2007). In 2006 the project manager for the Pacific Regional HIV/AIDS Project19, familiar with the successful impact of educational soap operas in other parts of the world such as Soul City in South Africa, approached Wan Smolbag and offered to provide funding support to develop a Pacific series to raise the profile and understanding of HIV and other social issues (WSB, 2011). The series was to be in English so that it could be used in most countries in the region. Wan Smolbag’s long-standing work in the field made them well aware of the unmet need for HIV education coupled with the barriers that exist to open discussion and action on issues relating to HIV (WSB, 2009). The group was excited by the concept; the chance to hold audiences’ attention over a period of weeks with a series presented an excellent opportunity to put issues in the centre of the public domain in a way in which a film cannot manage (WSB, 2011). The setting of a typical Pacific police station was chosen. Certain key characters emerged out of the chosen setting: Chief Inspectors, higher ranking and lower ranking officers, and detectives.

Early on the idea was formed to set the series around a police officer and his family. This was partly inspired through a recent workshop the actors had facilitated with police officers in Vanuatu in which they were quite candid about the power their uniform gave them in sexual matters ... But it was also felt that setting it in the police would give access to a genre that people like and sub-plots with a range of issues that relate to and have impact on the spread of HIV, such as domestic violence and alcohol abuse. (Love Patrol crew member)

19 A capacity development project jointly funded by the Australian, New Zealand and French governments, which supported HIV responses in 14 independent Pacific Island countries from 2003– 2008. It provided funding, technical support and training to government and civil society organisations to develop and implement national HIV strategic plans. 20

In setting the series within a police station, the producers felt this would give them significant scope in developing characters and stories both inside the station and outside, in the broader community. Initial storylines emerged through a focus on a particular character, a handsome detective with a fascination with women, who engaged in sexual relations beyond the parameters of his marriage.

I guess I wanted it [Love Patrol] to appeal in some ways to men... I also felt that because men are perhaps the most difficult group to reach, because men have that sexual freedom that often women don’t, it would be interesting to have a male character that wasn’t evil but had affairs, so that was where Mark [detective character] came from… (Love Patrol scriptwriter)

In ensuring the show appealed to both men and women, the producers were keen to explore the reality of people’s lives without judgement. This included the structural factors which impact on choices and practices in the context of the Pacific Islands.

There’s a lot of unemployed youth throughout the Pacific so I wanted some characters who fitted into that group, and the whole business of how difficult it is in most Pacific Island countries to talk about sex in schools, so I really wanted to include all of those issues. (Love Patrol scriptwriter)

Since its inception the series has been grounded in lived experience, with storylines informed by Wan Smolbag’s community work. Stories collected from around the Pacific continue to inform the series, along with ongoing input from the nurses and peer educators at the organisation’s reproductive health clinics. In order to engage people who may have been deterred by overt attention to it, HIV did not become a major focus until episode six, thus the audience were able to follow the stories of the characters and come to love or hate them and then HIV was brought into these characters’ lives.

Despite linguistic, cultural and sub-regional differences Love Patrol proved to be extremely popular throughout the Pacific region. According to the Vanuatu local newspaper, by the time the first series ended the actors had become household names.

There were many stories about people rushing home on Sundays to watch the series and also people flooding into other people’s houses to watch. At Sorovanga School they allowed people in to watch the series, ‘People run to get there,’ said Moses Joel, who lives in the area, ‘they ran because those who got there last couldn’t get in and ended up waiting outside’. (Vanuatu Daily Post, 2007, July 9)

Aired initially in Vanuatu and then successive Pacific countries, the show rapidly proved immensely popular to audiences throughout the region (WSB, 2009). The pilot of ten episodes (series 1) was a huge success and this led to funding support for future series. The series is now in its fifth season and has been broadcast across the Pacific region on local television stations20 as well as the Australia Network21. Small-scale evaluations of the series undertaken by the producers have found that Love Patrol has widespread exposure and is very popular among Pacific Islanders (WSB, 2009). Audiences respond favourably to the show and appear to make strong connections with the characters (WSB, 2009, 2010). However, how, why and to what depth the audiences interacted with the series was unknown. It was also unknown how audiences responded cognitively or affectively to the program, or whether or to what extent the show’s messages or content affected communities. The key question remained: did Love Patrol have an impact on HIV responses?

20 Love Patrol episodes are also available on YouTube. The playlist for Love Patrol series 3, the focus of this thesis can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS3BVTlzK7UEA- HDFN2n0RMSyDQ-dd9lM. In addition to airing the series on television, all episodes are distributed widely on DVD across the region with back up print materials relating to the episodes for use by teachers, community educators, nurses and non-government organisation workers, providing an important source of resource materials across the region’s schools, NGOs, clinics and village communities (NZAID, 2007). 21 Australia’s international television service reaching 15 Pacific Island countries & territories. 22

Significance of the thesis

Love Patrol is the first use of televised edutainment in the Pacific, and the empirical data drawn on by this thesis represents the first study of edutainment’s impact within Oceania. The Love Patrol series is broadcast within a milieu of relatively recent television introduction, yet rapid expansion, and little to no local programming available to viewers. I expand on the implications of this context, markedly different to other regions where edutainment research has been undertaken, demonstrating how Love Patrol engages local communities, enabling social dialogue around the contentious topics contained in the narrative. This thesis responds to calls for further research on social interaction and community dialogue stimulated by edutainment programs (Kincaid, 2002; Sood, 2002), contributing knowledge on how edutainment can infiltrate social networks to stimulate private and public dialogue and debate.

This thesis contributes knowledge on how culturally embedded approaches which engage with the social and community level can contribute to HIV responses. Many current Pacific prevention programs have been designed or copied from outside the region and by non-Pacific Islanders and these programs often employ messages and communication channels that fail to speak to the cultural experiences of Melanesian communities (Chung, 1999; Drysdale, 2004a, 2004b; Meleisea, 2009). Love Patrol, with its strong Melanesian cultural base, is distinctly different and this thesis argues that it strategically works with culture in order to undertake HIV prevention. In doing so it responds to calls for culturally compelling approaches to HIV prevention, grounded in local understandings and experiences (Lepani, 2012). In a context of little evidence to indicate that HIV prevention in the Pacific has been successful, particularly amongst those who are most vulnerable (Worth, 2012; UNAIDS, 2011), this thesis builds a case for a shift from current approaches targeting individual behaviour towards supporting community level (social) change. By applying social change concepts this thesis contributes to ongoing debates about approaches to HIV prevention and education in the Pacific.

There is an extensive literature extolling the benefits of utilising edutainment approaches in HIV prevention (Goldstein et al., 2005; Lie, 2008; Papa & Singhal, 2009;

Sood, Shefner-Rogers & Sengupta, 2006; Tufte, 2002); however, there remains limited information on its role in stigma reduction. This thesis contends that Love Patrol reduces prejudice and improves community attitudes towards those who are socially marginalised. I show how audience involvement with MSM, sex worker and HIV positive characters in Love Patrol develops relationships with these characters and effects positive attitudinal change. Consequently, this thesis addresses broader issues of stigma and social exclusion, contributing knowledge on how edutainment may influence attitudes towards marginalised populations.

This thesis responds to calls for more nuanced documentation of edutainment’s role in social change by developing a detailed and contextual analysis of the processes of representation in a Melanesian edutainment production. This thesis is unique in its approach; rather than focusing solely on audience reception of Love Patrol, I look at how messages are crafted and how knowledge becomes produced. I demonstrate how Love Patrol promotes specific norms and behaviours that offer alternatives to dominant paradigms and explicate the effect of these representations on members of marginalised populations. Consequently this thesis contributes to understandings of how communities may challenge and transform the operation and effects of stigmatising representations.

Overview of the chapters

This thesis argues that Love Patrol harnesses important social issues around HIV, sexuality and violence in ways that engage communities, enables dialogue about these sensitive issues and challenges socio-cultural norms to reduce stigma and promote sexual rights. This thesis is comprised of nine chapters. Throughout, I argue that audiences and communities are talking about Love Patrol, interpreting it, translating and transporting it into the lives of real people and communities in ways that may impact on the existing social order.

The first chapter of this thesis introduces the reader to the Pacific, broadly outlining the cultural, social and economic context, and providing an overview of the HIV epidemic and the regional response. In this chapter I also reflect on the growth of television in the Pacific and the origins of the Love Patrol series. 24

Chapter 2 provides the foundation for the thesis. It reviews the existing literature on public health and HIV prevention and communication for social change. I introduce the edutainment approach and examine some of the key constructs underpinning the approach. I explore the nature of HIV-related stigma and use of edutainment to reduce stigma. The literature review concludes with the theoretical framework of this thesis, which is derived from a body of theory on social representation and social change.

Chapter 3 provides a description of the methods used in this thesis and outlines the rationale for using qualitative research methods for collecting data in the field. In this chapter I position my approach within a Melanesian research framework.

The results section of the thesis is divided into five chapters, which elucidate key elements of my thesis (Chapters 4 to 8).

Chapter 4 shows how Love Patrol engages viewers in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu emotionally, morally and socially in powerful ways. I argue that Love Patrol is deeply embedded in the Melanesian cultural context and uses culture as a vehicle for HIV prevention.

Chapter 5 focuses on the silencing and denial of young people’s sexuality within Melanesia. I examine how Love Patrol fosters social discourses of change through reflecting prevalent cultural norms and social practices whilst simultaneously modelling new ways of responding to the sexuality of young people.

Chapter 6 examines the signification of HIV in the Melanesian context and how meanings may be reshaped. I demonstrate how Love Patrol’s representation of HIV positive characters, Elizabeth and Mark, affect community beliefs. I contend that Love Patrol positively influences social norms and attitudes towards people with HIV through addressing the meanings associated with HIV.

Chapter 7 examines how Love Patrol’s portrayal of sex workers and the issue of sex work distinctly contrast previous representations. I argue that a more nuanced understanding of sex work is achieved through the revelation of the context of sex 25

work and the reality of sex workers’ lives, and that consequently audience dialogue and debate on sex work is stimulated.

Chapter 8 focuses on Andy, the first Pacific gay-identified television character. I show how Andy provides visibility and legitimacy to men who have sex with men (MSM). I contend that the character of Andy has transformative power and is mobilising MSM community and resistance to sexual stigma and prejudice in Melanesia.

The ninth and final chapter of the thesis draws all the empirical material together and positions it in relation to the literature and theoretical framework presented earlier. This chapter presents this thesis’ contribution to the body of knowledge on how culture can be harnessed in the work of HIV prevention; demonstrates how findings contribute to strengthening understandings of stigma reduction and social change processes; and examines the implications of this knowledge for the practice of HIV prevention initiatives in the Pacific.

The next chapter will review the literature on public health, HIV prevention and communication for social change pertinent to this thesis and present the theoretical framework. I will articulate the paradigm shift evident in the field of HIV prevention and discuss how this shift has not been reflected in Pacific HIV responses. I assert the social change agenda as an effective approach to HIV prevention communication and examine the potential for edutainment initiatives to contribute to social change processes. I draw on the concept of social representations to consider the nature of HIV-related stigma and the use of edutainment in its reduction.

CHAPTER 2

HIV PREVENTION COMMUNICATION: SITUATING LOVE PATROL

Love Patrol is a Pacific HIV prevention initiative. There is an extensive literature on preventing HIV transmission, which has undergone many substantial changes over the years. This thesis highlights this evolution in order to explore how a social change approach to HIV prevention can enhance and strengthen work in this area. In this chapter I will dissect the literature to focus on those prevention strategies most commonly implemented in the Pacific: health education and behaviour change communication. I discuss the rationale for these strategies as well as highlighting their various limitations. The often-disappointing results of these intervention strategies have been accompanied by a growing emphasis on the social and structural approaches to HIV internationally. This has led to an increase in attention on the role of communication in influencing the social and cultural environment for HIV prevention. As this thesis aims to contribute to understandings of how edutainment can play a role in social change, I explore the concept of communication for social change, focusing on the importance of fostering dialogue and debate within communities. I introduce the edutainment approach, emphasising how it can be utilised as a communication strategy for social change. In examining its key constructs within this chapter, I draw on the literature on communication theory, narrative persuasion and drama theory, as well as that on parasocial interaction. Love Patrol’s representations and effect on social attitudes are central to this thesis, thus the literature on the construction of meanings through social representations is examined. My thesis is also informed by a number of key studies in the domain of stigma. I consider the nature of HIV-related stigma and the use of edutainment in its reduction. This chapter concludes with the theoretical framework of this thesis, which is derived from a body of theory on social representation and social change.

Preventing HIV

The theoretical frameworks that inform HIV prevention interventions have most often been drawn from the field of public health (Parker, 2001), leading to a focus on health education and behaviour change communication. These approaches remain the

mainstay of prevention programs in many parts of the world, including the Pacific, despite extensive documentation of their inconsistent results. Internationally, most HIV prevention programs, consciously or not, have been based on social cognitive approaches to understanding health-related behaviour. Frameworks such as the Health Belief Model (Becker, 1974; Rosenstock, 1990); Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1997); Hierarchy-of-Effects (McGuire, 1989); the Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980), and the Stages of Change (Prochaska & Norcross, 2001) have been widely influential in health promotion and have informed HIV prevention initiatives from the beginning of the epidemic. Many of these theories and models of health behaviour change are based on individual psychology and the logic of rational decision- making as opposed to group or community norms. Such cognitive-behavioural approaches assume that people’s behaviours are largely determined by rational choices made in light of their knowledge about a particular health issue, and by their beliefs about their own ability to avoid or prevent it. Equally, these approaches assume that individuals have the motivation and the capacity to adopt protective measures. Thus prevention based on these theoretical frameworks emphasises the provision of accurate information about HIV and the steps that individuals can take to prevent it, assuming that a rational person in possession of the correct information will make health- enhancing decisions about their behaviour (Aggleton, 1996). This assumption underpins the emphasis on education or ‘awareness-raising’ and more recently, behaviour change communication programs, in Pacific regional and national responses to HIV.

The limitations of traditional behavioural approaches in public health have become apparent, particularly with regard to the development of prevention and intervention activities (Parker, 2001; Parker, Easton & Klein, 2000). The growing critique of individually focused behavioural change models recognises that approaches which target individual behaviour only “consequently reduce public health issues to individual-level problems and define solutions within ‘information deficit’ models” (Guttman, 1997, p. 105), ignoring how health problems are intricately linked to broader social and political contexts. I do not contend that accurate knowledge about HIV and how to prevent its transmission are not important; these are vital for informed decision- making. However, increased knowledge alone is not sufficient to reduce vulnerability

to HIV infection, as evidenced by the well-documented disconnect between HIV-related knowledge and HIV-related behaviour (Dowsett & Aggleton, 1999; Panos Institute, 2003). Thus in this thesis I argue that current Pacific HIV prevention responses that prioritise education and behaviour change communication22 over strategies to address the broader social and structural factors that hinder people’s ability to act on health information are insufficient and ineffective. Behaviour change strategies that focus on individual level changes mistakenly assume that people can control their context or work outside of social, cultural, economic and political factors.

Many HIV prevention programs, including those in the Pacific, fail to take into account how sexuality is socially and culturally constructed and that HIV transmission occurs in social contexts. Vulnerability to HIV infection is now well recognised as being shaped by wider structural factors, which also condition the possibilities for sexual risk reduction in specific social contexts (Farmer, 2004; Farmer, Connors & Simmons, 1996; Parker, 2001; Treichler, 1999). Individual approaches to behaviour change have also been critiqued as ‘first world’ in focus, developed on a basis of social psychological models in western countries (Airhihenbuwa & Obregon, 2000). Such a perspective does not fit with collectivist cultures such as the Pacific Island context, where family and community are central. Most theories used to inform prevention strategies do not include culture as a central concept and there are many scholars calling for culture to be placed at the centre of prevention approaches (Airhihenbuwa & Obregon, 2000; Panter- Brick, Clarke, Lomas, Pinder & Lindsay, 2006; Yoder, 1997). Interventions that engage local communities and are embedded within social landscapes are seen as key (Panter- Brick et al., 2006).

There are calls for HIV prevention to be better informed by the structural and social forces that drive the epidemic. This approach to understanding HIV and the need to highlight the context in which the pandemic is embedded, has wide support (McKee, Bertrand & Becker-Benton, 2004). Rather than a focus on individual behaviour or risk,

22 In the majority of the Pacific this constitutes awareness-raising and the development and distribution of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials (commonly posters, billboards and pamphlets) targeting a range of settings. It may also be delivered through presentations, drama skits and through peer education. Although there has been growing shift to behaviour change communication (BCC) in recent years, with a focus on strategies to change behaviour (eg. delay onset of sexual intercourse, or increase the use of condoms), BCC still targets individual behaviour, neglecting the broader context. 29

the focus is on the range of contextual and structural factors that might render an individual or community vulnerable. Individuals are grounded within a system of socio-cultural relationships, families, social networks, communities, and nations, which potentially influence directly or indirectly, the ability or tendency to act (Gilbert, Selikow & Walker, 2010; Underwood, Skinner, Osman & Schwandt, 2011). There has been a gradual shift from a focus on the individual to the recognition of the importance of social norms in defining sexual behaviour and the need to address the cultural, social and economic context in which behaviour takes place (Bertrand, 2004; Kippax, 2008, 2012; Merson, O'Malley, Serwadda & Apisuk, 2008; Rao Gupta, Parkhurst, Ogden, Aggleton & Mahal, 2008). This reinforces the critical importance of engaging with the cultural and social contexts of focus populations and directs attention towards community level (social) change.

The social and structural factors that increase people’s vulnerability to HIV infection such as poverty, gender inequality and human rights violations are now foregrounded as critical to effective HIV responses. These ‘social drivers’ of HIV have been the focus of recent attention by both social researchers and intergovernmental agencies (UNAIDS, 2007b). It is notable that these social drivers are comparable to the ‘social determinants of health’ championed in global public health discourse. With the acknowledgement of the profoundly social nature of HIV transmission comes recognition that “much of what humans do, think, and desire is influenced, if not determined, by key elements of social life including norms, values, networks, structures and institutions” (Auerbach, Parkhurst & Cáceres 2011, p. s294). Social and structural interventions for HIV prevention thus aim to modify social arrangements and social conditions to promote health and reduce risk in specific contexts (Auerbach, 2009). Because they aim to affect environments, such interventions often involve a combination of strategies, and importantly, they are usually about more than just HIV. Structural interventions for HIV prevention include the following actions: shifting harmful social norms such as gender/sexuality discrimination; confronting stigma and discrimination; catalysis of social and political change (for example promoting dialogue, advocacy); empowerment of communities and groups (for example community formation, promotion of leadership and support) (Auerbach et al., 2011).

Despite the increased attention to social and structural approaches to HIV prevention, progress on the shift would appear to be limited in most settings (Gilbert, 2012; Kippax, Holt & Freidman, 2011; Lucas & Lloyd, 2005). The hegemony of behaviour change theories is noted as persistent in current development practice (Coates, Richter & Cáceres, 2008; Lacayo, 2006; Rao Gupta et al., 2008; Rugg et al., 2000), and the Pacific Islands context is no exception. Most HIV prevention initiatives undertaken in the Pacific, with the emphasis on ABC23 preventative messages (as is the policy in most of the region) to date remain overwhelmingly dominated by interventions that target individuals and their behaviour. Insufficient attention is paid to the social and cultural factors or structures that put individuals at risk and constrain individual choice and practices (Aggleton et al., 2010, 2011). A lack of information is not the core problem; rather it lies in power imbalances, structural inequalities and in deeper social problems. Societal constraints effectively reduce the available choices and limit the autonomy of women, young people, and marginalised populations such as MSM and sex workers (UNAIDS, 2011a). There is a great need to consider issues of gender power and control, oppression and empowerment, participation and dialogue, given that these are all important to the process of social change (Lacayo, Obregon & Singhal, 2008; Papa, Singhal & Papa, 2006). Gilbert (2012) argues that a way forward for health promotion as part of public health, and particularly for HIV, to succeed is to align its goals with wider developmental and social agendas generally (p. 71). This perspective sits within a social change agenda and moves discourse beyond the public health and HIV prevention literature to the broader development communication literature, in particular the concept of communication for social change.

Communication for social change

This thesis builds on the shift to social and structural approaches to HIV prevention discussed above, articulating a social change approach to HIV prevention communication. A focus on social change24 has become a key trend in health and development communication; this approach moves away from individual behaviours (only) towards collective community action and long-term social change. This shift has

23 Abstinence, Be faithful, Condom use. 24 Within the communication literature social change is defined as a long-term, complex, contradictory and collective (rather than individually focused) process through which people define who they are, what they want and need, and how they will work together to get what they need to improve their lives (Gumucio-Dragon & Tufte, 2006; UNDP, 2011). 31

been reflected in a renewed focus on the role of communication in influencing the social and cultural environment for HIV prevention, care and support (UNAIDS, 1999, 2001). In this model, communication is ascribed an important role in grassroots advocacy, mobilising political action and creating the context for more gender sensitive and culturally appropriate HIV intervention programs. Recent calls to pay closer attention to theories and models that address contextual rather than individual factors to inform HIV prevention have also resulted in closer attention to culture in the development of communication programs (Airhihenbuwa, Makinwa & Obregon, 2000; Auerbach, Hayes & Kandathil, 2006). Cultural factors have now been identified as central to understanding the social dimensions of HIV. Health communication practitioners increasingly emphasise the social context in which individuals find themselves: the family and social networks, the larger community and societal environments. However, within the literature it is also noted that to date the range of evidence-based and evidence-informed strategies that can be demonstrated to actually achieve social change is quite small (Auerbach et al., 2011).

A focus on social change also reflects a shift in communication approaches from ‘message’ to ‘voice’. While enormous effort and significant funds have been invested in prevention campaigns using the media, information dissemination and messaging, the most successful communication strategies go beyond ‘social marketing’ and top-down mass media campaigns, and foster environments where the voice of those most affected by the pandemic can be heard (Panos Institute, 2003). A focus on ‘voice’ is advocated in order to better understand and effectively tackle social and structural drivers of the epidemic, in particular, gender inequality, stigma and discrimination, and human rights violations (Gopal, 2011).

Communication for social change is grounded on the work of Paulo Freire who conceived communication as dialogue and participation for the purpose of creating cultural identity, trust, commitment, ownership and empowerment (Figueroa, Kincaid, Rani & Lewis, 2002). It is a model that places emphasis on engaging communities, building on local wisdom, and expanding horizontal communication (Krenn & Limaye,

2009; Skuse, 2011)25. Communication for social change is focused on generating meaningful dialogue with and within communities and recognises the need for community ‘ownership’ of interventions and dialogue. A greater focus on an interpersonal and social approach to HIV prevention communication emphasises mechanisms and determinants of change such as private and public dialogue and debate, social norms and cultural values. In the Pacific this necessitates facilitating community- wide debate about the local factors that may influence HIV transmission (such as gender-based violence; polygyny; abuse of drugs and alcohol; migration and mobility; gender inequality), and what community members collectively could do to change their local social and structural environment (Aggleton et al., 2010, 2011). To date, few organisations or agencies in the region have employed strategies that promote discussion of these social factors affecting HIV vulnerability26.

The role of community dialogue and debate

Community dialogue is a prominent theme in this thesis. Dialogue occurs when people “meet to reflect on their reality as they make and remake it” (Freire & Shor, 1987 p. 98). Scholars have emphasised interpersonal and social processes as mechanisms of change (Piotrow & de Fossard, 2004; La Pastina, Patel & Schiavo, 2004); equally, dialogue and debate are seen as key indicators of social change (Singhal, Cody, Rogers & Sabido, 2004). Interpersonal communication and community dialogue signify the collective processing of issues and represent a mechanism through which sensitive or taboo topics are brought into the open, thereby reducing the ‘collective silence’ or collective negation of issues, recognised barriers to change. Public dialogue and debate are key mechanisms through which advocacy and social influence take place (Rogers, 2003) thus community-informed prevention programs that promote public debate and talk have great potential for facilitating change. It is posited that only when people become truly engaged in discussions about HIV, does real individual and social change come about (Panos Institute, 2003). Scholars contend that participation in dialogue can impact positively on health by increasing people’s critical consciousness of their own situation, leading to collective health-promoting action and enhanced collective

25 United Nations agencies use the terminology ‘communication for development’ (C4D) similarly advocating a process which focuses on empowerment, enabling dialogue and participation (UNDP, 2011). 26 Exceptions are the Community Conversations (see Reid, 2010) & Stepping Stones (see Hermanson, 2009; Pacific Regional HIV/AIDS Project, 2008) programs, implemented in some Pacific communities. 33

community wellbeing (Airhihenbuwa & Obregon, 2000; Campbell & Cornish 2010; Campbell & Jovchelovitch 2000; Low-Beer, 2004; Melkote, Muppidi & Goswami, 2000). It is important not only that people talk about an issue, but also what they say about the issue. This reinforces the critical importance of interpersonal communication and the need for HIV interventions to stimulate community dialogue.

Freire’s (1970) theorisation of critical consciousness is central to understanding the potential of dialogue to facilitate the participation of people in the social change necessary to support health-enabling environments. The development of critical consciousness or ‘conscientisation’ is a process that emerges in dialogical relations. The Freirean empowerment through education approach focuses on learners defining and naming their own problems; critically examining these problems and root causes; creating a vision of a healthier community and developing social action strategies to overcome barriers and achieve their goals (Wallerstein & Bernstein, 1994). Freire’s theory of dialogue and critical thinking is drawn on in this thesis to understand and analyse social change processes.

Mobilising communities

A social change perspective puts a focus on active and meaningful participation of those affected, since sustainable change and empowerment cannot be effectively achieved by outside ‘experts’ (Lennie & Tacchi, 2013). Social change takes place in circulated culture; in shared beliefs (Lie, 2008). Community mobilisation and collective action are seen as keys in modifying social norms, practices and even institutions. In distinct contrast to individualised notions of change, community dialogue and collective action work together to produce social change in a community improving the health of all its members (Figueroa et al., 2002). This is central to achieving public health impact; large-scale behaviour change focused HIV interventions have seldom achieved reductions in HIV infections unless accompanied by strengthened, local level community mobilisation (Herbert & Parker, 2004). Effective prevention requires that public health addresses people not only as individuals but also as connected members of groups, networks and collectives (Kippax, 2012, p. 1). This is particularly critical within the Pacific context; consequently a consideration of Love Patrol’s effect on social norms, values and networks, as well as its role in reshaping such norms is central

to this thesis. There is now greater attention to the utilisation of mass media approaches to activate community mobilisation. Community-level interventions and mass media approaches are frequently treated as separate, parallel programs yet when effectively coordinated, they can be mutually reinforcing and complementary interventions, resulting in a greater overall impact (McKee, Bertrand & Becker-Benton, 2004).

Ideas about community mobilisation and collective action also link with those of collective efficacy. A further expansion on traditional models of behaviour change is the introduction of efficacy as a key determinant of health and social outcomes. The concept applies to individuals as well as collectives. Collective efficacy has been defined as a group’s judgement of their ability to perform a particular task or as mutual trust and willingness to intervene in the particular task or action (Bandura, 1997). Theories of social science and behavioural change view efficacy as a catalyst in the change process (Bandura, 2002, Coates et al., 2008). Impacting positively on efficacy is a key factor in empowering people to take action: belief that a community can effect change, and can overcome barriers to change or act on awareness and knowledge is part of the complex process of actually effecting such change. Efficacy is also closely tied to notions of agency.

Key components of social change are social norms, social networks, community dialogue, community mobilisation and collective action (Figueroa et al., 2002; Krenn & Limaye, 2009). This closely parallels with structural interventions for HIV prevention, which include actions such as: confronting and shifting harmful social norms such as gender/sexuality stigma and discrimination; catalysing social and political change through promoting dialogue and advocacy, and empowerment of communities and groups (Auerbach et al., 2011). Thus it would appear that these previously separate schools of thought – public health (and HIV prevention) and development communication – are showing signs of converging. As Love Patrol is an HIV communication initiative which focuses on social change, this convergence is significant to this thesis.

Edutainment: a communication for social change approach

Love Patrol is an entertainment-education or ‘edutainment’ initiative, a strategy that harnesses popular culture and communication with an aim to bring about social change. Edutainment is the process of purposely embedding educational and social issues in an entertainment program, in order to achieve individual, community, institutional, and societal changes (Wang & Singhal 2009). The potential for combining education and entertainment in health and development as a communication for social change approach has been well recognised (Lacayo & Singhal, 2008; Papa & Singhal, 2009; Singhal et al., 2004; Sood, 2002). A common goal of edutainment programs is to advocate rights of specific social groups and to articulate social change. Internationally edutainment is being used as a strategic tool to support social change; enhancing social mobilisation, articulating peoples participation and empowering minority or marginalised groups to collective action (Tufte, 2008). The edutainment strategy has been used in over 50 countries worldwide, particularly in Latin America, Africa and Asia, dealing mainly with reproductive health issues such as HIV prevention, family planning, environmental health, teenage pregnancy prevention, and gender equality (Goldstein, Usdin, Scheepers & Japhet, 2005; Do & Kincaid, 2006; Piotrow, Kincaid, Rimon, Rinehart & Samson, 1997; Shefner-Rogers & Sood, 2004). Over the past two decades edutainment has become a major approach to health promotion and disease prevention (Piotrow et al., 1997; Singhal & Rogers, 2004). Love Patrol is the first use of televised edutainment in the Pacific, and this thesis represents the first study of edutainment within Oceania.

Edutainment strategies have been used consciously in the last forty years, but the practice of combining entertainment and education is not new. Entertainment media traditions such as music, drama, dance, and various folk media have been used in many countries for recreation, devotion, reformation, and instructional purposes for centuries (Murdoch, 1980; Singhal & Rogers, 1999). Societies have used entertainment and traditional cultural forms to pass down knowledge and community norms, and this is certainly the case in the Pacific Islands, which have a strong tradition of storytelling, dance and music for this very purpose (Lal & Luker, 2008). A narrative tells a story about things of importance or interest within that culture and reflecting and reinforcing cultural concerns. Storytelling has been a powerful and popular communication tool

throughout history and across cultures (Fisher, 1985) and is “deeply rooted in human experience and history” (Slater & Rouner, 2002, p. 176). The power of the narrative lies in its ability to facilitate an emotional experience as viewers or listeners are ‘swept up’ into the story and become involved with the characters (Moyer-Gusé, 2008). Though stories and dramas have been used for centuries to teach lessons, there is limited understanding of how learning takes place. An identified need is for research to explore how social relationships, emotion and the narrative affect audiences (Kincaid, 2002).

In large part, the promise and appeal of narrative lies in its familiarity as a basic mode of human interaction. Because people communicate with one another and learn about the world around them largely through stories, it is a comfortable way of giving and receiving information. Furthermore, narratives can be powerful means of communicating ideas even those that may be considered controversial. Edutainment initiatives such as drama have been found to be an effective means of broaching sensitive topics such as cultural attitudes regarding sexuality and thereby opening up public discussion. According to Shrum (2004), “when viewers are engaged in the dramatic elements of an edutainment program they are in a state of less critical, more immersive engagement” (p. 51). As viewers are less critical of topics, issues and messages presented in a narrative format, it may be easier to influence attitudes, beliefs and even behaviour due to greater chance of acceptance (Moyer-Gusé, 2008; Slater, 2002; Slater & Rouner, 2002). Consequently, the medium of edutainment is posited to create a unique space to address sensitive and taboo issues that otherwise could not be addressed publicly (Stangl et al., 2010). This is particularly relevant to this thesis, as many of the issues portrayed in Love Patrol are taboo in the Pacific cultural context, and I consider whether the presentation of these hitherto proscribed topics in a dramatic format increases their acceptance amongst Melanesian audiences.

Edutainment has its roots in the Latin American tradition of ‘telenovelas’27. The strategy used for designing and implementing edutainment campaigns today is based almost exclusively on methods developed by Miguel Sabido of Mexico in the 1970s (Nariman, 1993; Poindexter, 2004; Singhal & Obregon, 1999; Singhal & Rogers, 2002,

27 Serial dramatic programs in television programming. 37

2004). Sabido believed that mediated communication campaigns would have limited effects on a small segment of the audience; however, he also believed in the power of interpersonal communication as audience members talked to their peers about what they had seen on television. This two-step process, incorporating both mediated and interpersonal communication, became key in realising desired effects from programs promoting positive social changes (Singhal et al., 2004). This capacity for edutainment to stimulate interpersonal dialogue is central to this thesis.

Not unlike approaches utilised in broader public health and health promotion, edutainment was initially very focused on individual behaviour change, rooted in linear communication models and based on traditions of persuasion and psychological modelling (Sood, Mennard & Witte, 2004). With a theoretical foundation of social cognitive theory these approaches were conceptualised as one-directional persuasive communication intended to affect individual behavioural or attitudinal change, with a goal to persuade audiences to adopt certain socially desirable behaviours or attitudes (Bandura, 2004; Kincaid, 2002; Nariman, 1993; Piotrow & de Fossard, 2004; Singhal & Rogers, 1999; Slater & Rouner, 2002; Tufte, 2004). In recent years, however, there has been growing critique of this fairly narrow theoretical approach. Assumptions that intense audience involvement with the characters in the soap operas led to role modelling, which could fully account for attitude and behaviour change “ignores…the complexity of social change processes that require interaction, deliberation, and action by members of the social system” (Papa et al., 2000, p. 33). To realise change, peer dialogue, debate, and collective action have been recognised as key. While the mass media alone does not have the power to foster change, the ability to stimulate conversations among audiences creates opportunities for change as people, individually and collectively, consider new patterns of thought and behaviour (Papa et al., 2000, p. 33). This thesis responds to calls for further research on social interaction and community dialogue stimulated by edutainment programs.

The focus of edutainment has changed significantly in recent years, with initiatives increasingly attending to the support of social change rather than prescribed behavioural changes. Present-day edutainment discourses increasingly deal with enhancing equity, affirming the power of storytelling, and expanding opportunities for transformative

dialogue (Storey & Sood, 2013). This shift may be considered in line with the shifting global public health focus towards the social determinants of health, in addition to the emerging communication for social change arena, as posited, a key theme of this thesis. Whereas earlier approaches to edutainment marketed behaviours, more recent approaches seek to empower people (Tufte, 2005). Over time, the emergence of a social change agenda has increased attention on structural elements alongside the individual, leading to a present focus on empowerment. This shift represents a changed understanding of the notions of entertainment, culture, education and social change (Tufte, 2005, p. 163-164). Edutainment projects that include social mobilisation as part of their agenda are seen to be part of this current generation of initiatives. Soul City in South Africa (Usdin, Singhal, Shongwe, Goldstein & Shabalala, 2004), El Sexto Sentido in Nicaragua (Rodriguez, 2005), and Meena in South India (McKee, Bertrand & Becker-Benton, 2004) are cited as cases of edutainment that take on advocacy and social mobilisation as part of their agenda to strengthen progressive social movements (Rodriguez, 2005; Tufte, 2005).

Possibly one of the best-known examples of a successful edutainment initiative which fosters social change, Soul City28 was developed based on the experiences of its founders practising medicine in South African urban and rural communities who realised their lack of influence on basic social problems. Soul City was developed as a vehicle to ensure information was accessible, real and appropriate to the audience, who were ultimately the agents of change, deciding themselves how and if to use the information provided (Tufte, 2005). Set in the fictional Soul City Township, the series mirrors the social and development challenges faced by poor communities, weaving health and social issues into real-life stories. From the outset, the objective of the series was the development of an ongoing mechanism to promote social change (Japhet, 1999).

El Sexto Sentido (The Sixth Sense) is a Nicaraguan soap opera produced by a local non- government organisation. Based on more than a decade’s experience in community- based participatory work, El Sexto Sentido has characteristics which make it uniquely different to many preceding traditional edutainment initiatives: the work of progressive

28 Broadcast for the past 17 years, Soul City has become one of South Africa’s most loved television shows (Tufte, 2008). 39

social movements and grassroots organisations informs storylines and character development; each episode is well grounded in Nicaragua’s popular culture; and a communication strategy is used that integrates mass communication with group communication and interpersonal communication (Rodriguez, 2005, p. 376-377). The success and impact of Soul City and Sexto Sentido, demonstrate how edutainment can reflect culture and thus can resonate with its audience in a way that other forms of communication find difficult to rival (Goldstein et al., 2005; Tufte, 2005). While edutainment programs rely on mass media, they also take into account the culture and existing social structures for communicating information around HIV and other social issues through storytelling and character development. This is a central tenet of this thesis.

Problem identification, social critique, articulation of debate, challenging power relations and advocating social change is the focus of the latest generation of edutainment initiatives (Tufte, 2005). Edutainment programs allow audiences to witness their own problems and compare them with those the characters face. As storylines demonstrating ways of improving situations unfold within the show, viewers can also be motivated to make changes in their own social conditions (Sood, Menard & Witte, 2004). In contrast to the dominant approach to HIV prevention in the Pacific, a lack of information is not seen as the core problem; rather it lies in power imbalances, structural inequality, and in deeper societal problems. This is in keeping with broader shifts in HIV prevention approaches focusing on the social drivers of the epidemic. As social and structural inequality lie at the core of the problem, the edutainment initiative advocates for social change in order to find solutions (Tufte, 2005). Strengthening people’s ability to identify the problems in everyday life, and their ability to act both collectively as well as individually upon them is seen to be at the core of addressing these issues (Lacayo, Obregon & Singhal, 2008; Tufte, 2005). Communication for social change thus emerges as the key principle. I situate Love Patrol as a part of this latest generation of edutainment approaches; consequently its impact on Melanesian communities is explicated on this basis.

A framework for theorising edutainment effects

Edutainment draws from a number of communication and social change theories and concepts, including perceived realism, perceived similarity, cultural proximity, agenda- setting, social learning, parasocial interaction, identification, empowerment and dialogue (Brown, 2012). There is a significant body of research on both media effects and edutainment, which this review does not cover in its entirety. As I contend that Love Patrol is an edutainment initiative which focuses on empowerment and social change, this review focuses more specifically on the aspects that are relevant to community dialogue and social mobilisation. I attend to how audience members develop relationships with media characters and how these relationships can affect change in norms, values and beliefs. To explicate mechanisms for advocating social change I examine the following aspects of edutainment: cultural proximity, identification, involvement and parasocial interaction. Elaborating how edutainment can stimulate dialogue, provide parasocial contact to influence stereotypes and reduce prejudice follows this.

Cultural proximity is the notion that people will gravitate towards media from their own culture. Cultural proximity can be described as “the tendency to prefer media products from one's own culture or the most similar possible culture” (Straubhaar, 2003, p. 85). It is generally thought that audiences prefer programs that are most culturally relevant to them. This is thought to include programs which share common language, history and practices, humour and other indicators of community, as produced on the local, regional or national level (Straubhaar, 1991). The emergence of regional media production is consistent with notions of cultural proximity. In order for content to best resonate with the cultural dispositions of viewers, the content and the viewer must exist in the same ‘cultural linguistic’ (Straubhaar, 2003). Theoretically, cultural proximity has been tied to the broader concept of ‘cultural capital’ (Bourdieu, 1984). Cultural proximity is a complex concept with many dimensions; it exists on multiple levels corresponding to multiple layers of an audience member's identity (Straubhaar, 2003). Given access to culturally diverse media materials, people will prefer, and in turn choose, media that are more proximate and these media will be more influential (Ksiazek & Webster, 2008). The notion of cultural proximity is critical to this thesis in articulating the impact of Love Patrol on audiences. Research confirms that to be effective, messages and content

of drama series need to be a good fit for social and individual contexts, rooted in real- life experiences and perceived to be similar to their audiences (Sherry, 2002). Perceived similarity or ‘homophily’ is the degree to which people share attributes such as beliefs, values, education and social status (Rogers & Bhowmik, 1970). Perceived similarity tends to foster credibility and reliability, key factors for developing trust and predictability in relationships (Rubin & Rubin, 1985; Rubin & McHugh, 1987). The critical importance of local media with which audiences are able to engage at a cultural level is strongly supported by perceived similarity.

Identification refers to a viewer sharing a character’s perspective and vicariously participating in the character’s experiences when viewing (Cohen, 2001; Hoffner, 1996; Nordlund, 1978). Television series have high media interaction potential as a result of their recurring characters, allowing identification to occur. Identification is posited to increase the influence of televised content and seen as a means to “extend [our] emotional horizons and social perspectives” (Cohen, 2001 p. 249). This is based on the notion that, by representing certain characters or processes in particular ways, audience members come to adopt similar approaches in their own thinking, or integrate such thinking into their own practices. Identification with characters may inform emotional and intellectual development of ideas about particular subjects, and about ways one might act or respond to particular situations (Brown & Fraser, 2004; Parker, Ntlabati & Hajiyiannis, 2005). Social learning theory also asserts that viewers can learn new behaviours by observing role models in the mass media, with people more likely to pay attention to and be influenced by models that are perceived to be similar (Bandura, 1994). The social-cognitive construct of role modelling has attracted critique (Roberts, 2010; Wilkin et al., 2007); however, I contend that this is an important factor in the context of the Pacific where there is a lack of televised local role models. Modelling is more likely to occur to the extent viewers identify with the relevant characters. Character identification and emotional involvement in the story are seen to be the catalysts for generating its impact on the audience. A high level of character identification means a person wants to be like the character or feels like they have similar qualities, experiences, beliefs and/or goals (Kincaid, 2002; Smith, Downs & Witte, 2007).

Parasocial relationships

The strong relationship Melanesian audiences appear to develop with Love Patrol characters is a central tenet of this thesis. For several decades, communication researchers have recognised that viewers form relationships with film and television personalities and characters. The strength of these relationships may be explained by the concept of ‘parasocial interaction’ (Horton & Wohl, 1956); the imaginary relationship between media users and media figures, from celebrities to fictional characters. It is the emotional attachment that certain audience members, especially those of television, tended to develop towards their favourite characters or ‘persona’. It is theorised that parasocial relationships do not end with the conclusion of the program but are experienced long afterwards and that through such relationships characters can influence audience members (Giles, 2002; Rubin & Perse, 1987; Rubin & Rubin, 2001). Parasocial interaction is not something unique to modern mass media society. In the past, parasocial interactions were carried out between readers and fictional characters, citizens and major political figures, or even individuals with gods or spirits (Caughey, 1984).

The concept of parasocial interaction is utilised in this thesis to explicate the process underlying Love Patrol’s effects. As audiences view television characters as members of their social group, “the para-social relationship takes its place among daily live interactions with friends, family, and associates. Indeed, ‘real’ friends often discuss the antics of their para-social friends” (Meyrowitz, 1986, p. 260). Parasocial interaction may be experienced as seeking guidance from a media persona, seeing them as friends and imagining being part of a favourite program's social world (Rubin, Perse, & Powell, 1985, p. 156-157). Studies suggest that, other things being equal, viewers who are most likely to become parasocially involved are those who are actively involved with viewing, who are attracted to mass media and have a stronger tendency to take the televised portrayals or reports as true to life (Conway & Rubin, 1991; Perse, 1990; Perse & Rubin, 1989; Rubin, Perse & Powell, 1985). As discussed in my introduction, television has rapidly increased in popularity and availability in the Pacific region in the last two decades and there is a conspicuous lack of indigenous productions.

Parasocial relationships resemble actual interpersonal relationships, but are illusionary because reciprocity can only be suggested. Yet viewers may experience a parasocial interaction in a similar way they would experience a real social interaction (Chory- Assad & Yanen, 2005). Although only a fictitious friendship between a person from the audience and a media character, viewers may feel as though they know the character personally in much the same way they know their friends and family. A relationship between interpersonal interaction and the concept of parasocial interaction has been found. Parasocial interaction has been posited to grow the more viewers enter a ‘state of willing disbelief’ and forget that what they are actually viewing is just a television program (Horton & Wohl, 1956). Therefore, the greater the state of willing disbelief, the greater the likelihood the viewer will evaluate the program along interpersonal lines. Studies indicate that individuals are able to “recognise” television characters much as they recognise “real” people in their primary relationships (McQuail, 1979; Nordlund, 1978; Palmgreen, Wenner & Rosengren, 1985). Media characters are thus perceived as real persons, rather than actors performing in scripted roles. Succeeding chapters will examine the how this manifests within the Pacific viewing context through viewer interactions with Love Patrol characters on and off the screen. Parasocial relationships are posited to develop in a manner similar to interpersonal relationships (Perse, 1990; Rubin & Perse, 1987), and that media interaction directly parallels interpersonal interaction (Caughey, 1984). While that may be something of an overstatement, there is seemingly a great deal of interplay between the two.

Many of the concepts that are frequently used to describe and explain the processes of parasocial interaction in the literature confound with other frequently used concepts, including identification (Cohen, 2001), affinity (Cohen, 2001; Giles, 2002), audience involvement (Sood, 2002), absorption (Green & Brock, 2000), and empathy (Slater & Rouner, 2002). The concepts of cultural proximity, homophily, identification and aspects of audience involvement are also closely entwined. The key construct is that audience involvement through parasocial interaction engages both the brain and the emotions of viewers and can lead to behavioural participation during and because of media exposure. A number of researchers refer to the importance of ‘involvement’; the degree to which the viewer is primarily engaged and cognitively and affectively invested in a narrative (Moyer-Gusé, 2008; Slater & Rouner, 2002). In contrast to one-

way passive communication that characterises much of the mass media, IEC29 and awareness campaigns in the Pacific.

Love Patrol is a drama series and drama creates a high degree of active participation and involvement on the part of the audience (Kincaid, 2002 p. 138). Cognitive and emotional involvement is the main reason why drama is expected to have greater effects on audience individuals than other types of communication, and the greater the involvement then the greater the potential influence of the drama. Drama theory reinforces the core role of the affective domain, positing that the emotional pressure of a situation facilitates the ability to reframe situations (Kincaid, 2002). Audience involvement with drama enables audience members to engage in reflection and parasocial interaction (Sood, 2002). Reflection is the degree to which viewers think about a message and integrate it into their own lives. This is strengthened when audience members discuss the content with others in reference to their own experiences, placing themselves in the situation of the drama (Liebes & Katz, 1986). In this way, communication is both parasocial and interpersonal in nature, indications of an active and involved audience. Scholars posit that the behavioural effects of social messages embedded in edutainment programming result from such involvement (Papa et al., 2000).

Three dimensions to parasocial interaction have been identified: affective, cognitive and behavioural (Rubin & Perse, 1987; Sood, 2002). The first is affectively oriented which is when an audience member becomes emotionally involved and feels like he or she has a personal friendship with a media character. It refers to the level they identify with (or reject) a media persona or other significant characteristic of a program, such as a place or a community. This concept appears to be closely linked to perceived similarity. Emotional involvement is an audience’s experience of being absorbed in and aroused by the story. It is proposed that if a person has a high level of emotional involvement with a drama, they are emotionally affected by the experiences and actions of the characters and they are more likely to incorporate the character’s actions into their own life (Smith, Downs & Witte, 2007). Empathy may also arise from viewers’ emotional involvement. Being highly involved with media content or characters may trigger emotional

29 Information, Education and Communication 45

responses such as empathy towards characters on the part of media users (Slater & Rouner, 2002). Empathy occurs when one shares the subjective experiences of another and requires a deep sense of connection with that individual’s situation (Campbell & Babrow, 2004). Cognitive-oriented parasocial interaction is the degree to which audience members pay attention to the messages or content of a media program, reflecting on its meaning and importance (Sood & Rogers, 2000). Cognitive involvement occurs when an audience member thinks about messages during and after mediated experiences. This leads to a deeper level of involvement and may help audience members realise they can make alternative personal choices in their lives (Singhal, Sharma, Papa & Witte, 2004). Finally, behavioural involvement is the degree to which audience members overtly interact with the characters, for example talk to or talk about characters or predict what is going to happen to the characters (Livingstone, 1988, Rubin & Perse, 1987). The most involved viewers are those who speak with others about program content. Behaviourally oriented interaction is evidenced when audience members give advice to a character or chastise them; talk among themselves about the characters, or talk about characters or plots with their family or friends post- viewing. Behavioural involvement is a key point as it is at this level that dialogue is stimulated, a critical effect of edutainment.

Why is audience involvement important to social change? The more involved the audience members are, the more they reflect, talk about it with others and see possible options for change. As involvement promotes interpersonal communication amongst audiences it can be a precursor for developing self and collective efficacy (Bandura, 2002; Sood 2002). For example, seeking out other sources of information or joining a support group, are all considered as behavioural interaction. Parasocial interaction itself is not posited to directly cause change, rather to indirectly influence the audience through reflection, dialogue and debate. Studies of the Indian Radio drama Tinka Tinka Sukh found that parasocial interaction with the characters in the program led to critical thinking about the issue of dowry, followed by conversation with others, which created a social learning environment that enabled change, and communities actively opposing dowry practices (Papa et al., 2000; Sood, 2002). Furthermore, this interpersonal communication fostered collective efficacy because as they discussed the issue, community members felt able to enact change. The communication also facilitated self-

efficacy as individuals felt that they could model the behaviours of the program’s characters, thus environmental change made personal change possible. Studies such as this explicate the role that parasocial interaction can play in processes of change and how edutainment is a communication for social change strategy. Specifically, it serves as a catalyst to communication that can challenge societal beliefs and norms, enabling social change. This is a strong argument for incorporating mechanisms for social interaction in edutainment initiatives to enhance the program’s effect on audiences. Scholars note that few studies have fully explored this aspect of edutainment effects, and there is a need for further research in this area (Kincaid, 2002; Sood, 2002).

Social representations of HIV

Edutainment productions represent issues and characters in particular ways and this thesis argues that these representations affect social attitudes. Local knowledge about HIV and those associated with HIV is shaped by social representations; culturally shared meanings about particular circumstances, phenomena and people that communicate norms and values in symbolic form (Hall, 1997a; Moscovici, 1984; Winksell, Obyerodhyambo & Stephenson, 2011). They explain how a community of people, in communication and practices, come to construct a shared view of the world. Since these meanings provide a sense of identity and belonging they are able to “regulate social practices, influence our conduct and have practical effects” (Hall, 1997a, pp. 3-4). A particular interest of social representations theory is to understand how societies make sense of new and threatening phenomena, such as HIV. Mass media and interpersonal interactions play a major role whereby existing representations that circulate in a given culture are communicated between people and enter their explanations of new events (Joffe, 2003a, p. 60). Within this thesis I draw on social representations theory to investigate the social construction of HIV in the popular imagination in the Pacific and to analyse the representational strategies employed by Love Patrol.

Issues and social groups are given meaning by the way they are represented. In the Pacific, fear-based public messaging, coupled with sensationalised reporting on HIV in the mass media, has left a legacy of fear, panic and stigma (Hammar, 2010). Campaigns have focused heavily not only on death as the outcome of HIV, but also on

the depiction of a shameful death, leaning heavily on notions of blame and shame. Posters or billboards using human skulls or skeletons, coffins and other signs of death can still be found within prevention campaign material in a number of Pacific Island countries today30. HIV is thus represented as a deadly and contagious disease that can be transmitted through casual social contact or mixing with infected or affected people. Negative images of PLHIV and those affected by HIV in the media and public domain heighten anxiety and magnify the fear of contracting HIV and this fear fuels stigma (van Brakel, 2006). However, since meanings are fluid, discourses on HIV can be reworked. The focus on images, values, social stigma, beliefs and myths inherent in social representations is of particular relevance to this thesis.

An underlying premise of this thesis is that the meanings associated with HIV in the Pacific play a key role in community responses. Social representations of illnesses such as HIV are frequently associated with notions of morality and social transgression (Markova et al., 1995) and this is certainly the case in Melanesia. The process of social isolation of those affected serves to identify the disease with a discrete group or groups in order to infer responsibility or blame. Attribution of responsibility for disease has always been part of the social representation of the illness process and there is a long history of societies blaming social ‘externals’ or ‘others’ for the diseases with which they are afflicted (Markova et al., 1995, p. 113). If attribution of external responsibility cannot be realised, then society often selects easily identifiable individuals from within its own borders, usually people of perceived low standing and moral worth (Sontag, 1989), thus a conspicuous ‘other’ can be blamed for society’s ills. Within Melanesia this is frequently sex workers and MSM, who take centre stage in Love Patrol.

This thesis also draws on social representations theory with respect to attitude change, in particular that of issue framing. The framing of any given social issue in the media can influence attitudes towards that issue (Sibley, Liu & Kirkwood, 2006). Frames exert their power through selective description and omission of the facets of a situation or issue so as to promote a particular interpretation or evaluation (Edelman, 1993; Entman, 2004). Framing effects theory indicates that communication such as television

30 In Kiribati a roadside billboard in the capital depicts a coffin with a skeletal figure reaching towards a healthy-looking man. A recent brochure being distributed in Fiji for the purposes of HIV prevention contains a coffin on the front as part of the artwork. 48

purposely selects some aspects of perceived reality whilst omitting others (Entman, 1993; Zaller, 1992). The effect of frames is that particular perspectives are promoted whilst others excluded. Negative media framing can perpetuate and reproduce stigma and prejudice; conversely changing the way that information is framed may positively influence attitudes. I draw on this concept to examine the framing effects of Love Patrol’s representations.

As social representations reflect social processes that take place between members of a social network and communicate norms and values in symbolic form they are of particular value for research on social change. Conflict and social change are central as representation is seen as “a product of thought, dialogue and practice and as a process that enables communication, debate, innovation and resistance” (Howarth, 2006b, p. 444, original emphasis). Thus representations have the potential to be continuously reworked, re-made and resisted. One strategy used to contest dominant representations is “to substitute a range of positive images… for the negative imagery which continues to dominate [mainstream] representations” (Hall, 1997b, p. 272). Research into stigma does not often explore the possibilities for communities to challenge and transform the operation and effects of stigmatising representations and practices (Howarth, 2006a). I expand on the potential for marginalised populations, by way of an edutainment production, to challenge and transform dominant stigmatising representations within Melanesia.

HIV and Stigma

Stigma related to HIV is a global phenomenon with a severe impact on individuals and their families and on the effectiveness of HIV responses (Aggleton et al., 2005). In the Pacific it is widely acknowledged that stigma remains a significant obstacle to HIV prevention (Aggleton et al., 2011; Rule & Liriope, 2013; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). Despite this, comparatively little progress has been made in addressing stigma in HIV responses. Creating an enabling environment for HIV prevention thus necessitates addressing HIV-related stigma, and this is a key theme of this thesis. I draw on a body of literature that examines the nature of stigma and effective mechanisms purported to address it.

Stigma is understood as a powerful means of social control applied by marginalising, excluding and exercising power over individuals who display certain traits. Goffman (1963) first defined stigma as a significantly discrediting attribute possessed by a person with an undesired difference. It is through interactions and relations of power that labelling and stereotyping lead to the construction of ‘‘spoiled identities”. Stigma occurs when the construction of categories is linked to socially stereotyped beliefs that label some people as acceptable and others as carriers of discrediting differences. Thus stigma, understood as a negative attribute, is mapped onto people, who in turn by virtue of their difference, are understood to be negatively valued in society (Parker & Aggleton, 2003). From this perspective stigma is associated with social devaluation: it arises within social relations and it disqualifies those who bear this mark of social disgrace from full social acceptance. Stigma is socially constructed in a process shaped by structural and cultural forces (Deacon, 2006; Parker & Aggleton, 2002, 2003; Scambler, 2006). Within a particular culture or setting, certain attributes are seized upon and defined by others as discreditable or unworthy; for instance, being same-sex attracted or undertaking sex work. In this conceptualisation, ‘undesirable differences’ and ‘spoiled identities’ do not naturally exist; they are actively created by individuals and by communities. Stigmatisation therefore describes a systematic process of devaluation rather than a “thing” (Parker & Aggleton 2002, 2003). It is the social nature of stigma that this thesis engages with, examining the social construction of stigma in the Pacific.

This thesis conceptualises stigma as being linked to power and domination throughout society as a whole and playing a key role in producing and reproducing power relations. Parker and Aggleton (2002, 2003) offer a framework that emphasises stigma as a social process that needs to be understood in relation to broader notions of power and control. Stigma is used to turn difference into inequity (based on gender, age, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity), allowing some groups to devalue others based on these differences. Thus stigma and discrimination are used by dominant groups to produce, legitimise, and perpetuate social inequalities and exert social control through the exclusion of stigmatised groups, limiting the ability of those stigmatised to resist or fight the stigma (Ogden & Nyblade, 2005). Stigma is accordingly a dynamic process that occurs within the context of power. The most profound stigma often occurs at the intersection of

multiple forms of exclusion, for example: poverty, gender, and low social status (Abadia-Barrero & Castro, 2006; Cornish, 2006; Parker & Aggleton, 2003), thus HIV- related stigma often reinforces pre-existing stigma towards marginal groups.

Stigma serves to reinforce social norms by defining deviance or difference (Taylor, 2001) and it therefore has its origins deep within the structure of society, and in the norms and values that govern much of everyday life. Through social interactions, cultural contexts, and relations of power, stigma leads to discriminatory processes with harmful consequences to the person’s wellbeing (Abadia-Barrero & Castro, 2006). In the Pacific this stigma takes the form of negative reactions and discrimination by community members, social rejection and isolation from community, and the perpetration of violence. Hegemonic societal values are reinforced through the exercise of power and social control by marginalising or excluding certain groups such as MSM from the wider community. In collectivist cultures such as Melanesia, where social belonging is critical to personhood, stigma is not just an individual, psychological ‘harm’ but extends to the loss of social status and community belonging as well as the loss of personhood or existence itself (Herdt, 2001, p. 145).

In addition to an exercise of power, stigma can be a response to fear, risk, or a threat of disease that is incurable and can be deadly (Gilmore & Somerville, 1994); the more rapid the spread of the disease, and the greater the uncertainty of how the disease is transmitted, the more stigmatising the response. Research has noted that stigma related to medical conditions is greatest in the following circumstances: when the condition is associated with ‘deviant’ behaviour; when the cause is viewed as the responsibility of the individual; or when the condition is incurable, degenerative and leads to an undesirable death (Nyblade et al., 2003; Nzioka, 2000). HIV fulfills all these conditions. Within the Pacific, HIV is often misunderstood as highly contagious and a threat to the community at large; moreover, it is associated with ‘immoral’ or socially ‘improper’ behaviours, such as sexual ‘promiscuity’. Beliefs in the relationship between sin, punishment and illness have a long history. In many early societies, including those in Melanesia, disease was perceived to be the work of supernatural forces and those who violated social taboos were struck down: “disease was therefore a social marker of the boundaries of acceptable behavior” (Markova, McKee, Power &

Moodie, 1995, p. 113). The rise and proliferation of Christianity has served to reinforce this link between sin and moral transgression, punishment and illness and this can still be seen today in the prevalent HIV discourse within the Pacific. It is also compounded within societies where cultural systems place greater emphasis on collectivism, such as within Melanesia, as HIV is perceived as bringing shame on the family and community (Ogden & Nyblade, 2005; Parker & Aggleton, 2002), consequently stigma has a serious impact on people’s lives.

Stigma may be enacted at the individual, social or institutional levels (Herek, 2007, 2009). Media and public health messages and campaigns that focus on morality or fear, or feature negative representations of PLHIV, MSM or sex workers are forms of institutional stigma. The power to represent someone or something within a certain ‘regime of representation’ (Hall, 1997b) is an example of broader notions of power in cultural or symbolic terms. This includes the exercise of symbolic power through representational practices. Symbolic violence (Bourdieu, 1977) describes how words, images and practices promote the interests of the dominant groups and convince those who are marginalised to accept existing hierarchies. The silencing and/or stereotyping of marginalised populations such as sex workers and MSM in the Pacific is an exercise of symbolic violence (Bourdieu 1977, 1984; Hall, 1997b). I draw on notions of symbolic violence to examine the social control of sexuality in Melanesia.

Reducing stigma through edutainment

Stigma is known to be harmful to efforts to respond to HIV but what is not known is how to address it effectively. Reviews of the literature indicate that many stigma reduction interventions have been implemented (and in ‘developed’ country settings only) but rarely evaluated, thus their effectiveness and impact is unknown (Brown et al., 2003; Heijnders & van der Meiji, 2006). Addressing stigma is complex and made more so where HIV stigma is layered upon pre-existing stigmas towards MSM, sex workers and young people, key populations of focus for this thesis. Two basic approaches have been offered in the literature for addressing stigma: either individual or structural change. The majority of stigma reduction interventions described by scholars are based on a social-cognitive conception of stigma, positioning it as an individual process (Heijnders & van der Meij, 2006; Mahajan et al., 2008). However, with an

understanding of stigma as a social process, I suggest that challenging stigma requires social action to change the context within which individuals and communities respond to HIV. In keeping with this conceptualisation, environmental and structural interventions will be necessary if stigma is to be responded to as a manifestation of power, inequality and exclusion (Parker & Aggleton, 2002, p. 13). However, to date there is little existing research which studies stigma within a structural framework that accounts for social processes and social inequality (Deacon, Stephney & Prosalendis, 2005). My interest lies in whether Love Patrol’s representations influence social practices and hence stigmatising responses.

While I advocate the importance of social action to address stigma, individual approaches to reducing stigma are not completely dismissed. I concur with Ogden and Nyblade (2005) that “while power relations that foster inequality are structural, they are perpetuated by individuals, individuals who are well placed to institute change if motivated to do so and given a supportive environment” (p. 38). This is particularly so if those individuals are opinion leaders within their respective settings; extended family, church or community. Here lies the critical importance of influencing key leaders in Melanesian societies, and I contend, a first step to affecting broader social attitudes. A number of researchers have documented the role media plays in shaping attitudes and there is a growing body of evidence showing how it can influence stereotypes that may produce stigma and discrimination against minority groups (Allen, 1982; Babalola, Fatusi & Anyanti, 2009; Schiappa et al., 2005; Slater & Rouner, 2002).

The construct of parasocial interaction discussed earlier in this chapter provides insight into how change might be achieved. The manner in which relationships between audience members and media persona can influence values, beliefs and norms of audiences, and ultimately impact on social practices has implications for reducing prejudice (Brown & Fraser, 2004; Papa et al., 2000; Sood & Rogers, 2000). Recent research proposes that televised portrayals (such as characters in soap operas) could influence attitudes towards minority groups through providing parasocial contact (Schiappa, Gregg & Hewes, 2005). Strategies that foster contact or interaction between marginalised communities and the public have been found to be effective in inspiring changes in prejudicial attitudes. It is posited that in providing opportunities for the

public to ‘interact’ with marginalised people empathy and identification is enhanced (Stangl et al., 2010). The ‘contact’ can either be face-to-face or mediated, with realistic and culturally proximate mediated contact being the more influential. A number of authors highlight ‘contact’ as a promising strategy for stigma reduction (Brown, Macintyre & Trujillo, 2003; Herek, 2002). Tests of this theory found that parasocial interaction with gay characters in three television programs in the United States was able to reduce prejudice towards gay men (Schiappa et al., 2005, 2006). Televised portrayals provided parasocial contact with a group that audience members might have had little firsthand contact with in any meaningful way previously. Through parasocial interaction, viewers were able to make distinct positive judgements about the characters and then changed their opinions about a minority group as a whole. The effectiveness of the contact hypothesis is also documented in other areas such as mental health (Couture & Penn, 2003). No research on parasocial contact appears to have been undertaken in a developing country setting and my thesis contributes in this area.

Harnessing the power of the mass media is recommended to reduce HIV-related stigma. The mass media can raise the profile of an issue through broad reach and active word of mouth (Stangl et al., 2010). This is due to its agenda-setting function; the emphasis that mass media place on certain issues is believed to correlate with the importance attributed to these issues by audiences (Scheufele & Tewksbury, 2007). Hence placing an important social issue in the public domain may simultaneously determine public perceptions of the issue’s importance and increase audience attention to it. Furthermore, mass media formats facilitate discussion with family and friends, which is proposed as particularly powerful as “information conveyed through family and friends is often more deeply processed and more likely to be accepted and internalised” (Stangl et al., 2010, p. 28). Nonetheless, relatively few studies on the effect of mass media campaigns on stigma reduction have been conducted and those that have focus predominantly on the stigma associated with living with HIV. The Soul City edutainment series in South Africa was found to have positively influenced social norms and attitudes towards PLHIV through the inclusion of HIV positive characters (Aggleton et al., 2005). Similarly in India, Jasoos Vijay, a series featuring an HIV- positive detective, was found to increase positive attitudes towards PLHIV amongst viewers (Frank et al., 2011). These results are suggestive that stigma is reduced after

watching a televised drama in which HIV infection is treated in a non-stigmatising manner. However, none of the existing studies have examined effects on marginalised populations themselves or on groups other than PLHIV. This thesis asserts that insufficient attention has been given to the role edutainment can play in reducing stigma towards populations beyond PLHIV.

The exploration of issues related to women selling sex or MSM, or inclusion of sex workers or MSM as central characters in edutainment productions has largely been ignored to date. Of all the edutainment initiatives reviewed in the literature, only two appear to include gay characters; the Nicaraguan soap opera Sexto Sentido and recently a South African production Intersexions has introduced a gay character in its 2013 season. These appear to be the sole productions and there is no available information on either the representation of these characters or the impact on audiences or MSM groups in their respective countries. With regards to sex workers, the sole edutainment initiatives I was able to locate which feature characters who sell sex are both African productions: A 2001 film Amah Djah-foule from the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) and a 2007 Nigerian TV series Wetin Dey. Amah Djah-foule is a film produced for use with sex workers through a targeted clinical service and with non-government organisations working with sex workers. Although one of the film’s aims is to destigmatise sex workers (Widmark, 2002), it does not appear to have been used with the general population and there is limited information on the film’s impact or on achieving this objective. Wetin Dey is an HIV-focused television drama that features a character called ‘Bilkisu’ who is described as “a woman who pretends to sell fish while actually soliciting customers” (LeRoux-Rutledge et al., 2008). There is little available information about this character’s portrayal and no mention of destigmatising sex workers through the show. In contrast, Love Patrol features both MSM and sex worker characters. In forthcoming chapters I examine how these characters are represented and in turn how Melanesian audiences receive them.

A number of studies have shown that information contained in fictional messages can influence beliefs about social groups (Prentice, Gerrig & Bailis, 1997; Slater, 1990; Slater & Rouner 2002; Wheeler, Green & Brock, 1999) yet attention to this in edutainment initiatives is lacking. In addition to rarely featuring characters from

marginalised populations in edutainment productions, stigma reduction is also seldom named as an objective in initiatives. This is quite possibly evidence of the broader manifestations of stigma. Although the potential for utilising edutainment for challenging stigma associated with marginalised communities beyond PLHIV seems clear, there are few programs worldwide that do so, and an apparent research void on their effectiveness. My thesis contributes in this area, expanding on the potential of edutainment to affect positive change towards sex workers and MSM, to reduce stigma and improve community attitudes.

In this thesis I argue that stigma reduction approaches in Melanesia need to focus on both individual and environmental approaches in order to achieve social and community change. From this perspective social and community mobilisation and empowerment of marginalised groups to resist stigma, in conjunction with the structural support of laws and policies to protect their rights is needed. In collectivist cultures, a focus on the social and cultural process is particularly critical; in Melanesia, the strong bonds between family and community demand that stigma should be viewed as a social and cultural phenomena that require the actions of groups of people not simply individuals. Just as expressions of stigma are linked to actions of whole groups of people, for example the Fijian Methodist Church’s 2005 march against homosexuality31, stigma interventions also require community action. Research has confirmed the capacity of edutainment media to serve as a social mobiliser, an advocate or agenda-setter, influencing public and policy initiatives (Usdin et al., 2004; Singhal, 2005). I argue that an edutainment initiative is well placed to address stigma and provide an approach that facilitates change at both the social and individual level by penetrating social networks, influencing key opinion leaders and mobilising communities. However, I further contend that broader interventions at government level are needed to support these efforts and create shifts in power relations that otherwise remain in position and allow stigma to continue (Heijnders & van der Meij, 2006, p. 361).

31 The Methodist Church held a rally in June 2005 to protest against homosexuality and same-sex marriage (see Amnesty International, 2006; Immigration & Refugee Board of Canada, 2007). 56

Conclusion: The Argument and Theoretical Framework for the Thesis

The argument of this thesis is that Love Patrol harnesses important social issues around HIV, sexuality and violence in ways that engage communities, enables dialogue about these sensitive issues and challenges socio-cultural norms to reduce stigma and promote sexual rights. I contend that Love Patrol contributes to HIV responses in Melanesian countries by challenging and reshaping socio-cultural norms; stimulating private and public dialogue and debate, and, in some cases; mobilising communities to catalyse social change.

The hegemony of behaviour change theories is persistent in HIV prevention responses, including those in the Pacific. Many theories and models of health behaviour change are based on individual psychology as opposed to group or community norms. The predominant approach to HIV prevention in the region is awareness-raising, with some low-level targeting of individual behaviour. Although there has been a paradigm shift in the field of HIV prevention, from a focus on individual behaviour change to a focus on the social context in which behaviours occur, this shift has not been reflected in Pacific HIV responses. Programs fail to take into account how sexuality is socially and culturally constructed and that HIV transmission occurs in social contexts. There has also been insufficient attention to culture in the development of communication programs. This thesis places culture at the centre of prevention responses and argues the importance of engagement with the Melanesian socio-cultural context, directing attention towards community-level (social) change. I demonstrate how Love Patrol is distinctly different to prevention strategies most commonly implemented in the Pacific region; it engages at the social level, is deeply embedded in culture and works with culture in order to undertake HIV prevention. This thesis thereby challenges current approaches of generic awareness-raising utilised for HIV prevention in the region. Rather than a monological approach to HIV prevention, it is dialogical, expanding on horizontal communication and generating meaningful dialogue with and within communities.

This thesis positions Love Patrol as a communication for social change initiative and articulates the processes by which it contributes to HIV-related change. To date the

range of evidence-based and evidence-informed strategies that can be demonstrated to actually achieve social change is quite small (Auerbach et al., 2011). In this thesis I show how Love Patrol infiltrates social networks; challenges and reshapes social norms; stimulates private and public dialogue and debate, and; mobilises communities to catalyse social change. In explicating Love Patrol’s role in social change processes, this thesis contributes to knowledge in this area, highlighting the need to focus on both individual and environmental approaches in order to achieve social and community change. By applying social change concepts, this thesis contributes to the ongoing debates about approaches to HIV prevention and education in the Pacific.

To date the majority of edutainment studies have been conducted in Africa, South America and in parts of Asia. This thesis is different from others on edutainment in several important ways. First, the context of this thesis is markedly different to other regions where edutainment research has been undertaken. I expand on the implications of the Pacific context, characterised by a dearth of local television productions and communal viewing behaviour, demonstrating how Love Patrol engages local communities in social dialogue based on the narrative. Consequently this thesis responds to calls for further research on social interaction and community dialogue stimulated by edutainment programs (Kincaid, 2002; Sood, 2002).

Second, although many studies have been undertaken investigating various edutainment effects, there are few studies that target social factors and impact on issues such as stigma and gender inequality. In the context of HIV, the lack of attention to edutainment’s role in reducing stigma towards marginalised populations is surprising since stigma is a major impediment to HIV responses. While the potential for utilising edutainment for challenging stigma associated with marginalised communities seems clear, there are few programs worldwide that do so, and an apparent research void on their effectiveness. This thesis articulates how Love Patrol engages audiences with issues of gender, power and control, oppression and empowerment. I explicate audience involvement with the socially marginalised characters in Love Patrol, including PLHIV, MSM and sex workers, and the parasocial relationships that develop between audiences and those characters. In doing so the thesis responds to calls for culturally compelling approaches to HIV prevention that target social factors and impact

on stigma. I contribute to the body of knowledge on stigma reduction interventions, expanding on the use of edutainment to effect positive change, reduce prejudice and improve community attitudes.

Third, unlike other studies that focus solely on audience reception, as is common for studies of edutainment effects, this thesis is unique in that it analyses the representations and messages in Love Patrol and demonstrates how these are used to promote specific norms and behaviours that offer alternatives to dominant paradigms. I work through several ethnographic dimensions, including the scripting, casting and popular reception of the show. I argue that Love Patrol’s representations affect both audiences and marginalised populations themselves. I examine these representational practices and their impact on marginal populations; the dialogue and debate stimulated (and disseminated in social networks) and the actions subsequently taken in communities. This thesis consequently contributes to understandings of how communities may challenge and transform the operation and effects of stigmatising representations.

The theoretical and analytical framework shaping this thesis is derived from a body of theory on social representation and social change. Bourdieu’s notion of power is drawn on in understanding and analysing social change processes in addition to Freire’s theory of dialogue and critical thinking. These concepts provide a theoretical foundation for this thesis and a means with which the data is interrogated. I situate my analysis broadly within the theory of social representations. The focus on images, values, social stigma, beliefs and myths inherent in social representations is of particular relevance to this thesis in understanding the way Love Patrol challenges meaning. I draw on notions of framing and counter-representations (Hall, 1997b) in analysing representational strategies employed in Love Patrol.

CHAPTER 3

METHODS

The argument in my thesis is that Love Patrol engages audiences with important HIV- related social issues in a manner that stimulates community dialogue and challenges socio-cultural norms to reduce stigma and promote sexual rights. In order to develop my argument I needed to design a research process to show the meanings Love Patrol viewers were giving to the storylines and characters, and how they reflect on the representations and content of the series and integrate it into their view of the world. This required an in-depth perspective of audiences in order to illuminate the research questions. Consequently I chose a qualitative research approach. In this chapter, I outline the rationale for the research methods employed for collecting data in the field. To do so, I describe why interviews, thematic analysis and observation were appropriate to this thesis and for the field conditions and discuss the role of reflexivity in using ethnographic methods. I conclude this chapter with a description of data that was gathered during the course of the thesis.

A qualitative approach

Several factors contributed to the methodological approach for this thesis. These include six years working in the Pacific region; in-depth discussions with Pacific community leaders and professionals with whom I worked; literature on qualitative research and the use of ethnographic approaches such as in-depth interviews and thematic analysis; and finally, literature from Pacific communication scholars who advocate culturally appropriate research methods.

Qualitative methods are designed to help researchers understand the meanings people assign to social phenomena and to illuminate the mental processes underlying behaviours (Potter, 1996). Qualitative approaches provide rich data that allow researchers to attempt to answer the reasons why behind any phenomena. Qualitative methodology such as interviews provide in-depth information on the perceptions and interpretations of audiences towards edutainment programs. Communication scholars

argue that qualitative studies are most effective at studying audience effects and enable the researcher to understand the links between a communication text, audience and context (Sood,1999). In addition, qualitative research is able to explore the interrelationships of the social, cultural and political contexts of communication. Qualitative research is based on the theory that there is not one shared reality in lived experience, but many.

This qualitative study was inspired by six years advising Pacific Island countries on HIV prevention. This experience gave me insight into the unique cultural, social and geographic context of HIV prevention work in the Pacific, and in particular inspired a desire to understand more about culturally appropriate means to overcome taboos associated with sexual health and sexuality in order to affect social change. My development work has also led to a growing understanding that too often communication is conceived as information dissemination, but seldom seen as dialogue. The inception of this thesis came from the realisation of the tremendous potential of Love Patrol in establishing dialogue with and within communities. Underpinning this is a strong belief in the importance of Pacific Islanders hearing their own stories in their own voices, and making their own decisions about that which affects their lives. The process of hearing about the lives and circumstances of people, and often the disempowered and marginalised, through the medium of television and film clearly gives us the ability to see and hear these voices. It was clear that a qualitative approach using ethnographic methods would be the most appropriate research design in order to understand the cultural and social processes of the phenomena and to recognise and be sensitive to the diversity of Melanesia.

Ethnographic methods

This thesis was interested in the ways in which viewers watched Love Patrol, how they interpreted it, what they thought it was about and what relationship they thought it had to their own lives. Methodologically, this was an interpretive study that drew upon several ethnographic tools of inquiry including semi-structured interviews with viewers and key informants, observation of audiences, and thematic analysis of Love Patrol scripts. The primary purpose of the research was rich description rather than prediction of human actions or behaviours. Being an interpretive study, emphasis was placed on

the socio-cultural context in which human behaviour occurs, while recognising individuals as active agents in the co-construction of their social realities. Finally, human interaction within the context of social change is best understood as complex, multi-faceted, and requiring reflexivity on the part of the researcher (Leeds-Hurwitz, 1995).

Reflexivity

As qualitative researchers obtain their data primarily through personal observations and direct interaction with research participants, they can often develop intense personal involvement with their work (Friedman, 1991). As a result, reflexivity is an inherent part of the research process. It is necessary for investigators to identify and reflect on their assumptions, value systems and biases from the outset of the research (Cresswell, 1997). My personal history, how I saw myself, and how others saw me in the different research settings, played an important role in shaping the way I engaged with participants and members of the broader community during my fieldwork. I originally trained as health and physical education teacher, although I spent limited time working within schools settings per se, as I was rapidly attracted to the community sector where I felt the capacity to positively impact on young people’s lives was much greater. My experience led me into prevention work, firstly in drug education, during which time I completed a Masters of Arts in Community Development, followed by sexual and reproductive health. Working for an international sexual and reproductive health agency (albeit at a state level in Australia) over a number of years exposed me to development projects in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and I increasingly spent time as a technical adviser on a South Pacific Training Project. This led to my employment within the public health programme of the Pacific’s principal technical and scientific agency as a prevention adviser for HIV and other STIs, where I spent the years immediately prior to commencing the doctoral program.

Rather than being detrimental, my personal experience of being a former ‘insider’ in HIV prevention work in the Pacific was arguably an asset to my fieldwork, yet also undoubtedly impacted on my subjectivity. I was not a objective ‘blank slate’ in coming to the field of HIV-related research in Fiji, PNG and Vanuatu and my association with SPC (in particular) and also with Wan Smolbag framed my initial research

relationships. The history of SPC’s work in regional HIV prevention, and people’s perceptions of it, will certainly have influenced how I was initially perceived by those involved in the research, particularly within Fiji and Vanuatu where I had done a great deal of work. Had I formally and visibly utilised the structures that I had previously worked through in my role with SPC (such as the National AIDS Committees and the Ministries of Health), it is likely that I would have been viewed in very much an external, ‘expert’ adviser role.

As a student-researcher, without formal attachment to any organisation or group, and with limited financial flexibility, I found myself in a novel situation. Previously as an adviser employed by a large regional organisation, I had ready access to resources and support staff. I would be taken in and ‘looked after’ by staff of local Ministries of Health or NGOs, picked up from airports, accommodated in comfortable hotels and have use of office facilities. The period of fieldwork for this research project was a very different experience for me, particularly within PNG where I had had less professional experience. As a student-researcher, I was in no way able to afford the accoutrements of a salaried regional adviser. Conversely, I was now in the somewhat luxurious position of not having pressing organisational deadlines, and of not working to terms of reference or timeframes determined by people away from the field.

My association with Wan Smolbag is a long-standing one. Whilst in my role as prevention adviser for SPC, I had significant dealings with them as a key-implementing partner for HIV/sexual and reproductive health programs in Vanuatu. Further, Wan Smolbag were a nominated capacity development organisation under the Pacific Regional HIV Project and the Pacific Regional HIV and STI Response Fund32. I had previously provided technical input to their prevention programming on numerous occasions, thus in the development of Love Patrol they consulted me on storylines, with a particular interest in issues from a regional perspective. The fact that I was involved in the development of the early series of Love Patrol will have impacted on my subjectivity. Furthermore, my understanding of the content of the narrative and key

32 Capacity development organisations were nominated at a national level in Pacific Island countries to facilitate access to grant schemes for HIV projects and capacity building. Their role was to build the capacity of smaller organisations in country to successfully design, implement, manage and evaluate HIV-related projects in communities, and monitor these projects at a local level (see http://www.unaids.org.fj/attachments/016_Response_Fund_Overview.pdf) 63

messages may have affected the way I interpreted community discussion of the content and how these viewers ‘read’ the program. My personal feminist political values have also had bearing over the analysis and interpretation of data. Hence these political, theoretical and value stances form the critical point of view throughout data analysis.

The relationship between the researcher and the research participants is critical in qualitative methodology, particularly in interview situations. One of the key strengths of qualitative forms of information gathering is its capacity to avoid the creation of an unequal power relationship between the researcher and participant. However, inequalities of ethnicity, class, age and sexual preference may all influence interview dynamics and thereby the outcomes (Cotterill, 1992) and therefore need careful consideration in the research design and strategies. My status as a ‘kaivalagi’ (foreigner) or ‘white man’ within Pacific Island communities is a central issue to this ‘positionality’. As a white English-speaking woman, I acknowledge that my interpretation and construction of knowledge of ‘others’ from distinctly different cultures might be seen as coming from a position of power. My position and the cultural differences also affect how I view people’s interactions within this setting. However, as I have a background of extensive work in the Pacific (living in the region for six years) this assists somewhat in understanding the cultural context. Therefore this research is located within a perspective shaped by my cultural background, class, race and gender as well as my personal experience of Pacific Island culture and development.

A Melanesian research framework

As this research was undertaken in three Melanesian countries, namely Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu, I chose to apply a Melanesian research framework. A Melanesian research framework is an approach that incorporates a Melanesian worldview within the research methodology and design (Vallance, 2007). Undertaking research using such an indigenous approach means being guided by Melanesian values. In Melanesia, some of the strongest values that structure community life are relationships, reciprocity, and respect. Paramount to conducting research under a Melanesian research framework is the respect to the community and regarding any research undertaken in the light of benefiting the community at large. It is invested in maintaining relationships with

participants and these relationships are manifested through a process of exchange (reciprocity). This further means remaining open to practices that may fall outside the ‘traditional’, ‘objective’ and knowledge accumulation model of Western research. In order to conduct what could be considered ‘indigenous research’, these values must be included at all stages of the research process, from initial project design to execution to subsequent analysis and dissemination of product or results (Wilson, 2001). Throughout this research project I developed and maintained relationships with participating communities and originations through the provision of resources, facilitation of education sessions and connecting communities to broader prevention programs. I also provided copies of Love Patrol DVDs and resource materials to communities, networks and organisations and facilitated the ordering of further resources from Wan Smolbag Theatre. In addition I organised and conducted Love Patrol screening events, facilitated education sessions (separate to data collection) and connected communities to local agencies and service providers for ongoing support and services.

Data collection

Data collection methods utilised in this thesis included Love Patrol script reviews, semi- structured interviews with Love Patrol viewers and key informants and observations of Love Patrol viewing.

As discussed in Chapter 2, this thesis demonstrates how Pacific audiences interacted with the Love Patrol television series in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. This was accomplished using a qualitative research approach using ethnographic methods. Issues explored include engagement with the characters and content of the show, its perceived accuracy and personal relevance, and perceptions of HIV and sexuality issues portrayed. To examine these issues the following research questions were utilised:

- How does Love Patrol represent the issues of HIV?

- What is the audience reception of Love Patrol?

- How do viewers engage with Love Patrol and its characters?

- What effect is Love Patrol having on audience attitudes towards marginalised populations including PLHIV, MSM and sex workers?

- What level of community dialogue on HIV does Love Patrol stimulate?

- What effect is Love Patrol having on viewer critical reflection of social relations?

Love Patrol scripts

Prior to undertaking the interviews, I watched Love Patrol series 3 (episodes 1-10) and 4 (episodes 1-10) and did a careful reading of the series scripts. These scripts were the most recent broadcasts near the time of data collection across the three thesis countries. It was assumed that events going on in the scripts would serve as the most recent frame of reference for fans of Love Patrol in each setting. This reading enabled me to become familiar with the ‘framing’ and representation of issues and characters within the storylines, particularly those characters who represent marginalised populations of key interest in this thesis namely: PLHIV, MSM and sex workers. This reading helped me to identify the most salient content and messages found within the drama, allowing me to best understand the storylines and portrayals audiences engage with.

Description of key characters

Mark & Elizabeth: Mark is a police detective who has a wandering eye, yet never imagined what effect his sexual behaviour could have on his partner and family. When his wife, Elizabeth, tests positive to HIV during antenatal screening he is at first in denial and refuses to get tested. Elizabeth leaves Mark, blaming his infidelities for her infection. Elizabeth undergoes treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission and becomes an HIV-positive public advocate. Mark eventually faces his fears and takes a test revealing that he is also HIV positive. Once his status becomes known he experiences workplace stigma but with the support of the Chief Inspector he continues in his role as a detective.

Pastor Ronald & Nettie: As a senior pastor, Ronald is a well-respected member of his settlement community. He provides advice and support to community members and is the first person to be called in times of trouble. His home life is not always smooth sailing though, with his unemployed son Kalo attracting trouble, and a formerly scholarly daughter being distracted from her studies. Meanwhile his wife Nettie struggles in her relationship with Kalo’s girlfriend, Wendy, who also lives with the

family. Nettie has strong views about Wendy staying at home to care for the couple’s young baby rather than going out to work.

Amanda & Tony: Amanda is a bright young school student with hopes of an overseas scholarship. As a pastor’s daughter there are high expectations of her. Life becomes complicated when she falls for Tony, her older brother’s best friend. Tony is a well- meaning young man who does not have a job but dreams of being a musician.

Gordon & Myra: As a government minister, Gordon enjoys the privileges of his position: a nice home, a driver, and his children in expensive overseas schools. He expects the full support of his wife, Myra, but she becomes weary of his drinking, indiscretions and dishonest dealings. Their relationship disintegrates further when she tires of being idle and becomes a volunteer with the NGO AIDS Alert; Gordon believes this work is unbecoming of a minister’s wife.

Lorraine: Lorraine is a young woman who exchanges sex for money and favours. Although young, she has seen a lot of life, and has a jaded view of men and their treatment of women. She is street smart and knows how to take care of herself.

Andy: A peer educator with AIDS Alert, Andy promotes safe sex and HIV awareness. Andy is also gay. Although he faces significant prejudice from some members of the community, there are others who respect and rely on him for his friendship and support.

Synopses of storylines

Series 3 (released 2010 – 2011): The story commences with the discovery of a girl's body in the undergrowth. Detective Mark has to unravel the truth about her death, which seems to be connected to sex work and pornography. AIDS Alert staff continue to battle prejudice and ignorance about HIV and Andy becomes a target of harassment because of his sexuality. Myra, the Minister's wife, becomes increasingly unhappy with her home situation. Amanda and Tony struggle to start a relationship under the prying eyes of family and community members.

Series 4 (released 2012): A break-in at the home of a professional couple reveals a young woman trapped in a violent relationship. Detective Mark becomes involved, at the same time investigating the mysterious death of a young man, a death that leads the new church pastor to whip up community panic over black magic. Ronald, the senior pastor, is appalled but also suffers ongoing family disruption with his son Kalo’s struggle with alcohol. Meanwhile, in prison, Lorraine is facing demons of her own. A new HIV-positive advocate want to join AIDS Alert, but his prejudice towards Andy causes friction.

Observation

The environment in which media are consumed is important in the audience reception process (Tufte, 2000). Based on this knowledge, I felt it was important to see the environment in which Love Patrol is viewed in different contexts within the selected countries. This included settlement areas in Papua New Guinea, and inside several homes in Vanuatu and Fiji. As described in my introduction, television viewing is a communal event in the Pacific Islands. Even in the setting of a private home, the norm is for extended family members, visitors and neighbours to be present when viewing popular shows such as Love Patrol. Though in a private home, the viewing is very much a community event.

In order to gain an understanding of the nature of this community event, participant observation was employed. Participant observation stems from the understanding that to understand one must participate in the interaction and not just observe from a distance (Silverman, 2011). The method of participant observation involves the explicit use in behavioural analysis and recording of the information gained from participating and observing (Dewalt, Dewalt & Wayland, 1998, p. 259). As a method that collects data in a relatively unstructured manner in naturalistic settings, it was suitable for the purposes of this study in order to gain insight into the way Love Patrol was consumed within community settings. Participant observation requires the researcher to observe the processes as they occur in their natural setting while the participants carry out their daily activities, in this case the viewing of Love Patrol. This method was particularly useful for me as I was an outsider to each setting and it gave me the opportunity to look, listen and learn. I make no great claims of employing participant observation in the

same manner as ethnographers, who may spend significant time in communities living with and/or working with the people that they are trying to understand. Rather, I utilised the method in order to participate and observe (and document) the social event that is Love Patrol viewing in the Melanesian context. Participant observation was employed to enhance both the quality of data obtained during fieldwork and the quality of the interpretation of data.

Observation was undertaken during the last weeks of airing of the ten episodes of the respective Love Patrol series in each setting. Observation was undertaken within community/settlement areas in Papua New Guinea where public viewing of Love Patrol episodes took place, as well as in private homes in Fiji and Vanuatu. The observations were undertaken either prior to, or separate to, the interviews in each setting. My participation was minimal or ‘moderate’, whereby I was present at the viewings (the scene of the action) but did not actively participate or interact, or only occasionally interacted, with the viewers present (Dewalt et al., 1998). My involvement took the form of conversational discussion of the show and the characters with viewers during and at the end of episodes. The settlement areas on the fringes of Port Moresby I visited utilised a public space for communal viewing; in one settlement this was the roadside, in another a ‘haus piksa’. The households that I visited in Fiji and Vanuatu were single television households and the living room where the television was situated was used as a meeting place for extended families and friends to gather around and watch television together. This sparked much conversation about the program’s content. The focus of the observation was on audience reactions to the program and interpersonal interactions stimulated by the viewing as well as conversations that took place after viewing. I informally engaged in this spontaneous talk that occurred post-viewing when other viewers directed comments to me, but on the whole I attended to their conversations rather than participating in them. I did not engage in questioning participants as I wanted to merely observe the nature of these spontaneous discussions and their content in a very natural way rather than directing or steering them through my own questions. Detailed field notes were taken whenever possible during these observation sessions or at the end of the observation, later in the evening. Since the environment and the people were new to me it was helpful to take down notes and keep track of all my observations and reflections.

Interviews

Interviews were undertaken with Love Patrol viewers and key informants. Interview is a useful methodology for researchers interested in understanding what people mean when they act, to hear multiple perspectives on an event or issue and to test emerging ideas about communicative action. Speech performances “are the primary means by which social life is enacted, organized and understood” (Lindlof, 1995, p. 163). Therefore, it made sense to turn to verbal communication when interested in the Love Patrol audience sense-making practice.

Love Patrol viewer interviews

Semi-structured interview method was employed with viewers of Love Patrol to collect qualitatively rich data on how they engaged with, and reflected upon the content of the program. The interviews were approached as conversations or dialogue, ‘tok stori’ or ‘talanoa’ (talking through matters of importance) being a strong feature of Pacific Island culture. This approach suited the field setting and cultural context of the Pacific Islands and fits within a Melanesian research framework.

A series of topics and prompt questions were developed to guide discussions in the interviews and these were used as a guide only in order to leave opportunities to follow new ideas and issues should they arise. An interviewer guide was developed in English, which consisted of open-ended and probing questions, designed to elicit detailed responses from informants. In this way, questions were used to promote a two-way dialogue with which to explore key themes. I also used probing questions to explore the nuances of respondent narratives, including the dislocations and paradoxes expressed in their comments and opinions.

Areas of exploration included the effect Love Patrol is having on an individual and interpersonal level. This included the perceived accuracy and personal relevance of the show and how emotionally involved viewers become in the episodes. Topics for discussion in viewer interviews included perceptions of HIV and sexuality issues represented in Love Patrol, attitudes towards this representation and how realistic this was to their own personal experience and that of their community. In addition, involvement with the show’s characters, particularly those from marginalised 70

populations, by the viewer or interviewee was explored. Special emphasis was given to whether portrayals of HIV and stigma-related issues in Love Patrol tended to elicit attitudinal or behavioural responses in participants’ daily lives. (Appendix 1: Viewer interview protocol). While all my interviews were guided by the overarching research questions and the interview protocol, I used the flexibility of semi-structured interviews to let the conversation follow issues related to the show that respondents wanted to speak about. Further, additional questions were shaped to form new interview guides as themes and codes emerged from data during ongoing analysis.

Key Informant Interviews

Semi-structured interviews were also employed with key informants in each setting to understand their perception of the impact of Love Patrol on communities. Key informants included community representatives (of PLHIV, MSM and sex worker communities), community and opinion leaders (village leaders, church leaders/pastors, women’s council), HIV program managers and service providers. Interview questions were experience-related and aimed at eliciting descriptions of the experiences, attitudes, and behaviours related to the community responses to Love Patrol. A few questions were opinion questions; such as the perceived role Love Patrol was having in connecting people to local services and mobilising communities. Community representatives (PLHIV, MSM, sex workers) were asked their opinions about the way characters were represented in the show and whether they believed it was having any effect on attitudes towards marginalised populations in their own setting. Some questions were specific to participants’ occupations and experiences. For example program managers and NGO staff were asked about the relevance of Love Patrol and whether they had used it in their work.

Interviews with service providers in each site were also used to explore perceptions of any changes in service provision or support-seeking behaviour which might be related to Love Patrol. Their opinions were sought on whether they felt there was an increase in people seeking services during the period Love Patrol was airing and the month following and whether clients had mentioned watching Love Patrol. In addition, key informant interviews were undertaken with members of Wan Smolbag Theatre itself. Those interviewed included Love Patrol actors who play roles of MSM character, sex

worker character and HIV positive characters, and the Love Patrol scriptwriter and director. Questions asked of the scriptwriter and director included why and how they incorporated the various themes and storylines into Love Patrol, and audience responses to the show.

An interviewer guide was developed in English, which consisted of open-ended and probing questions, designed to elicit detailed responses from informants. (Appendix 2: Key Informant Interview Protocol)

Field notes

Throughout the course of the thesis, I recorded my observations and personal reflections in a field diary. Writing descriptive memos in the diary provided a means to capture portraits of the participants, a reconstruction of dialogue, a description of the physical setting, and accounts of particular events, and activities (Cresswell, 1994). I also recorded my own personal thoughts, insights, biases, and emotions in the diary. I was able to re-visit my notes during the writing process to help interpret and make sense of my findings. My field notes were particularly important in recording observations made during Love Patrol viewings. The data derived from these observations included detailed descriptions of the settings, my reflections on the participants present, interactions between viewers during the airing and post-viewing conversations.

Participants

Country selection

The selection of the countries on which the thesis focused, that is Fiji, PNG and Vanuatu, was based on several factors. Firstly, Vanuatu was chosen as the series is produced there and the show naturally has a significant local following. As this was an exploratory study on how Pacific audiences interacted with the Love Patrol television series, it was necessary to include countries in which the series had been consistently broadcast; in addition to Vanuatu, Fiji and PNG fulfilled this criterion. These countries all have national television stations that have been broadcasting each series of Love Patrol and the show has developed a large following in them.

Data collection was undertaken in three sites in PNG (Port Moresby, Goroka and Madang), two sites in Fiji (Suva and Lautoka), and one site in Vanuatu. Decisions about the number of sites were made based on the size of the country, the transmission ‘reach’ of each of the national television stations, the differing viewing contexts, as well as time constraints on the thesis. As described in my introduction, the transmission reach of local television stations varies from country to country, with it being quite limited in Vanuatu, limited to the urban centres of the two main islands in Fiji, and in PNG the urban settings in larger towns in most provinces.

The research settings

Republic of Fiji

Fiji comprises an archipelago of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are inhabited. Fiji is the second biggest country in the South Pacific (after PNG) with a population of 837,271 as of the most recent census (2007), with 46% of the population aged 24 years or under (SPC, 2011). The majority of its population resides on the two main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu where the main urban centres are also situated. Life expectancies at birth are high for both women and men, and infant, child and maternal mortality rates are low (Fiji National Planning Office [NPO], 2004). There is a high level of adult literacy, very little gender disparity in primary and secondary education, almost universal primary school enrolment, and around 40 % of adolescents remain at school to the age of 18 years (Fiji NPO, 2004). Fiji is a multiracial society: the two main ethnic groups in Fiji are the indigenous Fijians (those of Melanesian origin) and Indo-Fijians (those of Indian origin)33. Indigenous Fijians constitute 56.8% of the total population and Indo-Fijians 37.5%, with the remaining 5.7% comprised of other Pacific Islanders, Europeans, and Chinese (Fiji Bureau of Statistics, 2012). Urbanisation in Fiji has been rapid, with more than half of the total population now urban dwellers (SPC, 2011). The two cities, Suva and Lautoka, are large, young and rapidly growing. Although there is no data on the proportion of urban population living in slums, there are many squatter settlements in Fiji (PIFS, 2012).

33 Almost all of the present Indian inhabitants of Fiji are descendants of indentured Indian labourers, girmityas, who were brought to Fiji by the British to work on the sugarcane plantations between the years 1879 – 1916. Out of some 60,000 indentured labourers taken to Fiji, 60% chose to remain permanently in Fiji as free settlers after completing their indenture (Walker, 2005). 73

For a range of historic, geographic and diplomatic reasons, Fiji is a regional hub in the Pacific and a centre for trade. Fiji’s educational institutions (University of South Pacific and Fiji National University) draw students from across the region for both higher education and vocational qualifications. Several regional and international agencies and organisations have their regional offices in Fiji, including the SPC, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and the United Nations. Fiji has experienced continuing political instability, with three military coups occurring since 1987. In 2009, Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth over its lack of progress towards democracy. During 2012, the government agreed to hold democratic elections in 2014.

Suva, located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, is Fiji's political and administrative capital and home to half of the country’s urban population. As the largest and the most cosmopolitan city in the South Pacific it has become an important regional centre. Students from the Pacific region and a growing expatriate community make up a significant portion of the city’s population. At the 2007 census, the city had a population of 85,691 (SPC, 2011). The expanding urban corridors around Suva extend this further; the bordering cities of Lami, Nasinu and Nausori, and surrounding peri-urban areas, bring the population to around 330,000, which is over a third of the nation’s total population (Fiji Bureau of Statistics, 2012). Suva is a multiracial and multicultural city. Indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians comprise the bulk of Suva's population, and the city is home to the majority of Fiji's ethnic minority populations.

Fiji’s second-largest city, Lautoka, is on the western side of Viti Levu. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane growing region, it is also known as the ‘Sugar City’. It had a population of 52,220 at the 2007 census (Fiji Bureau of Statistics, 2012). The population has grown rapidly, and in the last twenty years it has also changed dramatically in structure. Previously, the vast majority of inhabitants were Indo-Fijian, as may be expected considering the early growth of the city was entirely associated with the sugar industry; however, much of the recent growth of the city has been attributed to indigenous Fijians moving into the urban area (Fiji NPO, 2004). I selected Lautoka as a fieldwork site in order to assess viewer engagement with Love Patrol outside the capital, and also within a community with a significantly larger Indo-Fijian population.

Papua New Guinea

PNG is an independent state including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, sharing a border with the Indonesian province of West Papua. By far the largest of all Pacific Island countries, not only in terms of landmass but also in terms of population, approximately 7 million people are spread unevenly across geographically challenging terrain. The population growth rate is high at over 2% per year (National Statistical Office [NSO] PNG, 2012) and 59.5% are aged less than 24 years (SPC, 2011). PNG has the highest linguistic diversity in the world, with more than 800 distinct languages; English, Tok Pisin (Melanesian Pidgin) and Hiri Motu being the official languages (SPC, 2010d). In recent times, development pressures and globalisation have had an impact on the social life and traditional culture of Papua New Guineans (Government of PNG, 2010). The country faces significant economic and social challenges in addressing poverty. The economy consists of a formal sector that focuses on large-scale export of natural resources, and an informal sector of subsistence activities, in which 85% of the population participate (PIFS, 2012). Mining and resource extraction, the largest government revenue source, has had both positive and adverse effects on the country, and a key challenge is translating the economic benefits from its mineral wealth into broad-based improvements in living standards (PIFS, 2012). Low levels of education, poor housing and lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation are some of the social challenges (PIFS, 2012). Infant and child mortality rates are above developing country averages, and the estimated maternal mortality ratio is one of the highest in the Asia-Pacific region; with the high level of fertility, high teenage pregnancy rates and low antenatal care coverage contributing factors (PIFS, 2012). A largely rural society, over 87% of the population still lives in villages or isolated rural communities not well served by an under-developed infrastructure, especially transport and communication, creating major problems for service delivery (Government of PNG, 2010). PNG also continues to face serious law and order problems as well as many socio-cultural challenges, especially gender-based violence (Government of PNG, 2010; Jolly, 2012). The process of modernisation is believed to have exacerbated law and order problems: increased competition for land due to the introduction of cash crops and a rapid increase in population; the impact of large-scale resource projects; the breakdown of traditional authority structures at the local level; intense competition for electoral office; and increased population mobility (May, 2012, p 52). Further,

increasing rural to urban drift has created a landless class of migrants living in squatter settlements, particularly in and around PNG’s urban centres, which has been linked to the increase of raskolism34 (criminal gangs) (May, 2012; PIFS, 2012).

Port Moresby, the capital and largest city of PNG, has a population of 318,128 (NSO PNG, 2012). It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua on the southeastern coast of the country. In recent years Port Moresby has been economically booming with substantial building of housing, office towers and commercial establishments over much of the city, yet equally, economic disparity continues to rise. There has been a large increase in the urban population, particularly the squatter population, although there is no accurate data available on the size of these populations (PIFS, 2012). Squatter areas also house the majority of the unemployed and under-employed, which has an adverse impact on the law and order situation (May, 2012; PIFS, 2012). Serious crime and security problems in the city have caused fences and walls to be considered necessary around houses and apartment buildings and security guards to be widely employed both at private residences and places of business.

Goroka is the provincial capital of Eastern Highlands Province, and a major administrative and commercial centre. A town of 16,700 people, 1600m above sea level (NSO PNG, 2012), it is known as the coffee centre of PNG. It also has a reputation as a national cultural and intellectual centre and is home to a number of national institutions, including: the University of Goroka, the PNG Institute of Medical Research, the National Film Institute, the Melanesian Institute and the Raun Raun Theatre Company. Well served by road and air transport, Goroka has a large produce market and government services. It is home to a number of people from other provinces, many of whom live in settlements around the town. Although television reception tends to be unreliable in Goroka, as in much of the highlands, haus piksas are prevalent, particularly in settlements areas. I chose Goroka as a fieldwork site in order to observe a Love Patrol viewing in a haus piksa environment.

Madang, the capital of Madang Province, is a town with a population of 30,116 (NSO

34 Largely amongst unemployed young men and often based on localised ethnic group affiliation, over time raskol gangs have become more heterogeneous, more sophisticated, and more likely to be associated with prominent local political figures (May, 2012, p. 52). 76

PNG, 2012) on the north coast of PNG. Madang is the home of one of PNG’s newest tertiary institutions, Divine Word University; a well-regarded national Catholic university accepting both local and international students. Industry and farming are growing in importance in the province; there are the widespread coconut palm plantations on the coast and cardamom is grown. Madang is viewed by many in the country as being safer and more pleasant for expatriates than the larger cities of Lae and Port Moresby. Because of this, a number of NGOs have chosen Madang as the location of their main offices within PNG. This includes Tingim Laip35, a large AusAID-funded community-based HIV project which has sites across the country. I chose Madang as one of my fieldwork sites in order to interview key informants from Tingim Laip and investigate their use of Love Patrol as one of their prevention resources.

Republic of Vanuatu

Vanuatu is an island archipelago consisting of approximately 82 islands, of which 65 are permanently inhabited. Vanuatu gained independence in 1980, after being jointly governed by a British and French administration. This joint colonial past is evident today in the use of both English and French language in the country’s social, political and economic sectors. In addition to over 100 local languages, the use of Bislama is prevalent across the islands. As of 2009, Vanuatu had a population of 234,023 with 57.3% aged less than 24 years (Vanuatu National Statistics Office [NSO], 2009). Although the majority of the population live in rural areas surviving on subsistence farming and fishing, urban centres and municipalities are growing fast; since 1999 the urban population has increased by 42% (Vanuatu NSO, 2009). If the ‘urban fringe’ around Port Vila is included, the urban population is now around 30% of the total population of Vanuatu (Vanuatu Prime Ministers Office, 2010). Lack of opportunity in rural areas is contributing to rapid urbanisation. Unemployment is apparently increasing, especially among young people (PIFS, 2012). The distances between islands and the difficulty of travelling within the country hinder economic development. Vanuatu is also prone to natural disasters including volcanic eruptions, cyclones and earthquakes.

35 Tingim Laip (thinking about life) is a community-based project in PNG working with key populations in settings of increased HIV risk and impact. 77

Port Vila, situated on the south coast of the island of Efate, is Vanuatu’s economic and commercial centre. The last census (2009) recorded a population of 44,040; an increase of 50% on the previous census result, it now accounts for almost one-fifth of the country's population (Vanuatu NSO, 2009). Major industries in the city are agriculture and fishing, with tourism becoming increasingly important (Vanuatu NSO, 2010). Gradually Port Vila has acquired densely populated squatter settlements lacking basic services, creating a new urban poverty (PIFS, 2012). It is estimated that 30% of the population in the urban centre are living these settlements36 (Vanuatu NSO, 2010). A range of social problems are emerging among the new urban generation, with high rates of unemployment, especially among young people, contributing to substance abuse, property-related crime, transactional sex and teenage pregnancy (Vanuatu Prime Ministers Office, 2010). Wan Smolbag Theatre is located on the edge of Port Vila, bordering ‘Blacksands’, one of the largest settlements on the urban fringe.

Data collection periods

Periods for data collection were dependent on the broadcast of the series in each setting as advised by individual television stations. Data collection took place during and post airing of the Love Patrol series 3 (in Vanuatu and Fiji) and series 4 (in PNG) on national television. (Table 1: Love Patrol series airing information & data collection periods). Data collection in PNG took place during series 4 due to the long period of time it took to obtain ethics approval for the research from the PNG National AIDS Council Secretariat and a research visa for PNG.

Table 1: Love Patrol series airing information & data collection periods Country Love Patrol series 3 Love Patrol series 4 Data collection Vanuatu 17 October – 19 5 – 20 December December 2010, Sundays 2010 7.30pm (repeating Thursdays, 7.30pm) Fiji 5 December 2010 – 6 30 January – 19 February 2011, Sundays February 2011 5.25pm Papua New 15 January – 25 March 1- 29 March 2012 Guinea 2012, Sundays 7pm

36 The actual number is likely higher than 30% as the definition of ‘urban’ does not include many informal settlements just outside the urban boundaries (PIFS, 2012). 78

Sampling

In sampling interviewees, this research employed purposive sampling. Purposive sampling, often used in field research or exploratory research, selects cases with a specific purpose in mind. Purposive sampling is particularly useful for a researcher to select unique cases that are especially informative, in selecting difficult-to-reach populations and identifying particular types of cases for in-depth investigation (Patton, 2002). Given my aim of investigating the impact of Love Patrol on attitudes and behaviours in the community, interviewees were selected amongst Love Patrol viewers and those who represent marginalised populations or communities, community leaders and those who work in HIV prevention, treatment and care.

This was a qualitative study that sought to provide a nuanced understanding of the viewers’ reception of Love Patrol, how they engaged with, and reflected upon the content of the program rather than achieve statistical significance. Recruitment of a range of community members (with regard to gender, ethnicity and community) was more important than large numbers. The research sought depth rather than breadth and therefore utilised purposive sampling to collect information rich cases.

Recruitment

Observation of Love Patrol viewing

Participant observation was utilised in the field in order to allow me to study first-hand the viewing process and the behaviour of Love Patrol audiences during broadcast. Rather than making it known I was intentionally observing the audience, my presence in each observation setting was more subtle, sitting within the audience and ‘eavesdropping’ on the audience interactions (Waddington, 2004). Although I clearly ‘stood out’ as a visitor to the community and a foreign white woman, in each setting I presented myself as a Love Patrol fan interested in watching the show as an audience member. Rather than asking questions of audience members, I merely participated in the viewing and in any conversations that occurred afterwards in a very informal manner. I did not conduct interviews after the observations, nor use the observations for interview recruitment, with the exception of the public viewing hosted in the University of Goroka auditorium, where flyers for follow-up interviews over subsequent days were

distributed amongst the 200-plus attendees.

To undertake Love Patrol viewing observations in Fiji and Vanuatu I made a request through community organisation contacts. I asked if I could view an episode in a home where people were regular viewers. In both Fiji and Vanuatu these homes were in settlement areas. In PNG, the same request was made, but the community organisation in Port Moresby with whom I made the request felt that due to security concerns (particularly as the broadcast time in PNG was in the evening), this would be problematic. The communities with whom this organisation worked (which are those in the surrounding area) are quite marginalised within the urban setting, and there were frequent occasions of unrest and other social problems, including alcohol-related issues, theft and violence. Organisations are obliged to provide security for their staff and visitors which results in curfews and restrictions on movement; consequently, it was felt that hosting a viewing at the organisation’s premises would allow increased control over attendees and also better ensure my safety (as a white woman). They therefore organised a public viewing at their organisation, inviting members from the nearby communities to attend.

In Goroka, through University of Goroka contacts, I organised an observation within a haus piksa in a nearby settlement. Two students from the University, one of whom lived in the settlement, accompanied me. An evening airing of several Love Patrol episodes was also organised in the University auditorium, at the University’s request. This was promoted amongst the student body and surrounding communities. I used this airing to distribute small flyers to recruit participants for interview in the following days. In addition, towards the end of my fieldwork I attended a public viewing in a settlement on the outskirts of Port Moresby at the invitation of a community leader following his participation in an interview.

Observations within settlement areas enabled me to gain contextual understanding of some of the social and economic challenges facing urban dwellers, as well as insight into television consumption within crowded and often run-down urban settlements. It also allowed me to see the ingenuity of residents within these settlements in terms of accessing media: the sharing of resources such as electricity and televisions, and the set

up of makeshift piksa houses (often generator-run).

At each observation I took field notes on viewer reactions to the episode/s, including as far as possible what people were saying to each other during the episodes. I also observed non-verbal actions such as laughter or giggling during scenes, noises of approval or disapproval, occasions of talking ‘to’ the on-screen characters. I involved myself in the informal conversations which occurred amongst audiences post-viewing, documenting them in my field notes immediately afterwards.

Love Patrol viewer interviews

In each setting (country) recruitment of Love Patrol viewers was approached slightly differently due to population size, urban/rural environment and security issues. The only selection criteria used was that the participants watch the Love Patrol TV series. Participation in the research was voluntary, and individuals were self-defined fans of the television series. An attempt was made to recruit participants across all age groups, as well as a balance between men and women; however, this was at times restricted by the setting and in the case of Papua New Guinea, by security concerns. A number of group interviews inadvertently occurred during fieldwork. In Vanuatu, an interview organised with a young woman at a basketball court within a settlement area became a group interview when she brought several other young people with her. This may have been due to a sense of shyness on her behalf in meeting with an older foreign white woman, or alternatively it may have been due to the interest of her friends in attending out of curiousity, or a desire to give their opinion on this popular local show. On two occasions in Fiji, women with whom I had organised interviews brought teenage children with them, stating that they were also keen viewers and wanted to talk about the show.

Recruitment of viewers from a cross-section of social and cultural demographics was also attempted through advertising with a range of groups. In Vanuatu and Fiji, Love Patrol viewers were recruited through placing an advert in the local newspapers and also through putting up posters in key areas (market areas, community billboards) and at services provision points (churches, sporting venues, clinics). Papua New Guinea’s environment of chronic insecurity, particularly in Port Moresby, created challenges for

recruitment. Issues of my own personal safety, combined with organisations’ obligation to provide security for staff, clients and visitors, created a number of structural barriers to recruitment which resulted in a different approach being taken. Thus, in PNG, interview respondents were predominantly recruited through tapping into informal community networks, although I purposely avoided HIV-related networks in an attempt to recruit the ‘average’ Love Patrol viewer, rather than those who had previously been involved in, or ‘targeted’ by, HIV-related education or awareness sessions. Invitations to participate were extended through community and faith-based networks who work in communities including Church groups, women’s councils, and youth groups including a social group on a University Campus. Invitations were also extended to potential participants introduced by peer educators and other key informants.

Key informant interviews

As a regional HIV/STI prevention advisor from 2004-2009 I have had extensive experience in working with HIV prevention agencies and community representative groups in each of the selected countries. This experience enabled me to identify a number of people and agencies that were eligible to be interviewed. In each country, key HIV service providers and community organisations were contacted and invited to participate in the research and key informants requested for interview. Contacts were made initially by email from Australia, then by telephone and in person whilst in country. Key informants interviews were also undertaken with community representatives (of PLHIV, MSM and sex worker communities) and community and opinion leaders (village leaders, church leaders/pastors, women’s council).

Contact was also made with networks and support groups for PLHIV, MSM and sex workers (where they existed) to request their participation in the research. In some instances, contacts within community organisations provided key informant suggestions and links to other community representatives. In this way the recruitment for interviews snowballed. A number of these interviews were group interviews. Key informant interviews were predominantly undertaken in their offices or agencies, or at organisations with which they had an affiliation.

Interviews were also undertaken with the Love Patrol director, the scriptwriter and five

of the actors who play central characters in the series.

Interview procedures

Interviews were undertaken during the last weeks of airing of the ten episodes of the respective Love Patrol series in each setting, during the period of December 2010 – March 2012. Interviews lasted an average of 45 – 70 minutes each. Individuals received no remuneration for their participation; however, they were given a copy of the most recent Love Patrol series on DVD and their bus/taxi fares to attend the interview. The interviews were undertaken in a range of locations dependent on the setting. In an effort to ensure respondents would feel comfortable and confident, I met them in contexts with which they were familiar: their church, a local café, their workplace, their school, a familiar community organisation or a community meeting place. In Fiji and Vanuatu many interviews were undertaken at local cafes, in some instances in viewers’ places of work (for those who were employed). In Vanuatu, several interviews were undertaken at a centrally located Youth Centre well known to community members. In PNG, interview locations were a little more constrained due to security issues. Viewer interviews were undertaken on University Campuses, in viewers’ places of work or at organisations which viewers had an affiliation with (used the services of) such as NGOs and churches.

Respondents responded positively to my request for interview and seemed genuinely interested to discuss Love Patrol with me; even those who had concerns or negative opinions about the show were quite eager to share these. My impression was that this positive attitude and the familiarity of the topic facilitated communication. At the beginning of interviews, I did at times sense a feeling of uncertainty amongst some respondents as to what I wanted to know. This appeared to be more the case in the interviews with men, no doubt due to the fact that I was a foreign white woman. This fact may have prevented me from obtaining the same degree of rapport as may have been developed if I was a man, especially a Melanesian man; however, with the subject being so everyday and familiar as Love Patrol, the participants generally relaxed and responded to my questions with enthusiasm. I established rapport with respondents by asking them to retell a story from a recent episode they had seen. Drawing on my knowledge of the episodes gleaned from detailed script review, I was in turn able to

share a scene that had made me laugh (which inevitably made them laugh as well), in this way establishing common ground as fellow Love Patrol viewers. In a sense, Love Patrol provided an extensive ‘vocabulary’ with which to initiate and sustain dialogue with respondents. As the interview questions were based on the show, and the characters and behaviours of those characters, rather than personal questions of the respondents (and their own practices), this subverted any embarrassment or reluctance on behalf of respondents to answer. Even though the interview topics related to sexuality and sexual behaviour, it was not about respondents’ own sexual behaviours; consequently, they appeared comfortable, indeed enthusiastic, to give their opinions on the behaviour and the choices of Love Patrol characters. Hence, despite my status as a white English-speaking woman, my retrospective reflection on the interviews and analysis leads me to believe that the atmosphere was generally very relaxed and natural, and that respondents gave their honest opinions.

Interview dynamics were significantly altered in the interviews that inadvertently turned into group interviews: the interview in Vanuatu that involved several young people, and the two occasions in Fiji where mothers brought along their teenage children. In Vanuatu, the presence of peers may have inhibited or influenced some of the comments of participants. On reflection however, and when studying the transcript of the interview, I believe the presence of the other young people may have been useful and actually facilitated conversation. In the settlement context, where people live in very close social contact, it was natural for everyone to participate in any social activities taking place and my visit was a social event. Hence, the presence of other young people was part of the natural setting and may have provided a greater degree of confidence in participating in the interview. In Fiji, conversely, the presence of a parent may have affected the confidence of their children in speaking and also may have influenced their responses. Although this was not an ideal situation, to the parents, the act of bringing their children along with them to interview was a completely normal and appropriate thing to do, and asking the children to leave was not an option.

Interviews in all three countries were predominantly conducted in English, with the exception of a small number of both viewers and key informant interviews in Vanuatu and PNG. In Vanuatu, a small number of respondents answered in Bislama (the lingua

franca of Vanuatu) and in Papua New Guinea some respondents answered in Tok Pisin (the lingua franca of PNG) both of which are forms of Pidgin. As I have a basic grasp of Pidgin, being able to understand both Bislama and Tok Pisin reasonably well, during interview I invited participants to respond to questions in the vernacular if they wished. A local research assistant in each setting then translated these interviews into English to ensure accuracy.

A total of 41 people participated in viewer interviews. Participants were aged 14 to 60 years. (Table 2: Interview participant demographics).

Table 2: Interview participant demographics Country Women Men Total Fiji 14 years, student 15 years, student 14 19 years, unemployed 16 years, student 25 years, tertiary student 18 years, student 35 years, receptionist 23 years, unemployed 37 years, police officer 24 years, office worker 40 years, government worker 48 years, unemployed 54 years, church volunteer 50+ years*, village elder

PNG 17 years, unemployed 16 years, student 14 20 years, tertiary student 17 years, unemployed 24 years, unemployed 21 years, tertiary student 29 years, technician 22 years, tertiary student 33 years, housekeeper 23 years, unemployed 40+ years*, market seller 39 years, unemployed 41 years, unemployed 49 years, bus driver Vanuatu 15 years, student 16 years, student 13 17 years, student 18 years, unemployed 29 years, receptionist 22 years, unemployed 35 years, waitress 32 years, government worker 39 years, office worker 43 years, manual labourer 40+ years*, shop attendant 57 years, self-employed 60 years, bank worker *In some instances I have estimated respondents’ ages, as they either did not respond when asked their age or were unsure of their exact age.

A total of 64 people participated in key informant interviews, of these 30 were representatives of PLHIV, MSM or sex worker groups/communities. Key informant interviews were also undertaken with Love Patrol’s scriptwriter, director and 5 of the actors. The collection of data took a saturation approach, whereby collection continued until no new themes or ideas were apparent; in other words interviews were not producing any new information nor adding any further understanding to the issues and

arguments under examination. Through examining both the field notes and analysis I generated in the field, I had sensed that the narratives and topics in both viewer and informant interviews began to repeat themselves. In each setting, as my interviews accumulated and no new themes emerged, I made the decision to conclude interviewing.

Interviews carried out in this research were audio-taped via digital recorder. Written consent from participants was required. Consent forms were in English with a verbal description provided in local language. Permission for this was obtained verbally and in writing through the use of a Participant Information Statement & Consent Form (PIS&CF) (Appendix 3: Participant Information Statement & Consent Form). Where the group interviews occurred, consent was also obtained from all participants prior to proceeding. There were a number of instances with representatives of marginalised populations where obtaining written consent by way of participants signing the PIS&CF was awkward. A number of participants from PLHIV, sex worker or MSM groups or networks were reluctant to put their name on the form or sign it. For many of these participants, their anonymity was vitally important to them as identification could have highly detrimental social, and in the case of sex workers and MSM, legal, consequences. During the introduction to the research and the overview of the interview process (verbal review of the Participant Information Statement & Consent Form) I had assured them of anonymity and confidentiality and yet I was then asking them to put their name on and sign an ‘official’ document. Many participants were clearly uncomfortable with this. To overcome their discomfort I encouraged these participants to sign in any way they wished, therefore a number used an illegible signature on the form and put a first name only, or at times a pseudonym.

Participants were informed that withdrawal from the research at any time up to publication was possible. They were assured that this would not affect their relationship with the researchers, with the University of New South Wales, or with any individual or organisation who may have introduced them to the research, nor would it affect any access to services they may provide.

Data Analysis

In accordance with the ethnographic approach, data analysis for this research was completed simultaneously with data collection, data interpretation and narrative writing (Cutcliffe, 2000; Cresswell, 1994; Glaser & Strauss, 1967). While it was not practical to transcribe and code all interviews collected immediately whilst in the field, I did revisit the audio-recordings and produce extensive field notes, which helped generate further questions for new interviews or for identifying potential new informants. Thus some initial data analysis took place simultaneously with data collection, influencing the shape and direction of subsequent data collection. The gap between data collection in the countries also allowed for the analysis of data collected in Fiji and Vanuatu to commence. Thus the nature of my fieldwork allowed for ‘ongoing analysis’ (Denzin, 1994) and in particular this led to the revision of some of the interview questions for the PNG fieldwork, and to further observations of Love Patrol viewing in communal settings.

Thematic Analysis

Thematic analysis was used to analyse the resulting data in order to investigate the representation of characters and issues in Love Patrol scripts and viewer response to these representations. Thematic analysis was selected due to its capacity to allow for a rich and detailed, yet complex account of data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). This was felt to be an appropriate analytic method for a thesis that seeks to explicate how Melanesian audiences interacted with the Love Patrol television series. An inductive approach was taken to coding the data. This involved discovering patterns, themes and categories in the data (Patton, 2002). Findings thus emerged out of the data through my interaction with it. Qualitative thematic analysis is seen as particularly fitting for research that is driven by social representations tenets, allowing for the nuances of the high-frequency themes to be explored in depth; themes widely shared within particular groups are taken to illustrate the existence of social representations (Joffe & Haarhoff, 2002).

Love Patrol scripts

Thematic analysis was used to examine the representations of HIV, sexuality and stigma within the Love Patrol scripts. In line with my first research question: ‘How does Love 87

Patrol represent the issues of HIV?’ I analysed the script for how HIV-related issues were portrayed. This included relevant characters and dialogue. This led to closer attention to the representation of young people’s sexuality, sex work, sexual diversity, living with HIV and stigma within the show. The framing of particular characters and their dialogue was also analysed, namely Andy, Lorraine, Betty, Mark and Elizabeth, as these characters represented key marginalised populations within the Melanesian setting. By scrutinising the codes (visual and dialogue) of the series I sought to reveal how new as well as traditional views of sexuality, HIV and stigma are presented and represented in the program and offered to viewers as guideline, point of reference and/or discussion and debate. Thus the script analysis was approached as a close reading from a critical observer.

I watched the entire series 3 and 4 initially as entertainment before undertaking the fieldwork in order to gain a general initial understanding of the series content and characters. A second reading was done before conducting interviews to identify recurring themes within the drama. Finally, scripts were read a third time to link these themes in connection to one another after the interviews. I took great care in ensuring that this reading extended beyond the identified themes and interpretations of each series script, but also included genre, cultural context and the setting where these negotiations take place.

To undertake the analysis I also drew on literature on media critical analysis and particularly television criticism. According to Vande Berg, Wenner and Gronbeck (2004), television criticism is concerned with providing insightful interpretations that stimulate people to look at television texts in new and different ways. Of key interest to this thesis are the meanings that might be generated due to their representation in the Love Patrol television series. I see the genre as a forum for critical public debate, where participation in representation is a key element towards recognition, or what Newcomb and Hirsch (1983) describe as a “cultural forum for debate” (p. 571).

Interviews with viewers and key informants

Interview data from each setting was cleaned and grouped according to setting. All interviews were transcribed verbatim shortly after the interviews and transcripts

checked against the original audio recordings for accuracy. Interviews in Bislama and Tok Pisin (4 interviews in Vanuatu and 5 interviews in PNG) were translated into English and then transcribed. Verbatim transcriptions of interviews were entered into NVivo 9 software for data management and storage. Each interview was listened to multiple times to identify common themes and I undertook repeated readings of the transcripts as a whole to familiarise myself with the depth and breadth of the content.

Extensive thematic coding of all interviews, observations and field notes took place. In the analysis I searched across data sets to find repeated patterns of meaning. The data corpus (all data collected as part of the research project) was approached as a whole and analysed thematically. Themes which represented recurring patterns of meaning were allowed to emerge from the participants’ own words. With an awareness of how my status as a white woman may have affected what respondents said to me, I also carefully examined the nuances within their narratives, looking for what was left unsaid or unintentionally let ‘slip’, particularly with respect to more contentious issues such as condoms, homosexuality and sex work.

Thematic analysis was used to analyse and identify major themes emerging from the data. Data were coded for emerging themes and then reviewed a second time to establish whether or not themes identified were consistent upon review. The data was then analysed thematically within the sources from the three countries. Identified themes were then compared across the three countries to explore for consistencies and differences in findings, taking into account the heterogeneous nature of the interview respondents. These themes were then clustered and grouped in a sense-making process that provided insights on how viewers of Love Patrol interpreted the characters and storylines. I continued analysing the data to the point of saturation, where no new themes or sub-themes were emerging. In addition, I referred to my field notes and notes from the participant observation during the analysis.

Through a process of constant comparison between and within the coded data, I was able to identify categories reflected in the narratives (Seale, 1999). The inductive thematic analysis resulted in 26 categories, which were grouped into 11 key themes: emotional engagement; empathy; character identification; critical reflection;

interpersonal dialogue; breaking taboos; challenging norms; attitude change; resistance; empowerment and efficacy; and, collective action. In reviewing and coding the data I actively sought the nuances, looking for paradoxes and dislocations in what people were saying. In order to understand the narratives of viewers, my field notes were extremely useful. The detailed recordings of my various personal insights, reflections and observations were illuminating and identified a number of contradictions in what people were saying. My observations thus supported my understanding of the respondent narratives and these are woven through the analysis generated in the following chapters of the thesis.

Field notes from observation

Field notes were analysed to assess the audience reaction and audience involvement in the viewing, including verbal and non-verbal cues. I also analysed the content or themes of post-viewing discussions and who participated. I began by reading through all my field notes and making comments about what I could do with the different parts of the data. I also generated field notes as I wrote, as re-listening to the interviews stimulated further reflections on my research participants and the research settings.

Obstacles encountered

Challenges encountered in the course of the thesis were predominantly related to one of the selected countries, namely PNG. Firstly, it took a significant amount of time to obtain ethics approval for PNG – some seven months, as opposed to on average one month each for Fiji and Vanuatu. This meant that it was not possible to undertake data collection during the airing period of Love Patrol series 3, as I had done for Fiji and Vanuatu. Therefore the decision was made to undertake the data collection in PNG during the airing period of Love Patrol series 4.

Secondly, security issues in PNG affected both the recruitment of participants and also interview locations. Security concerns are endemic in many parts of PNG, and particularly within Port Moresby. Community unrest, raskols37, high levels of violence, the increasing presence and use of weapons (knives and guns), and increasing rates of

37 Criminals; members of gangs associated with violent crime. 90

car-jacking make travelling, particularly after hours, very difficult. In attending to security issues, for both my own safety and that of interview participants, it was necessary to recruit interview participants in a different manner than I had in Fiji and Vanuatu. The size and sprawling nature of Port Moresby further complicated matters. Mobility around Port Moresby can be difficult, with very congested traffic (particularly in peak hours which can last 2 – 3 hours) and areas of limited public transport making attending interviews with participants more complicated. This presented challenges in recruiting interview participants, as it would be difficult to utilise posters and newspaper adverts as I had previously. Following discussion with in-country contacts, I decided to utilise existing community networks (including church groups and a university campus) to recruit participants. In this way I was able to hold interviews at respective agencies/organisations where security measures were in place and public transport accessible for attendees.

Ethical Issues

Confidentiality was a particular concern of this research because of the illegality of same-sex sexual behaviour and sex work in each of the participating countries and the stigma and discrimination associated with MSM, sex workers and also PLHIV. I took steps and precautions to ensure that no participant could be harmed by this research.

In undertaking this research I was particularly concerned with ethics issues in conducting interviews so that no participant would be harmed. To protect confidentiality all interviews with PLHIV, MSM or sex worker representatives which required translation were firstly cleaned to ensure removal of any names or identifying details, prior to provision of the audio recording to the translator. Any information that was obtained in connection with this study and that could be linked to particular interviewees was deleted from transcripts or replaced with similar but related information; for example the naming of a specific place where sex workers go was given a generic title.

Confidentiality of data, including the identity of participants, was ensured during collection and dissemination by de-identifying data at the transcription stage, and

assigning unique numbers rather than actual participant names to label the recording files. All hard data acquired during the research was kept in a locked filing cabinet. Observation notes, interview recordings and transcriptions and de-identified data used for analysis were held only on password-protected computers. With the completion of the thesis, recordings and transcriptions have been transferred to compact disc (CD) and deleted from computers. CDs will be stored in a locked filing cabinet in a locked office at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of New South Wales for seven years in accordance with the rules of UNSW. The data will then be disposed of through confidential waste.

A summary report was posted to all participating NGO organisations and networks. A summary sheet of main findings was also made available to community members, community groups and their representatives. The documents were also posted to agencies for further distribution.

Ethics approval processes

Ethics approval for the research was sought and obtained from four ethics committees, namely the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of New South Wales and the three selected countries. Approval was obtained from: the University of New South Wales Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), the Vanuatu Ministry of Health, the Fiji National Research Ethics Committee and the Papua New Guinea National AIDS Council Secretariat Research Advisory Committee.

In the original application for ethics approval this research planned to interview Love Patrol viewers aged 18 years and over. Following the commencement of fieldwork, during early interviews in Vanuatu it became apparent that young people below the age of 18 were very keen to participate, and in fact on many occasions parents also brought their children along to interviews with them. This led to my reconsideration of the age limit for participation. According to the ethics policy of the UNSW any modifications to the project must obtain written approval of the HREC. A new age limit of 14 years was proposed to the HREC in writing and submitted. This was approved and in line with HREC recommendations, a new Parent (Guardian) Participant Information Statement and Consent Form was developed which parents of participating teenagers

were asked to sign, as well as the teenager signing the existing Participant Information Statement and Consent Form. (Appendix 4)

Limitations of the research

This research involved a sample of Love Patrol viewers in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu and may not be representative of the views of all Love Patrol viewers in these three countries. Although some rural participants were included, the participants were predominantly from urban areas. Clearly, volunteer bias means that this sample is not representative of the Love Patrol viewing populations in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, and the specificity of the sample is acknowledged.

The whole process of fieldwork is characterised by many pragmatic decisions taken in situ. It requires tolerance, flexibility and time to spare along with good preparation, cultural competence and an understanding of the context. There is no single solution, and thus each qualitative study is unique. I consider that the validity of this study lies largely in my having presented and argued for the fieldwork process, and made clear my choices and priorities, as well as the limits and limitations.

In this chapter I outlined the rationale for using qualitative research methods for collecting data in the field. I described why interviews, thematic analysis and observation were appropriate to this thesis and for the field conditions and discussed the role of reflexivity in using ethnographic methods. I concluded this chapter with a description of data that was gathered during the fieldwork for this thesis in order to explicate the social representations of young people’s sexuality, sex work, homosexuality and living with HIV in Love Patrol and how these representations affect viewers. The next chapter is the first of five results chapters reporting on the findings of this thesis.

CHAPTER 4

USING CULTURE AS A VEHICLE FOR HIV PREVENTION

You must swim in the cultural waters of the people. (Paulo Freire)

Throughout this thesis I argue that Love Patrol stimulates community dialogue on previously taboo issues and challenges socio-cultural norms to reduce stigma and promote sexual rights. This chapter explicates the nature of Love Patrol as a cultural vehicle embedded in the Melanesian context. It undertakes this work through its strong Melanesian cultural base. This chapter provides an overview of the broad cultural context of the Love Patrol production and its reception. I examine how Love Patrol utilises culture and builds on cultural traits: the culture of storytelling, of collectivity and of communal dialogue and decision-making. Through a consideration of local cultural values, channels of communications and patterns of learning Love Patrol’s utility as an HIV prevention tool is demonstrated.

I begin by providing a definition of culture as it is conceptualised in this thesis and describing how culture is frequently seen as a barrier in HIV responses. In contrast, Love Patrol constructively works with culture, rather than against, to selectively reinforce values and traits whilst simultaneously eliciting a collective analysis of local practices and changes that may be needed. This is followed by an exploration of how the production of Love Patrol, situated within the local context, enables powerful audience engagement. The specific social and cultural context of Melanesia strongly shapes the consumption and reception of Love Patrol. I explicate the audience reception of this cultural vehicle, how viewers consume the narrative and how this affects community dialogue on HIV-related issues and facilitates the uptake of information from the stories in a context of social learning.

Culture is the bedrock of a good HIV response. I argue that people need to identify culturally and socially with HIV prevention messages. Theory and research reinforce the importance of HIV prevention approaches being linked to social and cultural narratives (Galavotti et al., 2001). Yet many current HIV prevention approaches in the Pacific are ineffective and often misunderstood because they are culturally inappropriate

and fail to speak to the cultural experiences of local communities (Meleisea, 2009). I argue that Love Patrol’s approach of embedding the show in Melanesian culture and reflecting socio-cultural practices whilst drawing on cultural strengths is in distinct contrast to the predominant approach to HIV prevention in the region, namely population-based HIV awareness activities (Hammar, 2010; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). Further, I contend that this approach responds to calls for programs aimed at reconstituting collective meanings through transforming social and cultural values (Parker, 2001).

The concept of culture

In this thesis I conceptualise culture as dynamic and socially influenced; culture is thus “the meanings which people create, and which create people, as members of societies. Culture is in some way collective” (Hannerz, 1992, p. 3). Such an understanding of culture focuses on the circulation and production of meanings, and highlights the social. Rather than notions of culture as fixed and immutable this perspective acknowledges that rules, norms and mores are inherent in culture, but importantly that these can be deconstructed and challenged, hence culture can be influenced and changed. Communication for development scholars have noted that edutainment productions provide a reflective milieu, in which culture can be contested, adapted, understood and reified (Skuse, 2011, p. 13). Love Patrol is a production that provides such a space for reflective dialogue on cultural norms.

In the context of HIV, culture is frequently viewed as a double-edged sword in that it can help or hinder the adoption of HIV prevention practices (Jenkins, 2004; Lepani, 2008a). Schoepf (2004) describes how early in the epidemic in Africa, biomedical discourses designated ‘culture’ as both the culprit behind the spread of HIV and a constraint to change (p. 19). Such discourses stigmatised African sexuality, drawing a racist link between sexual promiscuity and African-ness (Farmer, 1999). This attribution of blame was both racist and political at its core, whereby culture was blamed for situations clearly linked to inequality in order to support the status quo (Schoepf, 2004, p. 19). This may have heralded the beginning of culture being positioned as an obstacle in HIV responses, particularly in biomedical models. Also prevalent are essentialised notions of culture as a signifier of difference (Taylor, 2007).

In a strikingly similar manner, racist and moralising representations of Pacific cultures and sexualities used to justify colonial domination have been used to position culture as problematic for the epidemics in Melanesia (Butt, Numbery & Morin, 2002a; Eves, 2012), leading to the attribution of disease causality to cultural difference (Wardlow, 2002). Culture thus becomes a ‘barrier’ to overcome or a factor to combat.

Prevalent HIV-prevention models are infused with predominantly Western assumptions and moralities about human sexuality, gender relations and individual behaviours (Lepani, 2008a, p. 246). Many scholars, including those in the Pacific, have asserted that biomedical discourses lead to customary practices being devalued and discouraged and local beliefs seen as barriers to HIV education (Butt, Numbery & Morin, 2002b; Eves, 2012; Farmer, 1997). Within HIV-prevention communication, culture has often been viewed as static and people’s health beliefs mistakenly looked upon as cultural barriers (UNAIDS, 2001). This is evident in the Pacific Regional HIV strategy, which highlights cultural barriers as one of the key challenges for the region (SPC, 2009c). National responses to HIV in Melanesia generally disregard local culture and local forms of knowledge (Aggleton et al., 2007; Eves, 2012), consequently culture becomes sidelined as irrelevant in implementing prevention initiatives. I argue that culture is incredibly relevant to HIV prevention. Culture can be viewed for its strength, and those attributes of a culture that are positive for the conduct of HIV prevention identified and harnessed.

In recognising the value of culture in HIV prevention efforts, it is equally important to acknowledge the existence of norms that do structure vulnerability to HIV. These include broad socio-cultural factors such as ideas about sexuality and shame, the subordinate status of women, bride price and polygyny (Buchanan-Arawafu, 2007; Eves & Butt, 2008; Jenkins, 2007). There is a widespread belief that talking about sex and other sensitive issues goes against Melanesian cultures. Traditional associations between sexuality and shame make it difficult to talk openly about sex, particularly in a positive way, and this shame extends to teachers, youth leaders, parents and even health workers (Eves, 1998; Eves & Butt, 2008). Thus the opportunities for adults to support and guide young people is significantly reduced. As a result young people are often fearful and ashamed to broach these issues with adults or to access services or support

to take control of their sexual health (Buchanan-Arawafu, 2007; Kennedy et al., 2013). Love Patrol acknowledges cultural values of embarrassment and secrecy about sex and sexuality and finds culturally acceptable ways to talk frankly about HIV-related issues. This is critical as silence and inhibited communication about sex and sexuality in families, schools, churches, and even health services contribute to young people’s vulnerability to HIV.

In some countries the ways in which cultural traditions are practised today disadvantage women. Rapid and dramatic social, economic and cultural changes have taken place in Melanesian societies in a relatively short period, including missionary contact and colonisation, which have significantly altered local contexts, practices and knowledge (Eves, 2003; Jenkins, 2007; Naidu, 2010); accordingly that which is regarded as ‘traditional’ is usually a mixture of ancient and modern customs and beliefs (Meleisea, 2009). Efforts to address HIV are sometimes hampered by traditional views and resistance. Custom or ‘kastom’38 can be used ideologically to resist change, with such notions called upon to legitimate and perpetuate harmful and unequal power relations (Ellsberg, Bradley, Egan & Haddad, 2008; Jolly, 2012; Keesing, 1989; Lepani, 2008b; Macintyre, 2012). Men may defend their privileges as customary rights, yet the customs and traditions invoked are often distorted versions of the original, which serve to reinforce male power and entitlement. Distorted forms of the ‘traditions’ of bride price39 and polygyny40 are examples. As a culturally relevant approach to HIV prevention, Love Patrol recognises the contested understandings of what is ‘customary’ and the inherent power relations that may form resistance to change (Ellsberg et al.,

38 Pidgin for ‘custom’, used as a political and unifying symbol (Keesing, 1982) to promote a distinctive non-European identity amongst Melanesians (Tonkinson, 1982). 39 In many parts of Melanesia it was, and often still is, customary for a man and his relatives to make a payment of goods and money to the family of his wife at marriage. Bride price is embedded in systems of exchange, creating cooperative alliances between families for future marriage exchanges, trade, or other efforts (Buchanan-Arawafu, 2007; Jenkins, 2007). Yet now, other traditions and expectations associated with bride price are conveniently overlooked, and bride price as it is now practised has been noted as a factor in perpetuating spousal violence (Eves, 2010; SPC, 2010b). Furthermore, some groups who did not practise it in the past have now adopted the ‘tradition’ of bride price as a way of demanding cash for the marriage of a daughter (Jenkins, 2007; Meleisea & Meleisea, 2006). 40 Traditionally polygyny was practised in some societies in PNG only when men had enough resources to support multiple wives. Yet, polygyny “now proliferates in truncated forms under the guise of customary practice, and young mobile men ‘marry’ a succession of wives in different locations without the economic means to support them and their children or to maintain the inter-clan exchange relations that are central to traditional conjugal unions” (Lepani, 2008b, p. 155).

2008; Meleisea, 2009).

Although the need for approaches to recognise and respect local cultural and social values is well recognised, it is also necessary to challenge some of the social values and cultural norms that are currently central to power relations in Melanesia (Macintyre, 2012). Strong patriarchal norms and beliefs are present in many Melanesian cultures and support male dominance, gender inequality and violence against women. Gender inequality characterises the cultural norms of Fiji (Kaitani, 2004), Vanuatu (Cummings, 2008) and PNG (Jolly, 2012) and supports and perpetuates harmful cultural practices, economic dependence, and violence against women (Lepani, 2008b; Seeley & Butcher,

2006; Wardlow, 2007). Violence is culturally embedded in concepts of gendered relations. Further, emergent social and political conditions may intensify deeply ingrained cultural attitudes and economic relations that naturalise female disadvantage and male entitlement (Macintyre, 2012). Men’s uneasy confrontation with modernity, and kastom and women’s efforts at achieving a degree of agency and personal security in the midst of deeply challenging economic, cultural and social changes (Zimmer- Tamakoshi, 2012, p. 102), has particular implications for a range of social issues including HIV. Social and cultural factors such as gender inequality, sexual inequality and violence against women greatly affect Melanesian women’s vulnerability to HIV. The Love Patrol narrative is based on evidence about and analysis of gender relations and sexual behaviour in the Melanesian contexts, and carefully negotiates its representations to avoid inadvertently reinforcing harmful or discriminatory aspects of cultural practices or traditions.

Engaging with culture is critical to HIV prevention. Social science scholars argue for an understanding of cultural contexts in order to create effective HIV interventions (Aggleton et al., 2007; Kippax, 2008). Rather than taking the ‘barrier’ perspective, where culture is to be navigated around, there is a need for prevention to engage with the social lives and contexts of people (Kippax, 2012). This means engaging with culture. As Lepani (2008a) has shown in her work in the Trobriand Islands in PNG, culture can be constructively viewed as strength and harnessed in the work of HIV prevention. It is within this frame that Love Patrol operates, mobilising culture strategically as a resource, exploring and examining aspects of culture through its

representations.

Mobilising culture as an asset relies on notions of culture as mutable. Drawing on Appadurai’s (2004) notion of “culture as a dialogue between aspirations and sedimented traditions” (p. 84) is useful in this regard. Cultural norms are understood as flexible, with the potential to be reinvented and restructured and can assist rather than compromise HIV interventions (Taylor, 2007). Melanesian cultures are full of social resources such as honesty, respect, trust, norms, values, relationships and other networks that can facilitate the adoption (or non-adoption) of HIV prevention measures. Love Patrol is based on local cultural understandings and works with culture utilising these many strengths. Butt, Numbery and Morin (2002a) argue the importance of understanding prevalent cultural values to understand behaviour and promote the use of particular cultural beliefs and values as a foundation for culturally sound prevention efforts. The collectivist nature of Melanesian cultures, which place high value on mutual support, obligation, reciprocity and human responsibility (Ratuva, 2006; SPC, 2010d), is drawn upon by storylines in Love Patrol. Endogenous motivations are used in culturally appropriate ways with values such as care, support, and community responsibility for young people selectively reinforced throughout the episodes.

Although Love Patrol draws on and represents cultural strengths, it does not shy away from reflecting socio-cultural practices that are contributing to social disharmony and problems.

In the [monitoring] street surveys women said that they sympathised with [the character] Elizabeth [wife of an unfaithful husband] so much because that was their lives, and police officers, because we had some police violence and police not behaving well in that series and there were a lot of comments about “yes, this is what the police are like and they need to see it”. So there is a feeling that people want certain kinds of behaviour exposed, to be discussed out in the open in the public arena. (Love Patrol crew member)

Audiences appear to be in favour of inappropriate, harmful or damaging social practices being openly and realistically portrayed in the show. The series content challenges the

cultural ‘norms’ of denial and silencing of many difficult issues, and viewers seem to affirm the placing of such issues on the public agenda for discussion and debate. Issues of disrespect, betrayal and personal and community ruptures are made visible in Love Patrol and connections demonstrated to HIV vulnerability and other social problems. The show thus utilises traits of Melanesian culture as a vehicle for HIV education, providing information about HIV-related issues whilst simultaneously confronting attitudes and actions that go against collective cultural values and contribute to vulnerability.

Production of Love Patrol

Love Patrol provides visibility to Melanesian experiences in a context of televised invisibility. As shown in my introduction, the media environment in Melanesia is characterised almost entirely by imported content from outside the region. What is the effect of never seeing your own ‘life’ and your own people portrayed on television? In essence it renders one's life ‘invisible’ (Rhodes, 1993). This invisibility can create a feeling of unimportance and lack of ‘place’ in societies where visual representation is all-important. Through the creation of Love Patrol, Wan Smolbag Theatre has produced a television show of distinctly Melanesian identity and agenda for broadcast.

[Love Patrol] It’s a Pacific one and it’s more like me…It was my little nephew that started watching it, and he came to my sister-in-law’s and said “see that movie, see that movie!” and then I just came and then I said “oh my god, one Pacific movie finally!” (Young man, 18 years, student, Suva, Fiji)

As the only television program, with the exception of local news and documentaries, in which Melanesians can recognise themselves and their way of life, Love Patrol provides acknowledgement, identification and status for audiences. The local media environment also influences the reception and impact of the show; scholars have noted that the degree of media saturation and diversity in a country or region strongly affects the degree of audience exposure (Singhal & Rogers, 1999). With a distinct lack of competition, Love Patrol achieves a high degree of exposure on local television

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networks41 and its popularity has ensured continued prime-time airing since the overwhelmingly positive feedback on the first series broadcast in 2007.

…It’s unique … you are making an entertainment, but there’s real things in there, and I think Love Patrol brings about that kind of local feeling, local context, local lifestyle. It’s the story about us! It’s a Pacific story with a message… (Man, 35 years, government worker, Vanuatu)

Love Patrol provides an important local frame of reference, attracting a huge audience as the Pacific’s first television series. As there is little local content on offer, the show is voraciously, almost religiously consumed. It provides a unique opportunity for Melanesians to see themselves and their way of life in the spotlight. Whilst Melanesia is widely diverse and people are very attuned to regional and cultural differences (McPherson, 2008), the show’s portrayals are the closest ever seen on television screens within local communities.

Production of Love Patrol begins with the script development, a four-month process of research and writing. Storylines are grounded in real situations occurring in Melanesian communities drawn from the grassroots level work undertaken by the producers, Wan Smolbag Theatre. In addition to their roles as actors, theatre group members are also facilitators who undertake interactive workshops using drama and film throughout the islands. In the process they collect stories and experiences, which are then shared and feed into character development and the Love Patrol script. In this way the scriptwriter is able to collect and integrate stories from around the region. Topical issues, which may be sensationalised and superficially considered in national and regional media, are also developed into storylines: “The intention is to keep the series talking about stuff that’s not being talked about publically or sympathetically” (Love Patrol scriptwriter). The producers seek to examine those contentious issues, be they sex work, abortion, homosexuality or gendered violence, deeper or from another perspective in the show.

41 The show is often broadcast twice a week. In Vanuatu, for each series the new episode is broadcast on a Sunday, and then repeated later in the week. Due to popular demand, other stations in the region have also taken up this pattern of broadcasting. 101

Actors are also members of communities and the issues raised in Love Patrol are those that affect their lives:

I often ask the group [actors] for stories that they’ve heard around communities … sometimes it’s something that’s actually happened to them and affected them quite badly and it stuck in their minds and they want to tell that story. If you think about it, they [actors] are the community; what happens to their sister and what happens in the community is the same thing. (Love Patrol scriptwriter)

Love Patrol has stories about real things, it’s about real life and sometimes it’s about something that has happened to us [actors] like domestic violence… and you have to act it, and for me it helps you get over it, helps you to process it, to deal with it, and get healed by it too, it’s out in the open, makes you realise it’s happened to other women too, it’s happening to you, it must be happening somewhere else. This happens a lot with Love Patrol – people see it and they say, “that’s exactly what happened to me and it really helps me”, then you know that whatever you’ve been going through somebody else is going through it too, that’s something I really see. (Love Patrol actor)

Often characters are developed and introduced because things are happening in the community and then this leads into the series. The real-life basis of storylines and Love Patrol’s practice of drawing on the lived experiences of actors results in a realistic and culturally proximate production. As such, the show appears to impact not only on its local audiences, enabling them to identify closely with characters and stories, but also on the actors who report personal effects in dealing with difficult issues in their own lives. Thus the collaborative approach to story development by an organisation highly engaged with communities ensures that Love Patrol stories are real, current and powerfully culturally proximate.

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Local actors

A black person could stare at television and hardly (if ever) see himself reflected in the cultural media. It was as if he had no real existence, as if he were a figment of his own imagination or at best if he had an existence it wasn’t worth reflecting or reflection. (African-American writer, John Oliver Killens, 1970)

Television is a major resource for the construction of cultural identity (Barker, 1999) hence representation is a form of cultural power. Just as the invisibility of African- Americans on American television mid last century evoked a sense of non-existence, the lack of Melanesians on Pacific television relegates their lives to the peripheral and the irrelevant. A form of cultural imperialism is practised with ‘colonial’ imports making up the vast majority of Pacific television programming. Visibility in the media, particularly visual forms such as television, is in Bourdieu’s (1977, 1990) terms a form of symbolic capital. As the first Pacific television series, Love Patrol represents a symbolic revolution in cultural production. The show gives power, autonomy and legitimacy to Melanesian identity in a media culture dominated by products of foreign nations and as such may be seen as part of the post-colonial rehabilitation of Melanesian cultural identity (Hau’ofa, 1994).

The characters within Love Patrol are those from within Melanesian communities: unemployed young people, village mothers, pastors and chiefs. For local audiences this may be the first time for them to experience identification with televised characters.

I love it I really love it! The first time I saw that I was interested in this because it was my first time to see my skin colour people, the Melanesians, acting this on television, so I was really happy to watch that … (Man, 21 years, student, Port Moresby, PNG)

For this interviewee, the experience of finding himself reflected on television is a positive and powerful one; a first experience of seeing your own people and stories on- screen, counteracting previous invisibility. Love Patrol’s portrayals of local characters provide recognition and status for local viewers. Representations help constitute an

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individual’s view of the world and sense of personal and group identity. The show offers Melanesian audiences a face and a narrative that reflects them in the present (Ginsberg, 1991) and provides them with a symbolic source of identity. It maintains and strengthens the social identities of Melanesian audiences and serves to reinforce their legitimate status (Reid, Giles & Abrams, 2004; Trepte, 2006).

…For brown skinned people to see brown skinned actors that sort of thing, that’s a big difference, eh? The language, the humour in it [Love Patrol] and things like that I think are what are key elements in it that create that sense of ‘ok we can watch this, this looks like something that’s made for us’ (Church Minister, Suva, Fiji)

There appears to be a sense of pride about the homegrown nature of Love Patrol; it is ‘ours’, by ‘us’ and for ‘us’. In giving visibility to the Melanesian experience, the show acts as a mechanism of cultural reinforcement and validation (Hall, 1997c; Tufte, 2000) promoting a shared sense of Melanesian cultural identify. Cultural representations provided in the show form part of the construction of social reality for viewers. The process of identification and recognition that occurs contributes to and generates a sense of belonging (Thompson, 2001; Tufte, 2000), both national belonging, for those viewers in Vanuatu, and regional belonging as Melanesians or Pacific Islanders. Thus Love Patrol promotes a sense of social and cultural membership of a range of communities throughout Fiji, PNG and Vanuatu. Audiences use the show as a resource to produce meaning, pleasure, and cultural identity in their lives. Consequently articulations of cultural identity are engaged pragmatically as a resource for HIV prevention (Lepani, 2008a).

For the actors there is a danger in representing some characters, realistic to the local community though they may be. This is particularly the case where they are playing roles not socially approved of in the local context, such as a sex worker. The social opprobrium of sex work and sex workers within the Pacific is profound and as actors are also community members such stigma also affects them.

It’s a bit hard for me [playing Lorraine, a sex worker]; I mean…all my family reacted to it… my husband, my mother, my brothers… My

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husband, he’s the one that’s really affected by it, he just doesn’t like [that I play] that part… He walks around with his friends and his friends talk about me doing the part and stuff – he just can’t forgive me, so we had problems and stuff but…it was all about acting. (Actor who plays Lorraine)

The disgrace attributed to women who sell sex is so pervasive that to be associated in any way (even as a fictional character) is seen to bring shame, and reflect badly on one’s family. Reputation is a powerful force in Melanesia, particularly for women, regardless of real or imagined roles. Appearances and talk are potently powerful in local communities (Cummings, 2008), thus a fictional performance may attract social censure and have real-life implications. In some cases this may result in positive outcomes, such as for the actor who plays the gay character, Andy, as will be discussed in Chapter 8; however, it may also have negative consequences for an actor’s personal life and standing within family and community.

Love Patrol amplifies community voices and strengthens local identities by constructing stories about issues of concern. The show becomes an important way viewers may gain recognition of everyday concerns and sense that they are not alone; these concerns are shared by others (Tufte, 2004). “You’re not the only one, there’s other people that are going through the same things like you” (Man, 35 years, government worker, Vanuatu). The ‘true life’ character of Love Patrol seems to validate viewers’ daily life, enabling recognition of themselves as actors in their daily story.

…By watching the show … it puts a bit in us that we are somebody, we don’t think we are nobody, we can do something, so it really gives us an idea of who we are by watching this, because some people think ‘oh, we can’t make it’ but I think the Love Patrol, when they see it coming out, it really helps, they’re thinking positive, that they can make it… (Woman, 35 years, waitress, Vanuatu)

Viewers appear to find it empowering to see themselves and their lives on screen; it enhances their self worth, their sense of being someone and their place and importance in the world. In experiencing situations and dilemmas similar to their own lives, 105

viewers are also exposed to how issues might be dealt with. The show provides materials for identity in terms of both social reproduction and change (Kellner, 1995). In providing characters that create change, gain support and achieve goals Love Patrol may also cultivate a sense of agency amongst viewers. Strong character identification and emotional involvement enhances the show’s potential influence. When audiences see someone similar to themselves on screen, this provides information for social comparison: ‘if he or she can do that, then maybe I can too’, thereby enhancing their belief in achieving desired outcomes (Galavotti et al., 2001).

Local settings: village and settlement life

Love Patrol fits with real lives and identities in Melanesian countries, providing culturally proximate images in a setting that is immediately recognisable and relatable for its audience. Scenes switch between villages, settlements and urban areas, including community gathering spaces such as churches and bars, as well as the police station around which the main action takes place.

The amazing part of this movie [Love Patrol] is the village set up, it reminds me of [home village]. What really hit home to me was the condition of the houses, because I could see that in villages, in settlements… it looks very real. (HIV-positive advocate, Suva, Fiji)

I was really happy because the setting that I saw was just like back in my village and it was really nice to watch some kind of show acted in such same, common environment. (Man, 21 years, student, Port Moresby, PNG)

The familiar settings and characters portrayed in the show resonate deeply with the Melanesian situation. Love Patrol offers viewers a socio-cultural and often also a political frame of reference; the particularities of the constructed roles and relations in the show’s narrative are very recognisable to the audience be they in Vanuatu or Fiji or PNG. These particularities “are a product of, and referent to a particular history, culture, and socio-economic situation that the members of the audience have in common” (Tufte, 2005, p. 170). In touching on everyday experiences that are

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immediately recognisable to viewers, feelings of satisfaction, affirmation and pleasure are evoked.

Close cultural proximity appears to result in powerful audience involvement. The show is in fact so realistic that some believe it to be real, as evidenced in the following exchange I had with a viewer in the course of an interview:

The main characters who are acting … it’s sort of like they’re real, how they go about their scenes, eh, how they play their part, it’s hardly like they are acting really, like real life, yeah. But they are really police officers that are there? (No, they’re actors) but they look like they’re really police officers! One she’s a senior superintendent! … But they act really in the police station eh? (No, they build a set) because I though it was really police officers and inside the police station, and I told my wife ‘looks like they’re really police’, they really act like police – real ones. Remember that girl who was murdered, it’s really like she got murdered eh, the way she was lying in the cane field, like the blood was coming out… but actually she’s still alive? (Man, 48 years, unemployed, Suva, Fiji)

The realistic setting of Love Patrol is such that the distinction between fantasy and reality becomes blurred. The fictional world of the soap opera is notable for blurring and obscuring such distinctions (Spence, 1995), allowing viewers to be transported. Belief in televised portrayals or ‘perceived reality’ is strongly influenced by cultural proximity. Media studies indicate that the more typical the people and events described or portrayed, the more realistic those people and events are judged to be, particularly when the context of the story is familiar (Shapiro & Chock, 2003, 2004). This transportation effect is further enhanced within the cultural context of the region, rich in local mythological beliefs and understandings, whereby a televised depiction may be received as truth.

In PNG… there’s less separation between fact and fantasy, if it’s in a movie it’s real, it’s true. So that is why it [Love Patrol] works so well

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actually because you’re watching reality, it isn’t a fiction that was done to make us talk about social issues, it’s our next door neighbours, so I should be worried about my next door neighbours and this difficult life they’re having. (United Nations (UN) staff member, Port Moresby, PNG)

Rather than consuming Love Patrol as an engineered social production, viewers in Melanesia seem to relate to the show as a ‘slice of life’, that which is occurring next door, in the next village or on the next island. The process of identification contributes to a blurring or intertwining of fiction and reality in viewers’ minds (Tufte, 2003). Local audiences experience a high degree of emotional involvement in the show and in keeping with collectivist cultural norms, this leads to care deeply for the characters and what they are experiencing. Such convergence of fiction and fact offers one explanation of how the show causes effects such as: viewers stopping the actor who plays the ‘Minister’ on the streets of Port Vila to give him a lecture about how he is treating his ‘wife’ badly and he needs to change; and sex workers seeking contraceptive advice in the supermarket from the actor who plays the sex worker ‘Lorraine’ in the show, which will be discussed in Chapter 7. Such levels of behavioural involvement with the show’s characters are indicative of critical reflection and dialogue occurring amongst audiences. It also has implications for the potential influence of characters and storylines.

Local stories

Love Patrol provides Melanesian audiences with an opportunity to see their modern-day stories on screen. Storylines are grounded in real life, enhancing viewer engagement by articulating the social practices of everyday village life. Family and community concerns and responsibilities are central. The portrayal of the relations between parents and children (the pastor and his wife with their daughter Amanda), men and women (the detective Mark and his wife Elizabeth, the Minister and his wife Myra), brothers and sisters (Amanda and her brother Kalo) reflect the social networks of relationships within communities.

[Love Patrol] it is very much reflective of Pacific life, the issues that are raised and the discussions that are brought up and the relationships

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between fathers and children, marriages, relationships outside of marriage and all those things, they’re really reflective of Pacific communities (NGO worker, Lautoka, Fiji)

Situating stories within such relationships articulates both culture and the terrain in which social conflicts are played out, revealing the context of social practices that mediate HIV prevention. “[Love Patrol] it’s a true-life story and it’s really happening today in our country, the community sees this happening and says it’s alright but it’s not alright, it affects families these things with boyfriends and girlfriends, and mothers and fathers” (NGO worker, Vanuatu). In representing current norms and practices, the show holds up a mirror to society encouraging reflection, dialogue and debate on health and social issues. This is a conscious goal on behalf of the show’s producers: “For me the priority is that there are Pacific Islanders acting something, it’s local, it’s about their lives and it’s sharing issues, not that you’re going to solve it but if you don’t talk about it or confront it…” (Love Patrol Director). A key impetus for Love Patrol is the provision of a space whereby local actors can tell local stories enabling community issues to be revealed. This process can enable the transformation of issues such as HIV into community concerns.

Love Patrol storylines reflect the existing social structures in Melanesia including mechanisms for community care and support. As noted by the recent Pacific AIDS Commission “because the essence of Pacific life lies in family and church relationships, any hope of success lies in integrating responses to HIV within these structures” (UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009, p. 4). The show reflects the role of community leaders such as pastors and village elders in advice giving and mediating personal and community ruptures, yet simultaneously its depiction raises the need for reconsideration of the nature of such traditional, often scripture-based advice. Multiple points of view are shown without passing judgement, exposing viewers to other ways of thinking and of understanding community relationships and behavioural alternatives. This is important in a context whereby most people have a limited ability to imagine other choices as they are “held hostage by a societal narrative … where patterns of personal behaviour are thought to be unalterable” (Galavotti et al., 2001, p. 1602). On-screen

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situations challenge a number of social norms, allowing space for audience critical reflection and consideration.

Love Patrol is not just a film, not like when you go watch something and then forget about it, Love Patrol has a lot of teachings. You watch it with thoughts about what Love Patrol can teach you. You watch it and after you go you think about what it tells you to go and do. It tells you to go and change… (Chief, Vanuatu)

Love Patrol presents alternative articulations of social reality. Rather than presenting characters as completely bounded by cultural proscriptions that restrict and inhibit their behaviour, the show presents opportunities for choice and for change. It allows audiences to witness their own problems, fostering critical reflection and social critique (Tufte, 2005). I observed this firsthand at the launch of a new series in Vanuatu. Following a public screening of the first two episodes of series 4 (in which a key character rapes his wife), a woman sitting next to me in the audience spoke to me quite emotionally about how the episode was so real she found it painful and difficult to watch, yet equally the fact of its reality meant she was unable to look away. The issue of gender-based violence was extremely close to home and I observed this woman sitting with her peers long after the launch concluded, discussing its occurrence within their own extended family networks and sharing ideas of how to address it. The social embeddedness of Love Patrol’s stories and their public airing seems to enable important dialogical interactions amongst viewers.

Love Patrol’s ability to engage a wide range of audiences is testimony to its power; from members of parliament, church and traditional leaders through to unemployed young people and everyone in between, the audience breadth is an important factor for community involvement in HIV responses. As discussed at the beginning of this chapter, efforts to address HIV and sexual health issues are sometimes hampered by traditional views and resistance in local communities, thus engaging traditional cultural leaders and motivating calls to action is of critical importance.

[Love Patrol] is very different from all the other programs that come on the TV because the setting is more in the rural setting type or in a

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settlement setting where people from all levels live together.... and they come across all these problems and they try to seek assistance from each other and which way to go to solve these problems. (NGO volunteer, Port Moresby, PNG)

Stories are based in local culture of shared responsibility and collective decision- making, with community members depicted helping each other and collectively solving problems. In representing this in the show, the audience is reminded of such practices and positive cultural norms are reaffirmed. Importantly, such an approach also locates HIV as a community concern. As I have argued in my introduction, the predominant approach to HIV prevention in the region typically results in one-off ‘awareness- raising’ sessions held in communities (Hammar, 2010; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). Messages delivered in such sessions tend to focus on individual behaviour and ‘choice’ and lack contextualisation of cultural meanings and social practice (Lepani, 2008a, p. 258). In distinct contrast, Love Patrol’s approach of reflecting dimensions of viewers’ own social reality and experience illuminates the social processes and practices that create HIV vulnerability (Kippax, 2012). In doing so, dialogue within communities about local practices may be enabled, presenting opportunities for communal critical reflection.

Building on a culture of storytelling

[Love Patrol] It speaks one language, no matter which culture, which language, highlands, urban, rural, one language people can understand, the language of story. (Young man, 17 years, unemployed, Port Moresby PNG)

The storytelling nature of the Love Patrol narrative fits strongly with the oral traditions of the region. The Pacific Islands are traditionally oral societies; stories are used to explain the world and Islanders’ place in it. Values, genealogies, history, customs and traditions are passed on from generation to generation through story, legend, dance, art and song (Denoon & Lacey, 1981; Finnegan, 1995). Prior to the arrival of the missionaries much knowledge was passed orally. The practice of transmitting meaningful traditions in narrative genres ranging from entertaining fictional stories to

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true accounts continues. Oral traditions maintained today represent a notable blend of traditional art forms and legends, Christian themes, and reflections of modern society, as part of an ongoing cultural process (Finnegan, 1990). Love Patrol thereby reflects and articulates a way of life that has deep roots in the tradition of narration and in the social and cultural practices of Melanesia. Consequently, it is closely aligned with the customs and norms of its audiences and uses narrative forms with which they are familiar (Galavotti et al., 2001).

In PNG it [Love Patrol] has a huge role, there is such a culture of storytelling and gathering around to hear a tale and watch a movie and then people sitting around telling the stories and so forth, in Tok Pisin you say ‘what are you doing?’ ‘Oh mi placem doan lo storis’ [we’re just telling stories] and that is really what they’re doing, so it has a huge place culturally I think… that whole storytelling tradition, that is what people do, and now the modern version of it is we sit around the TV and then we sit and talk about the stories that we’ve seen. (UN staff member, Port Moresby, PNG)

Storytelling, ‘tok stori’ or ‘talanoa’42 remains a popular pastime within Melanesia with everyday routines linked to it and daily life often the main source of inspiration. As storytelling is an activity undertaken with others, amongst people it also fits with the communal approach to life. Stories are used to point out patterns of human experience and behaviour, and to make sense of collective experiences such as interrelationships. They play a significant role, functioning as important guides to socially and morally acceptable behaviour, and Melanesians are accustomed to deriving morals and values from them (Denoon & Lacey, 1981). Knowledge was traditionally passed on in such a manner, so it is that the knowledge or ‘truths’ gleaned from the Love Patrol narrative are also passed on. In oral cultures such as Melanesia, language is a basic vehicle of interaction, of conveying information, of persuading, and of concerting action (Topping, 1987). The sharing of stories is commonly used to understand others’ experiences and is also an important indigenous dialogical approach being used in development circles (Halapua & Halapua, 2011). In building on this long tradition of storytelling within

42 A Polynesian term for sharing stories, but commonly used in Fiji. 112

local communities, Love Patrol is situated within a strong cultural expectation of learning and dialogue through the sharing of stories.

In addition to using the culture of oral traditions for learning, Love Patrol uses it to give voice to those who are marginalised within Melanesian societies. Oral traditions can be used not only by the powerful and the educated but by those who otherwise may not have a voice or are too easily ignored, the marginal within particular communities (Finnegan, 1995).

…Sexual taboo is very strong, it’s hard to break through but this is a Pacific home grown one … I think through the pictures they’re touching on a lot of things which have been cultural taboo, it’s off limits, but Love Patrol has made a difference …like sex workers coming in, and now one character of MSM, these are issues that we’ve been trying to hide but we can’t hide them anymore and Love Patrol bringing all these issues and breaking the cultural taboos and cultural barriers, it’s made an impact and people have become more open, so they’re doing a fantastic job, not only for Vanuatu, but for PNG and all of the Pacific (Church outreach worker, Goroka, PNG)

Indigenous media can work to challenge social and political representations of particular groups (Thomas, 2011). In placing the stories of people with HIV, men who have sex with men and sex workers into the public sphere Love Patrol gives voice to groups traditionally silenced. The importance of voice being expressed in terms of actions and performances that have local cultural force has been identified (Appadurai, 2004, p. 66). In drawing on Melanesian traditions of storytelling Love Patrol ensures cultural resonance and the show’s content can be engaged with rather than rejected as ‘other’ thereby increasing the potential for adherents to be mobilised and the public space of debate to be captured. The media has power in constructing social reality and the representation of a social world, which includes members of marginalised groups in positive ways, provides a form of symbolic capital (Bourdieu, 1990; Couldry, 2003). Television fiction as a cultural form has crucial and positive potential for interpretative frameworks and community building of marginalised groups (Hermes, 1998). Using

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storytelling in this way affords Melanesian viewers glimpses into the lives of marginalised members of their own communities, potentially developing engagement and understanding.

Audience reception of Love Patrol

Communal viewing

The specific socio-cultural context of Melanesia strongly shapes the reception of Love Patrol. Much of the power and viewer effect lies in the way it is consumed in local settings. In Melanesian communities it is rare that television programs are watched alone. As articulated in my introduction, this is due in part to the fact that not all households have power or a television and also to the prevailing culture of collectivism. Hence, Love Patrol viewing is very much a social activity, often a communal event. Viewers watch the show with family, neighbours, and even the whole community within homes and community gathering places. A community leader from a settlement on the fringes of Port Moresby explained how he set up a television on the roadside each week for community members to watch Love Patrol: “Over a hundred watch! I collect donations for the electricity” (Community leader, 39 years, Port Moresby, PNG). As not all houses in settlement areas have power this was a community solution to facilitate the viewing of a popular show.

Following my interview with this community leader, I was invited to attend one of these weekly viewing sessions within the settlement. I was struck by what a community event it was; with a distinct sense of occasion it certainly appeared to bring the community together. Although the darkness and the ‘roadside’ (rough dirt track) location amongst huts, bushes and makeshift betel nut43 stalls made it difficult to ascertain exactly how many community members were present, there seemed to be a large number representing all age groups. Notable was the high levels of interaction between audience members both throughout the episode and afterwards. Rather than returning to their homes following the show’s conclusion, much of the audience remained and talked in detail about the characters, what happened and how they felt

43 Betel nut, commonly chewed in PNG, produces a mildly euphoric and stimulating effect, chewed for its feeling of wellbeing, to facilitate social interactions and strengthen social ties. Small stalls selling betel nut are found throughout communities and settlements. 114

about it. It was apparent that a viewing context of this nature stimulated a great deal of discussion and allowed for the collective processing of the narrative. As the community leader described: “we all come and talk together, discuss together and decide what is good, not good, advantage, disadvantage of that”. The depictions in Love Patrol stimulate what Tufte (2005) refers to as the “socio-emotional reactions of the viewers” (p. 169) and may encourage critique, sparking a community dialogue as viewers compare the portrayal to their own lives, families and communities. This interviewee was keen to encourage such community discussion and reflection. Communal Love Patrol viewing provides an opportunity to consider rarely discussed issues that are acknowledged as critical to the community and seen to be having an effect on the community wellbeing.

This movie [Love Patrol] is like looking into a mirror, it mirrors what is happening in reality, we need to think prevention and protection. We as parents are quite worried about these issues and after watching [Love Patrol] in the village we discussed how we have to try and address it as much as possible with our children. We as Fijians have a culture of silence; we now realise we need to talk and share information at the family level. (Man, 50+ years, village elder, Fiji)

Discussing the issues raised in Love Patrol provides a key opportunity for communities to reflect on attitudes and behaviour. Scholars have previously noted that when community members organise themselves around a common purpose, such as watching a popular television series, the interactions help stimulate reflection, debate and action (Singhal et al., 2004). The resulting dialogue from communal viewing of Love Patrol may give communities an opportunity not only to understand the facts about issues such as HIV but also what this may mean within the context of local social practices. Communal viewing and community discussion increases competence to collectively identify and solve problems (Singhal, Rao & Pant, 2006); such dialogical processes help community members identify what structural and environmental constraints exist in reducing susceptibility to HIV infection. This is key as social norms and cultural beliefs cannot be easily modified without addressing the wider systems of meaning which they are part of (Wight, Plummer & Ross, 2012). For new norms such as educating young

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people on issues of sexual health to be introduced and confirmed, there is a need for collective dialogue and social endorsement. Shared meanings are created and sustained between people (Wight et al., 2012), thus the broader the group engaged with Love Patrol within a community the greater the opportunity for dialogue and social interactions to occur and for new norms to be confirmed and reinforced and thereby endure.

Audience discussion is a key feature of Love Patrol consumption in both large communal viewer settings and smaller familial settings in Melanesia. In parts of PNG the show is being watched within the more formalised communal viewing settings of haus piksas. As discussed in my introduction, haus piksas are a central part of rural social activities and to some extent they have replaced common gathering places in highland villages (Thomas, Papoutsaki & Eggins, 2010). The Love Patrol producers have noted the potential of haus piksas for wider distribution of the show, and copies of the series are being provided direct to operators. In Vanuatu and Fiji, viewers did not report the same degree of large communal viewing of Love Patrol as in PNG. They were much more likely to watch it as a family or extended family, but community dialogue still appeared to be a key feature of their post-viewing behaviour: “Every time we sit outside our houses, and when it’s time for Love Patrol we all go inside to watch, and after we watch we come back outside and we talk about it with the neighbours” (Woman, 35 years, waitress, Vanuatu). Love Patrol, based in everyday village life, provides a rich source of material for dialogue and conversation, with routines being established within neighbourhoods for viewing and post-viewing sharing of stories.

In Vanuatu, I attended a Love Patrol viewing at a settlement shopkeeper’s house. Within this small settlement the shopkeeper’s home/store was the source of the settlement’s electricity supply. One wall in the lounge room (which was behind the ‘shop’ counter) was devoted to a panel of power points from which long power cords ran electricity out the window44 to various other homes. This loungeroom appeared to be a neighborhood gathering point, no doubt facilitated by the fact that the shopkeeper possessed one of the few televisions in the settlement; she described how people came to purchase from the small store or pay a small fee to have their power ‘turned on’ for

44 More accurately ‘window frame’ as few settlement windows have glass, as houses are commonly constructed of whatever materials come to hand or can be scavenged. 116

the evening, often staying to watch television. Waiting for the Love Patrol episode to start it seemed that the audience would be a very small one consisting of the shopkeeper’s family, but as soon as the show’s theme music commenced there was a sudden influx of people who filled every available space, including the windows. The shopkeeper indicated this was a well-established weekly routine. In a manner similar to what I observed in the Port Moresby settlement, participation and interaction was a feature of the viewing process and at the show’s conclusion people remained to ‘tok stori’, mutually interpreting what they had seen. Of particular interest was a scene where the minister’s wife decided to get an HIV test when the extent of her husband’s infidelities was revealed. This scene created a great deal of discussion amongst those present on multi-partner sexual activity, risk and consequences to partners and families. Further, significant debate ensued on whether the wife should leave him or not, bringing to light how difficult it is for women in the local context to walk away from a marriage. Attending a community viewing such as this provided me with insight into how the consumption and processing of the show appears to be an activity undertaken between people; a direct contrast to the hierarchical nature of the traditional HIV awareness session, where an ‘expert’ (usually external to the community) delivers information to community members akin to Freire’s (1970) ‘banking theory’ of pedagogy. Rather than being a ‘top down’ approach to communication, Love Patrol is a horizontal approach that stimulates the sharing of information between people in a dialogic relationship, a paradigm well recognised as critical in effective communication for social change (Figueroa et al., 2002; Freire, 1970; Krenn & Limaye, 2009).

Love Patrol appears to create a space for public dialogue on topics traditionally silenced by cultural norms. In presenting sensitive issues on-screen the show provides a mechanism for discussion by audience members.

I think [Love Patrol] portrays some very real struggles that people face and the decisions that they have to make, and that helps people relate and also engage with issues without say making themselves vulnerable when they’re talking about an issue, because they can say ‘I saw in that program…’ you know, rather than say ‘I’m going through this issue…’ so I think that helps as well. Because that’s a struggle for people to articulate

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their own struggles or their own issues or problems so if they can say ‘I saw that …’ it just helps them. (Church Minister, Suva, Fiji)

Characters in a television show can depersonalise often highly sensitive issues and situations so that they can be talked about in a ‘safe’ manner. As Love Patrol characters are in a context that audiences recognise and understand, and engage in behaviours they can relate to, viewer discussion may be facilitated without the necessity of disclosing their own current experience of a similar issue. These conversations become easier, more nuanced and richer given that the lives of the characters are under the microscope, not viewers’ own (Papa & Singhal, 2009). Drama series such as Love Patrol offer recrimination-free communication spaces (Galavotti et al., 2001), opening up of safe spaces for community reflection. This is particularly important in cultures such as Melanesia where there are strong taboos on public discussion of a sexual nature coupled with the fear and stigma associated with HIV. Love Patrol provides an opportunity to instigate audience conversations on these topics. The social spaces in which community members feel safe to discuss sexual health or HIV-related information are key to stigma-reducing social change (Campbell et al., 2007) and Love Patrol appears to play a role in creating and facilitating spaces to discuss controversial issues, providing characters and storylines as a platform for discussion. As social learning and shared experience has a central role in the local collectivist culture, the show’s ability to stimulate dialogue and encourage participatory processes of information sharing is maximised.

Love Patrol is also being used strategically as a resource for HIV prevention. A number of organisations are undertaking communal airings in Melanesian communities, combined with facilitated discussion. A large community-based HIV project in PNG is utilising Love Patrol as a key tool in their prevention program throughout the provinces.

We were desperate to have a tool to trigger community discussions on social issues that are all related to HIV and we thought the Love Patrol was one of those tools because of the way it was designed, people will talk to each other after watching a particular series, people are comparing notes regardless of whether it was negative or positive; we wanted people to start talking and we knew Love Patrol was going to do that. Once they 118

[community members] start watching, that gets them to open up and start talking and engaging with the issues, it’s a way of breaking down the taboos in talking about sexual health issues. (Prevention program coordinator, PNG)

Viewers seem to engage, identify and involve themselves strongly with the Love Patrol stories. When this is strategically exploited, through facilitated discussion and activities, it articulates debate on issues that are often difficult to talk about. The way Love Patrol is being consumed and utilised in Melanesia reflects community-based Freirean forms of interpersonal communication. Freire’s (1973) notion of conscientisation is a process whereby critical thinking develops. It is not achieved through hierarchical approaches to learning but through social processes characterised by dialogical and participatory relationships (Campbell & Jovchelovitch, 2000).

We went to Banks [Island in Northern Province] and used the Love Patrol materials… it got a lot of the communities talking about it [HIV issues], it kind of brings something different from just watching it, these programs which engages the communities to talk about it. It has created a demand there for support and services… to know more, to go and access the service or to get more of these [education] programs going on in their communities. (Health worker, Vanuatu)

A Freirean approach focuses on community members defining and naming their own problems; critically examining these problems and root causes, creating a vision of a healthier community and developing social action strategies (Wallerstein & Bernstein, 1994). Love Patrol allows audiences to witness their own problems and compare them with those the characters face. This may lead to a collective self-analysis of the local culture and context and can help people identify structural constraints. As storylines unfold within the show, ways of improving situations also unfold, potentially motivating viewers to make changes in their own social conditions. The utilisation of the Love Patrol resources in the Banks region of Northern Vanuatu appears to have created a demand for services and the Ministry of Health are attempting to respond to this demand. More recently, an increase in communities implementing HIV educational

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activities and distributing condoms in this region has been documented and reported by local NGOs (Vanuatu National AIDS Committee, 2013); whether this is attributable to Love Patrol is unknown, but perhaps the resources have made some contribution to subsequent action taking place in the communities involved. The utilisation of edutainment is not a stand-alone recipe for change. The potential for social change is created through stimulating and drawing on the traditional processes of discussion, consensus building and decision-making embedded in collectivist culture.

Identification with characters and stories

Greater cultural proximity increases audience receptivity to media productions (Burch, 2002; Trepte, 2008). Love Patrol provides a media vehicle that seems to promote a sense of belonging amongst viewers and with which they appear to be powerfully involved. The extent of perceived reality may result in close identification of viewers with characters.

I really like it because it’s a Pacific setting; I enjoy that very much because all of us can identify with what’s going on. We identify with the community, we identify with how they eat, we identify with their daily lives and we identify with their sexual behaviours, we identify with that because this is what’s happening in Vanuatu, it’s also for Fiji. (Health worker, NGO, Suva, Fiji)

One of the things that I noticed about FJN+ [Fiji PLHIV network] members who watched Love Patrol, they said ‘you know this was me, that girl acting, it was my life that she is acting, and the other scene, that was my husband, that was my partner’ so they could really relate. (HIV- positive advocate, Suva, Fiji)

Connection with the local context is essential if viewers are to effectively identify strategies for addressing social issues relevant to their own contexts and needs (Burch, 2002). Belief in the ‘reality’ of Love Patrol’s on-screen portrayals allows viewers to connect their own personal experiences with that of characters: “Characters that share their experiences, so many that are just like people you know, everywhere!” (Young

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man, 17 years, unemployed, Port Moresby, PNG). A sense of shared experiences cultivates credibility and trust; key factors in the development of relationships (Rubin & McHugh, 1987; Rubin, Perse & Powell, 1985). This may lead to viewers valuing the mediated ‘advice’ from a character with a homophilous background. The creation of fictional characters that audience members believe are authentic and perceive as real people can lead audiences to identify more strongly with those characters, thus facilitating more engagement and learning from them (Busselle & Bilandzic, 2008).

The weekly drama brings audiences in through scenes they can recognise and engaging characters they can relate to, and keeps them coming back through stories of romance, humour and dramatic conflict; powerfully effective tools in breaking down barriers in talking about controversial issues. Audiences appear to be moved and provoked as well as entertained by the stories in Love Patrol. Viewers seem to reflect on actions of characters as if they themselves were in those situations:

“…One time I was sitting and listening to what they [viewers] were talking about and they can really get into it ‘Man! Why did this person do this? If I was there I wouldn’t be doing this!’ People are really watching Love Patrol” (Ministry of Health worker, Vanuatu, original emphasis).

Strong involvement with the show’s stories enables viewers to experience the outcomes of decisions with characters. In my own observations of Love Patrol viewing, there were also high levels of viewers ‘talking’ to characters on-screen, offering advice or cautioning them against the consequences of actions they were undertaking. This seemed to have a flow-on effect after the end of the show; I observed viewers collectively dissecting episodes and debating characters’ decisions. One such instance was when the detective Mark found out he was HIV positive. Viewers in a settlement in Fiji had a strenuous debate about whether Mark should disclose his status to his work colleagues or not. In presenting their arguments, community members indicated what they would do in this circumstance, reflecting on what the consequences would be in their own workplace and community.

The realistic actions and outcomes portrayed in Love Patrol facilitate narrative transportation, an important factor in terms of the show’s potential influence. As argued

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in Chapter 2, a strong degree of narrative transportation can lead to changes in real- world beliefs and attitudes in response to information, claims or events in a story (Green, 2004). Thus on-screen depictions can result in real-life effects. An interviewee described how the storyline of ‘Myra’, the Minister’s wife who experiences abuse from her husband, has motivated peer dialogue on gender-based violence:

I’ve been expecting Myra to walk away from the husband, the Minister, and the fact she finally made a decision and walked out on him last night, and I thought it was good and I’m hoping a lot of women are watching it because there’s so much women abuse and we have them in here in [workplace] as well. I hope that they are the sort of decisions, that they can take that piece from Myra ... women don’t have to fight it alone, there’s the Women’s Centre, there’s Wan Smolbag …After watching I’ve talked to some of the others [colleagues] and suggested to our HR [human resource] manager we get someone from the Women’s Centre to come and talk to the ladies here. (Woman, 60 years, bank worker, Vanuatu)

Violence against women is a controversial and sensitive issue in Melanesia, frequently silenced yet prevalent and inherent to HIV vulnerability (Jolly, 2012; Meleisea, 2009; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). The realistic representation of this issue in Love Patrol resonated deeply with this interviewee’s experience and led to peer dialogue within her workplace and a seeking of support to combat it. In enabling identification with the values and perspectives of fictional characters who become ‘significant others’ Love Patrol enhances the potential influence of those characters and that of the show which can result in real-world action by audience members. Narratives with greater cultural proximity are more likely to create audience involvement and be sources of social change than those that are culturally dissimilar (Buenting, 2007; Singhal & Udornpim, 1997). Cultural proximity leading to character identification plays a significant role in viewer receptivity to messages and influences contained within Love Patrol and can motivate community action as audiences translate these into the local context.

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Social learning

Melanesian audience consumption of Love Patrol appears to articulate viewer feelings and identities in such a way that induces dialogue within social networks. Although a mass-mediated production, it effectively becomes participatory as it is collectively processed in local settings.

They [community members] might be having questions in their mind and after [watching] they talk about it [Love Patrol] among themselves and when they talk about it they got the answers, so it’s sort of participation and creating the participation of discussions among the communities. They have the gossip around and they try to understand; so that is the priority, to encourage the community for discussions. (NGO worker, Goroka, PNG)

The process of community discussion or ‘the gossip around’ inspired by the show may facilitate further learning for viewers. This ties into the notion of ‘dual paths of influence’ (Bandura, 2001, p. 285); the first is a direct pathway through which media influences attitudes or behaviour and the second is media that is effectively ‘remediated’ through people’s interpersonal discussions (Bandura, 2001; Frank et al., 2011). As people gather for certain social rituals, the drinking of Kava45 in Vanuatu or Fiji, or the chewing of betel nut in PNG for example, and discuss what they have seen on Love Patrol there is an additional indirect, multi-level flow of messages from the show. “We talk about it [Love Patrol], we tell the people, we have a meeting and we have time to talk to our people in the Nakamal46…” (Chief, Vanuatu). Love Patrol seems to stimulate conversations among viewers, creating a social learning environment for social change (Papa & Singhal, 2009; Singhal et al., 2004; Yee & Simon, 2010). Audiences not only talk about the show while watching, they also talk about it afterwards. These conversations happen in the home, at social events and in the workplace. Thus Love Patrol may become a useful and valued resource, enriching and thought-provoking for the audience.

45 A drink made from the roots of the kava plant with sedative and anaesthetic properties, consumed in many countries in the Pacific, a key part of social practice. 46 Kava bar, where people in Vanuatu gather to socialise on a daily basis. 123

Because [Love Patrol] it’s locally made, I mean Pacific Island made, and people tend to relate to those a lot better and they enjoy those a lot better and with the story and the moral to each episode, the lesson to each episode, parents don’t mind their children watching those sorts of things because they learn something, they hope that they’ll learn something good out of it and so that encourages people to watch either as a family in whatever situation. (Church Minister, Suva, Fiji)

The stories and characters in Love Patrol absorb viewers. The issues are presented in a form that is relevant and recognisable, enabling audiences to relate and have personal attitudes towards them. Although the show confronts many traditionally sensitive issues, as it is embedded in identifiable settings and characters rather than being rejected as ‘culturally inappropriate’ the content appears to be ‘accepted’ for viewer consumption. Furthermore as the viewing context is predominantly communal, there are immediate opportunities for undertaking dialogue and engaging with issues presented. The meanings gathered from the show are also carried over into people’s everyday lives and multiple modes of activity and interaction (Livingstone, 2003).

My neighbours they don’t have power so they don’t get to watch Love Patrol, like when they come over to my place, especially the little kid and the young girl, they get to watch it. My kids tell them the stories of the show, they play together, so when they come around they’re conversing together and those issues pop up, like when we see the latest episode we’re talking about it together. (Woman, 41 years, unemployed, Port Moresby, PNG)

Within families and neighborhoods, the show can facilitate dialogue on issues that may have never been raised previously and parents and community members are taking these opportunities for discussion. Opportunities for social learning are realised as dialogue occurs between viewers who watch the show and those unable to watch but who enjoy hearing stories about it. In processing the show’s content viewers are able to share and learn about community and family relations, communication with partners, children or family members and risks and vulnerabilities to social problems.

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Viewers seem to share not just the stories from Love Patrol but also the knowledge gained. A Fijian interviewee described how she shared information with other women in her community: “I learn it from there [Love Patrol] so I give it to them” (Woman, 35 years, receptionist, Fiji). The creation of storytelling ‘ripples’ or waves of stories stimulated by Love Patrol is akin to Rogers’ (1983) ‘social diffusion’, whereby viewers share lessons with other community members who do not watch the show. A danger lies in passing knowledge in this way however, if factual information is misinterpreted by the original viewer. This highlights the need for Love Patrol to be reinforced through other channels that allow for clarification and feedback.

The diffusion of information through social networks, also commonly known as the ‘coconut wireless’ within the region, is intimately connected to the oral traditions of Pacific culture discussed above.

… My friends, when we sit around and tell stories, I tell stories about this [Love Patrol] and they watch this already too, so we discuss about these things we say like Kalo, when he acted, we discuss this, it seems like so many people, all of PNG saw that, so they are aware of this, so we tell stories about this, with friends. (Man, 21 years, student, Port Moresby, PNG)

The propensity for storytelling and the strength of the coconut wireless in Melanesia work to Love Patrol’s advantage. Soap operas are entertainment of a particularly gossip-promoting kind (Tufte, 2000, p. 225). Although gossip is often considered a negative aspect of collectivist culture, often used as a mechanism for social control (Cummings, 2008), it can also be harnessed as an effective tool for discussion and dissemination of information amongst social networks. Indeed, gossip can be a powerful tool for debating or transforming social norms (Skuse, Gillespie & Power, 2011), and the importance of talk in consciousness-raising interactions has been well reinforced (Figueroa et al., 2002; Freire, 1970, 1995; Skuse et al., 2011). Love Patrol’s temporal and narrative structures are conducive to gossip about key social problems and the negotiation of cultural norms and practices. Dialogue may be generated via gossip about stories and characters thereby providing an effective tool of social

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communication, potentially a source of influence.

Monday we were having lunch in the kitchen and we were talking about some issues with some boys and girls and I said, ‘Oh I think we should all watch Love Patrol, there’s some big issues and messages coming out of it’. They were talking about one girl in the community, maybe she might have an STI, gonorrhoea ‘it’s better they watch Love Patrol and know safe sex is very important for everyone. Especially if you don’t know and you go to the dance and find someone ... and then you go out, make sure you have safe sex. Love Patrol says it all the time’. (Woman, 39 years, office worker, Vanuatu)

The influence of the show and viewer involvement with characters can prompt discussion among audience members concerning promoted messages. As described by this interviewee, Love Patrol enters a conversation on local concerns and practices, with viewers referencing characters and stories as they problem-solve. Through such conversations audience members can share their similar and different perceptions of the information presented to them in the show and talk about considering or adopting highlighted behaviours (Singhal et al., 2004). These discussions may create a social learning environment in which people learn from one another with highly engaged viewers potentially becoming advocates for promoted behaviours, for example safe sex. As audiences translate Love Patrol stories into local concerns and problems, the ‘advice’ offered through the narrative may be integrated into local solutions.

The Love Patrol narrative, as well as being a source of information, has powers of persuasion and can focus and spur action within communities through engaging its audiences both at the community and leadership level.

…You’ve got Love Patrol going on and people have watched those episodes and said ‘hey we need to do something about this in our community’ especially those at leadership level, decision-makers watch, and they are then moved to do those things. You’re making impact in both areas, both with the people in terms of awareness and giving them courage to address these issues in their lives, but also decision-makers recognising 126

that ‘hey this is an issue that we need to work on’ and then they create the programs to marry the two, the awareness that’s coming from the grassroots level from watching the program and addressing it from the organisational/institutional point of view. (Church Minister, Suva, Fiji)

Love Patrol can be seen to operate at two levels, the community and also the leadership level. The show appears able to inform and educate viewers as well as creating an enabling environment for the discussion of sensitive issues in public for a, simultaneously engaging leaders with key issues of concern. Community dialogue can thereby lead to a groundswell of support for social action on issues people have identified within their own communities. Consequently, through the linking of HIV to broader social issues and social norms, Love Patrol may facilitate and strengthen commitment to issues beyond its fictional characters.

Conclusion

[HIV prevention] program designs have not tapped the power and strengths found in the multiplicity of [Melanesia’s] traditions…Culture matters and cultural matters cry out for frank discussions and an informed, empowering approach to change. (Jenkins, 2007, p. 69)

The critical importance of working with, rather than against, local culture and practice has been advocated both internationally and regionally (Aggleton et al., 2007; Aggleton, Wood, Malcolm & Parker, 2005; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). Although The Pacific Regional Strategy 2004-2008 exhorts the need for an HIV/STI strategy that “feels and smells like the Pacific” (SPC, 2005, p. 11) in order that HIV responses take into account the diverse cultural and community values which exist in the region, in practice this has rarely been the case (Eves, 2012; Hammar, 2010; Lepani, 2008a). Many current prevention communication programs have been designed or copied from outside the region and by non-Pacific Islanders and these programs often employ messages and communication channels that fail to speak to the cultural experiences of Melanesian communities (Chung, 1999; Drysdale, 2004a, 2004b; Meleisea, 2009). I

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have argued that Love Patrol is distinctly different. In focusing on the Melanesian cultural context and responding to the cultural experiences of communities, including economic, political, social and personal realities I contend that Love Patrol is a ‘culturally compelling’ approach (Panter-Brick et al., 2006) that addresses local priorities and which communities feel they own.

The need for more culturally grounded HIV intervention approaches has been well recognised (Airhihenbuwa & Obregon, 2000; Galavotti et al., 2001; Wight et al., 2012). HIV is transmitted by specific practices that occur in a social context and practices are socially produced behaviours that are organised and patterned by culture (Auerbach et al., 2011; Kippax, 2008, 2012). Local culture matters; thus prevention must be located within the cultural context of local communities in order to speak relevantly to the complex issues of identity and community. I have argued that Love Patrol is a highly proximate cultural product based on indigenous oral traditions that harnesses cultural strengths for HIV prevention. It engages viewers in Fiji, PNG and Vanuatu emotionally, morally and socially in powerful ways. The Melanesian communal viewing context facilitates dialogue and debate and the tradition of the ‘coconut wireless’ is particularly conducive to ongoing constructive discussion of key social issues in local communication networks. The focus Love Patrol has given to the local context appears to have heightened the ability of Melanesian audiences to connect with HIV-related issues and enabled them to become more proximate. In this way, audiences are then able to identify strategies for addressing these issues relevant to their own contexts and needs.

This chapter has argued that Love Patrol is deeply embedded in culture and works with culture in order to undertake HIV prevention. Successive chapters will demonstrate the impact of Love Patrol on specific populations within Melanesia, namely young people, people with HIV, sex workers and men who have sex with men, arguing that the show challenges preconceived notions towards these populations and affects audience attitudes and behaviour. The next chapter focuses on how Love Patrol breaks the silence on young people’s sexuality, fostering social discourses of change and modelling new ways of responding to the sexuality of young people.

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CHAPTER 5

NO LONGER LIVING IN DENIAL: YOUNG PEOPLE’S SEXUALITY IN MELANESIA

Amanda is a senior school student and pastor’s daughter who likes Tony, an unemployed friend of her older brother. Amanda and Tony meet up by the river, near Amanda’s house in the settlement. They are standing very close together looking into each other’s eyes when Amanda’s father walks up from the riverbank and sees them. FATHER: Amanda! Back at the house, Amanda’s mother is preparing food when Amanda and her father walk in. FATHER: Sit down! AMANDA: Daddy… MOTHER: What’s happened? FATHER: What were you doing with that boy? AMANDA: We didn’t do anything… we were just… FATHER: You were almost kissing! MOTHER: Amanda! AMANDA: I’m sorry Daddy. FATHER: Is he your boyfriend? Tell me! Well? AMANDA: I suppose... FATHER: Suppose? AMANDA: We just… he told me he liked me.... that’s all...

(Love Patrol series 3, episode 4)

Young people make up the majority of the population of Melanesia and are also a central target for HIV prevention (Buchanan-Aruwafu, 2007; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). Issues affecting young people’s vulnerability to HIV are grounded in culture and social relations. The social position and status of young people, religious and cultural expectations, and norms prescribing young people’s roles within family and community are all deeply implicated in that vulnerability (McMillan & Worth, 2011c). Cultural norms support the control and restriction of young people’s sexuality. Furthermore, there are strong taboos on open communication about sex and sexuality as well as limited access to condoms and to information about HIV. This chapter examines how these constraints impact on both the expression of and open discussion of sexuality contributing to young Melanesians’ vulnerability to HIV, and the ways in which Love Patrol both represents and challenges denial of young people’s sexuality.

As argued in Chapter 4, the silencing of sex in Melanesia severely inhibits any open discussion on sexual matters, particularly with respect to young people. This silencing

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functions as a social control of young people and their sexuality and, as such, is a form of structural violence (Farmer, 2004), a systematic way in which Melanesian social structures create inequalities. It effectively precludes sexuality education, including parent to child dialogue and heightens HIV vulnerability. Within this context of adult and community denial of young people’s sexual desires, and intolerance of their sexual activity, Love Patrol introduces the sexuality of young people to the public agenda. I show how this prompts dialogue and debate within communities leading to a rethink of norms and an acknowledgement and acceptance of young people’s sexuality. I argue that Love Patrol creates spaces for discussion and education, thus making HIV prevention possible.

Throughout this thesis I argue that viewers and communities are talking about Love Patrol, interpreting it, translating and transporting it into the lives of real people and communities in ways that impact on the existing social order. In this chapter I examine how Love Patrol fosters social discourses of change through reflecting prevalent cultural norms and social practices whilst simultaneously modelling new ways of responding to young people’s sexuality. I show how the story of Amanda and impacts on viewers, facilitating intergenerational dialogue on sexuality and sexual health issues, garnering support for education and services and empowering young people.

The (lack of) public discourse

In Melanesia local social norms silence public discussion of sex and sexuality. Attitudes towards sexual discourse can tell us a great deal about sexual culture, described by Herdt (2001) as “a set of symbolic meanings and practices that regulate sexual conduct within a society” (p. 141). Variation in traditional sexual culture is significant throughout Melanesia47 however several themes appear to be common: sexuality held in high regard as a source of life as well as group and individual identity, the centrality of collective values of social and biological reproduction, and role of ‘marriage’ in the management of exchange relationships between families and clans (Jenkins, 2007). There are inherent contradictions when discussing the sexual cultures

47 Variation is dependant on kinship, intergroup relations, and property claims which in turn helped define marriage customs, as well as norms regarding premarital sex, social definitions of gender, and other social facts (Jenkins, 2006, p. 11).

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in rapidly changing societies (Buchanan-Aruwafu & Maebiru, 2008); traditions are not static over time nor are ideas about appropriate sexuality, yet within the region they are often presented as static ideals.

Sexual desires and sexual expression are carefully metered by custom, ritual and taboo. In Melanesian societies sexual cultural practices take great pains to regulate, manipulate and otherwise inhibit talk about sex (Herdt, 2011, pp. 260-261), thus cultural taboos proscribe open communication about sex and sexuality. Local ideologies of shame also contribute to a reluctance to discuss sexual matters; sexual shame is a common social dynamic throughout the region, related to the maintenance of social order. Sexual shame, central to the social regulation of sexual behaviour, manifests through avoidance taboos48 that regulate various kinship and gender relations (Lepani, 2008a, p. 254). The investment in silence or secrecy with regard to sex by Melanesians is indicative of “supreme discomfort with allowing individual choice in matters of desire, sex, love and marriage” (Herdt, 2011, p. 271). Consequently community leaders perceive public dialogue about sex and sexual health as a threat to the socio-cultural integrity of the community (Zenner & Russell, 2005). Hence the existing social order with respect to sex and sexuality in Melanesia is characterised by avoidance taboos and silence.

The condemnation of sexual discourse is particularly marked in relation to the sexuality of young, unmarried people. Throughout much of Melanesia the sexual culture is characterised by rigid and proscriptive social conventions with regard to sexual conduct and gender relations including norms that inhibit sexual activity amongst young people (Buchanan-Aruwafu & Maebiru, 2008; Eves & Butt, 2008; Jenkins, 2007). The local sexual cultures thus provide “a charter for the institutions that control or regulate people’s sexual behaviour” (Herdt, 2004, p. 52). A significant part of the sexual culture is the deliberate withholding of information from young people. With dominant ideologies about sexuality and morality focusing on silence, shame and secrecy, it is hardly surprising that denial of young people’s sexual desire and relationships is inherent. The widespread belief and an unquestioned acceptance of the status quo that it goes against Pacific cultures to talk about sex and sensitive issues (Buchanan-Aruwafu,

48 Avoidance taboos, strongly related to respecting status relationships as well as avoiding familiarity that may raise the suspicion of sexual intimacy, exist variously between brothers and sisters, and between relatives by marriage (Herdt, 1993; Sillitoe, 1998). 131

2007; Vete, 1995) results in a lack of discussion of sex or sexual health within families, and parental refusal to discuss these issues with their children.

[Sex] No way! That subject is never talked, we don’t talk about it at all, I think that’s another problem. Even at home, I think the only time they actually say something about reproductive health is when there’s a movie going on and there’s a sex scene involved and they say “ok, off the TV, just read a book or something” they just want to stop us from seeing it. (Man, 24 years, office worker, Suva, Fiji)

Within families, sex and relationships are traditionally not culturally acceptable topics for discussion (Buchanan-Aruwafu, 2007; Kaitani, 2003; Labbé, 2011; McMillan, 2008). Not only is it not talked about, young people are also prevented from seeing or hearing anything deemed ‘sexual’ to discourage any interest in such matters. Socio- cultural norms drive such silencing. Yet young people are cognisant of how such norms are problematic as they deny access to education on sexual matters (Labbé, 2011). Past sexual prohibitions and their consequences continue as contemporary forces in Melanesia that set limits to young people’s behaviours (Buchanan-Aruwafu & Maebiru, 2008, pp. 168-169). These are used to regulate premarital sex and relationships, illustrating the continuity of practices despite enormous socio-cultural changes that have occurred in the region.

Local cultures place numerous social and religious strictures on sexuality, view much sexual behaviour as unnatural and shameful, and discourage interest in acquiring or publicly discussing sexual knowledge (Winn & Lucas, 1993). Where sexuality is indirectly alluded to it is within a sex negative framework, namely a link between sex, shame and danger promoted in a moralising and judgemental manner, as opposed to an acceptance of sexual activity amongst young people and efforts to educate on sexual rights or sexual safety in a supportive fashion (Kaitani, 2003; Kelly et al., 2008). In the context of the widespread norms of sexual shame in Melanesia the possibility of parents and communities providing a supportive environment for the promotion of safer sexual behaviour by young people is excluded. Nevertheless, there is a growing recognition that fear and silence is a problem.

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…In a lot of homes in Vanuatu, parents are frightened to talk about these things…I think the parents and plenty of the elders in the villages especially, are frightened to talk about these issues. The times when young people grow up and go into town they experience all kinds of things and they need to know what these things are and how do they control themselves and know which direction to take if they have never heard about these issues? I think at least with Love Patrol teenagers can watch and learn something about it and suppose these things happen they can know about it and have some idea what to do. (Man, 30 years, secondary teacher, Vanuatu)

Fear results in the invisibility of young people’s sexuality and poor intergenerational dialogue on these issues. Yet the impact of socio-cultural change and modernity within the region mean that young people experience and interact within contexts that are markedly different than those of their parents and elders generations. Further, urbanisation and migration for employment and education have allowed young people more freedom away from the watchful eyes of parents and extended family networks, altering mechanisms of social control over sexual activities, relationships and drug and alcohol use (Buchanan-Aruwafu, 2007, p. 29). There is a significant disconnect between the realities of sexual practice amongst young people in Melanesia and that which is talked about, or not talked about by parents and elders (Buchanan-Aruwafu, 2007; Seru-Puamanu & Roberts, 2009). The silencing of sex and sexuality discourse is at the core of this disconnect. Despite societal and religious disapproval of pre-marital sex amongst young people, many are sexually active (Buchanan-Aruwafu, 2007; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009), consequently this informant sees Love Patrol as having an important role in providing young people with information within this context.

In recent times, taboo, shame and secrecy have been identified as problematic, particulary in responding to the HIV epidemic. The unwillingness to be frank with young people has been named as one of the core challenges that stand in the way of effective HIV/STI prevention (Coates et al., 2008; Herdt, 2004; Piot et al., 2008). In the Pacific, the tendency for community members to conveniently hide behind culture and taboos has been identified as an avoidance device (Vete, 1995), yet as the

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embarrassment of talking about sensitive issues is avoided, myths about sex and HIV are created and perpetuated. While cultural taboos on discussions about sexual matters between specific kinship relations exist in the region, this does not preclude all discussion of sex and sexuality49 (Buchanan-Aruwafu & Maebiru, 2008). Vete (1995) argues the critical importance of examining, challenging and working around the taboos that are no longer in the interests of Pacific communities, and identifying culturally appropriate situations where sex can be introduced and discussed (p. 137). There is a need for frank and honest communication about sexuality without crossing the fine line of cultural sensibility; it is this line that Love Patrol seems able to nimbly tread. Although it is inherently about sexuality and sexual behaviour, the show deals with these subjects in a non-threatening manner discreetly with no explicit or obvious sexual behaviour viewed on screen50, allowing it to be aired as early as 5.30pm in some Pacific countries. The ability of the narrative form to communicate sensitive and controversial issues (Moyer-Gusé, 2008) is utilised by Love Patrol to challenge norms of silence and put the sexuality of young people on the public agenda.

The task of challenging the taboo of sex and sexuality in Melanesia is not without its hazards though, as the producers of Love Patrol have discovered. Portraying desire in a local television show with local actors can be a significant challenge and one that can have personal consequences. A crew member describes some of the problems the theatre group have faced in efforts to depict young people’s sexuality on screen:

…Internally we’ve had problems, scenes with actors supposedly kissing, then a week later [the young female actor] has a hard time, some relatives of hers had already beaten her up because she appeared in a video clip holding someone’s hand. One of the other actors [female] came to me said ‘you’ve got to re-film this’ … and we sat and had this long intense discussion... the male actor was adamant, he felt that they had to kiss – that it was about time and they [the audience] watch it on everything else

49 Studies such as that of Buchanan-Aruwafu & Maebiru (2008) have found the ease that people had in talking about sex was very much contingent on the context, their gender and age, and the relationships of the people involved in the conversation. 50 This is exemplified by the fact that when the show is aired in Australia, on National Indigenous Television (NITV), it has attracted a ‘Parental Guidance’ (PG) rating, indicating the content is mild in impact thus not harmful or disturbing to children. This rating puts it in the same category as The Simpsons and Home and Away. 134

[shows from overseas], and that it’s [the storyline’s] about sexual desire and if we can’t show sexual desire – that’s what HIV is about, if you can’t show it, then what are you doing…so we have it eternally, just asking someone to kiss... (Love Patrol crew member)

Local social norms which silence public dialogue on sexuality also condemn public displays of affection such as handholding, touching or sitting closely with the opposite sex. The taboo on showing any form of sexual behaviour in a public forum is such that to even suggest such intimacies in fictional form breaks strong cultural norms and those involved are subject to harsh remonstrations and retribution. This is particularly with respect to young women and their perceived sexual behaviour. Hence, young women work hard to maintain their reputations, to avoid bringing shame on their family (Buchanan-Aruwafu & Maebiru, 2008). The powerful discourse of culture or ‘kastom’ in Melanesia frames displays of sexuality as attributable to ‘foreign influences’, hence not appropriate locally. Cummings (2008) notes the gendered nature of kastom and that gender is frequently monitored in terms of sexual propriety (and impropriety), with women far more likely to be considered culpable for transgressions; consequently Love Patrol actors are vulnerable to retribution from both family and community. Pacific scholars have also found that the policing of sexuality, stigmatisation and social inequalities are linked (Jolly, 2012; Stewart, 2011, 2012). This has further intensified with socio-cultural change; modernity has wrought male status in Melanesia as more culturally and morally dependent on constraining female sexuality (Knauft, 1997, p. 250). As the Wan Smolbag actors are subject to the same norms as the rest of the community, confronting the existing social order through their work has consequences that reach into their personal lives. Yet despite such powerful barriers, Love Patrol continues to engage with and challenge the dominant paradigm.

Clandestine relationships

A sexual culture that maintains sexual oppression of young people, such as in many Melanesian communities, impacts on young people’s sexuality and relationships (Herdt, 2004). The perpetuation of sexual shame and denial leads to the secretive conduct of relationships amongst young people in Melanesia; they negotiate the tension between the desire for romance and fear of stigma by undertaking liaisons as invisibly as

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possible (Buchanan-Aruwafu & Maebiru, 2008; Butt et al., 2002a; Hewat, 2008). The storyline of Amanda and Tony depicts the clandestine nature of many young people’s liaisons.

… There’s a girl [Amanda] and … she’s seeing this boy [Tony], without her parents knowing that she’s seeing him and I know a lot of people who are like that! … There’s a lot of Amandas and Tonys in Fiji! [laughs] people rendezvousing somewhere in the bush or somewhere, trying to keep people’s eyes away from them, because you know how in the Pacific if you see someone with somebody, in five minutes everybody else knows. ‘Oh that one is going with that one, the parents don’t even know’ and when their parents finally found out it leads to more problems. (Man, 24 years, office worker, Suva, Fiji)

Due to the nature of gossip, the stigma of sexual activity and fear of sanctions, young people try to hide their sexual activity and relationships from parents and families. Although the sexual culture in Melanesia is such that open talk about sex is condemned, conversely gossip about people’s perceived sexual behaviours or liaisons is endemic (Cummings, 2008). Social disapproval expressed through gossip or shaming is used as a strong force to maintain social control and inhibit sexual freedom within many communities. The shame associated with sexuality has historically been one of the mechanisms that motivated young people and women to conduct sexual relationships in secret (Campbell, et al. 2007); they ‘police’ their own behaviour in ways that maintain the appearance of adult and male control, reinforcing the confidence and social status of men and adults. Secrecy is also a means of expressing personal agency and identity. As argued by Buchanan-Aruwafu and Maebiru (2008), secrecy is more than just something young people do to avoid being caught in sexual liaisons; it allows them to express their agency as they change or hide their behaviours and strategically shift their identities depending on the social context (p. 181).

As a consequence of the hidden status of young people’s relationships, a lack of access to information or condoms is ensured (Buchanan-Aruwafu 2007; Hewat, 2008). There is a critical link between shame and risk; young people pursuing romance and relationships are at heightened risk due to the stigma that drives it underground as a

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hidden, secretive activity (Buchanan-Aruwafu 2007; Buchanan-Aruwafu & Maebiru, 2008; Butt et al., 2002a). The secretive conduct of sexual relations leads Melanesian young people to meet in places such as the bush, the beach or other areas out of public view, preferably under the cover of darkness (Kaitani, 2003; Keck, 2007; UNICEF, 2010). Opportunities for negotiation of sexual behaviours and safe sex are thus significantly reduced when activities are furtive and hidden.

In portraying clandestine relationships, Love Patrol embeds the story in the local sexual practices of young people. This portrayal may also assist community members to recognise the problems associated with continued denial.

Love Patrol talks about our culture, even though it’s Vanuatu, it’s also like our culture here, where the mothers and the fathers are treating behaviour in a way that is not helping the young people – but when it comes to love, the children have their own life and rights, they are in a position to walk about, they have their rights (Man, 40+ years, NGO volunteer, Port Moresby, PNG)

The story of Amanda and Tony draws audience attention to the reality of relationships between young people within their own communities. This may lead to a reconsideration of how parents and other adults deal with young people’s burgeoning sexuality. In addition to depicting young people’s sexual practices, Love Patrol simultaneously represents how the socio-cultural context constrains their ability to develop safe, healthy relationships. In enabling recognition of how denial exacerbates problems for young people and families, this may facilitate critical reflection on the need for community acceptance and a realisation of young people’s rights to sexual expression (Lacayo et al., 2008).

The Love Patrol narrative directly challenges existing norms that deny and censure young people’s sexuality. Acceptance of the reality of sexual practices that are socially censured has been recognised as critical to HIV and STI prevention success (Wellings et al., 2006) therefore Love Patrol’s potential to facilitate acceptance of sexual activity amongst young people has important prevention implications. Sexuality and desire is a

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key part of storylines which highlight the attraction between young characters such as Amanda and Tony.

In the settlement Tony and Amanda are standing a short distance from Amanda’s house. TONY: Come on Mandy. Do you like me? Tell the truth. AMANDA: Yes. Tony takes Amanda’s hand, they look into each other’s eyes. AMANDA: I’ve got to go. TONY: Come right back… as soon as you can. AMANDA: I will. Tony turns her face to his and kisses her quickly. He turns and walks away. She smiles and returns to the house. A short time later Amanda gets a message on her phone: “Waiting! Hurry up! Tony XXXX” AMANDA’S MOTHER: If that’s one of your friends tell them to come here! Amanda texts at speed out of her mother’s sight

In a later scene after Amanda’s father sees her talking with Tony and reprimands her, Amanda seeks counsel from her sister-in-law AMANDA: We were just talking and then… it got… more… and Dad saw us. SISTER-IN-LAW: Oh no… AMANDA: He thinks I’ll ruin my life. SISTER-IN-LAW: What about you? What do you think? AMANDA: I really like him… I don’t think I want to … have sex yet. But I don’t want to stop seeing Tony. I don’t. (Love Patrol series 3, episode 1)

Within the local sexual culture of secrecy Love Patrol breaks silence with its ‘outing’ of young people’s relationships and talk of sexual decision-making on-screen. The story of Amanda and Tony provides a window into the world of sexuality and relationships of young Melanesians. The importance of gaining insights into young people’s sexualities, desires and sexual practices, instead of simply looking at their behaviours has previously been noted (Buchanan-Aruwafu & Maebiru, 2008), and this representation in Love Patrol allows for such. Through the characters of Amanda and Tony viewers are able to experience the desire, the romance and the thrill of budding sexuality in the development of this on-screen relationship.

I like to watch it to see how the young people act, how they have some relationship, how they solve their problems. Amanda and Tony, how they act is good, it is interesting for the life of young people. It’s a good movie for young people in Vanuatu; it gives us lots of encouragement. I

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can’t wait to see how Amanda’s parents will cope with Amanda and her boyfriend as in the last one [episode] they went out together and slept together… (Young Woman, 17 years, school student, Vanuatu)

Young viewers appear to strongly identify with Amanda and Tony; their story intimately relatable to their own lives. Emotional involvement and close identification is evidenced in the way this interviewee is vicariously participating in Amanda’s story (Hoffner, 1996), anticipating parental reactions. The portrayal of the young characters’ sexual lives in Love Patrol appears congruent with what is important and meaningful to its young viewers. Developing relationships, sexual decision-making, and managing parental reactions are all issues of concern for young Melanesians. Viewers appear to be encouraged by seeing their stories portrayed on-screen and even learn about relationships through characters such as Amanda and Tony.

[Love Patrol] It’s very interesting – it’s whether to have sex or not, it’s more for relationships, that’s very common in Fiji, eh [relationships amongst young people]. Me, I broke up with my girlfriend after watching (Why did you break up with your girlfriend?) I realised it’s going to lead for sex like Amanda and Tony, I don’t want to do that yet, maybe education first and then relationship it’s good for us… (Young man, 15 years, secondary student, Suva, Fiji)

The thing that I really love to watch [on Love Patrol]; a lot of young people they really show their love to each other, just like white people do, in the television! And I was interested in that they portray some kind of lessons to us, about HIV and how to love a girl or a boy in a relationship. (Man, 21 years, tertiary student, Port Moresby, PNG)

The broadcasting of Amanda and Tony’s relationship seems to be empowering to young Melanesians; where previously their sexuality was denied and oppressed, it is now highly visible on the public medium of television. As other Pacific scholars have noted, HIV prevention strategies should take into account what is meaningful and positive to young people, including the need for secrecy and the desire for pleasure (Buchanan-

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Aruwafu & Maebiru, 2008; Lepani, 2008a). In giving recognition to this within the stories and characters of Love Patrol, young people’s sexuality and their sexual rights are acknowledged and affirmed within the public domain. Love Patrol also provides a space for young viewers to learn about issues such as HIV and what this means in the context of developing relationships. In order to increase young people’s capacity to put safe sex (and healthy relationships) into practice, shifting the language of interventions away from negative notions of sexual risk to positive representations of consensual sexual relations and healthy sexual practice may be a more effective approach (Lepani, 2005). By representing young love in a positive yet realistic manner rather than focusing solely on negative prohibitions or scare campaigns, Love Patrol tells a sex positive story which expresses young people’s agency. Young viewers appear to be embracing this depiction and the change it may herald.

In direct contrast to the reaction of young people who support change is the reaction of those traditional leaders who oppose change. By challenging the fear of openness about sexual matters, the show is in effect also challenging the status quo, including conservative traditional leadership. Initial release of Love Patrol in Vanuatu attracted strong condemnation from traditional leaders, with a delegation of chiefs visiting the producers, to express their concern:

We had a very strong reaction from the town chiefs. The Port Vila Council of Chiefs came down to see us during [Love Patrol] series one because they felt that it was wrong to have a program that was so sexy going out and young people watching it. They said they had to talk to us about it because they were worried because it was too interesting, exciting and sexy and everyone was watching it. (Love Patrol crew member)

Discussion between the actors and the chiefs ensued, with the theatre group outlining the importance of addressing current practices in order to reduce the risk of HIV and STIs in the Vanuatu community, using current local statistics to highlight key issues of concern. As Port Vila is a small community, members of the group knew the chiefs and were able to draw on their intimate social knowledge in order to strategically influence them. The duty of traditional leaders is to see that culture is respected for the wellbeing

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of the community; however, they were persuaded to understand a more pressing ‘duty’ to the community.

The HIV epidemic by its very nature draws attention to the sexual activity of people outside the sanctions of monogamous marriage and Love Patrol, by mirroring this, places it in the public domain for discussion and critical reflection, in a way hitherto never imagined. Furthermore, the public exploration of taboo topics through the medium of television challenges the dominant paradigm and thereby patriarchal control which limits the sexuality of Melanesian young people and women. As Campbell and colleagues (2005a) assert, public attention “highlights the lack of influence of traditional chiefs and the traditional leadership system over the sexuality of many women and young people” (p. 813). The visit of the delegation of chiefs to the Love Patrol producers was an effort to reassert their influence. This is a clear example of “conservative forces seeking to control sexuality and pleasure” (Schoepf, 2001, p. 352). In drawing on their symbolic capital or power (Bourdieu, 1984), traditional leaders sought to reinstate dominance, exerting their influence over the content of the program. The power of the conservative leadership to name the social world and its representations (Bourdieu, 1989) comes into conflict with the power of the media, which has considerable value, status and pervasive reach.

Love Patrol’s portrayal constitutes a certain threat to the established social order. The show challenges those who continue to inhibit discussions of young people’s sexuality. The opposition of some Church and other traditional leaders to the idea and practice of providing open information about HIV and sexual health education has been frequently encountered in HIV responses in the region (Hammar, 2010; Zenner & Russell, 2005). Further evidence of how Love Patrol’s portrayal evokes resistance of conservatives can be seen in the concern expressed by the following informant:

…What I’m concerned about here, the young ones, when they see kissing and talking about love, I don’t think that it’s really right…when it comes on Fiji One [TV station], you can’t control your child, say for instance, parents both go out, and those children are left unattended at home and they have the full control of putting the TV on and watching the full

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episode of Love Patrol, so it really ruins their life, you get what I’m trying to say? (Evangelical Church Pastor, Fiji)

Traditional and religious authorities see ensuring ‘acceptable’ sexual behaviour in youth and women as a key aspect of their role (Campbell, Nair & Maimane, 2006). In efforts to control sexuality, conservative leaders draw on their power to silence (Herdt, 2004), attempting to prevent young people being exposed to any evidence of sexual rights and expression. In order to preserve the patriarchal social relations that dominate, public silence on matters of sexuality is preferred. Institutional resistance to talking openly about sex and sexuality also highlights the gulf between the realities of young people’s lives and those that are officially assumed and traditionally preached in many church contexts (Paterson, 2009a). Some church leaders, particularly those from conservative evangelical churches, fear that Love Patrol shows characters and stories that ‘encourage’ or ‘give permission’ for sexual behaviour deemed to be culturally inappropriate, such as sexual activity amongst young people:

I like the show in the fact that it’s helping with the eradication of AIDS… ultimately what the show is trying to do is help people to keep themselves away from the deadly disease. Now to be quite honest the show actually promotes certain things as well. (For example?) The young lady who was with the pastor [Amanda], I thought she was okay, but then she went off a little bit into doing some things that I don’t think portrays the kind of thing that we would like our young girls to look at… while we are trying to help to portray the message of keeping people safe from certain behaviours, we are also portraying a culture where you can indulge, and once again the consequences… for society as a whole, there is that mixture of the messages, it’s quite ambiguous. (Evangelical church leader, Goroka, PNG)

Many religious leaders, particularly those from fundamentalist Christian churches, express strong opinions that young people, particularly young women, should not be exposed to what is perceived to be the ‘promotion’ of sexuality and sexual behaviour (Eves & Butt, 2008; Hammar, 2010). In effect this informant wanted a message that

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stuck to the facts about HIV without bringing certain possibilities for sexual activity to mind (Pigg, 2001, p. 505). Although he agreed that the depiction was realistic in relation to what was occurring in real life within local families and communities, disapproval was expressed of this being depicted on-screen, and its potential influence. As HIV scholars have previously asserted, throughout the course of the epidemic the more openly sex has been talked about the stronger the opposition of many religious conservatives and traditionalists has been (Eves & Butt, 2008). Portrayal of young people’s relationships in a local television show is a public acknowledgement of the realities of sexual practice in Melanesian communities that many churches and church- run organisations (which constitute a great number of HIV service delivery agencies in Melanesia) would rather avoid. Herein lies the dilemma for religious groups in Melanesia: an effective response to HIV demands a focus on issues of sex and sexuality, which are uncomfortable for Christian traditions and many religious leaders find difficult to speak of (Heath, 2009), thus the tendency “to cloak important issues in silence and denial” (Paterson, 2009b, p. 14). Negative views of sex and sexuality are unhelpful to the HIV prevention agenda and significantly inhibit churches delivering effective messages about HIV prevention.

Resistance to change is not universal however, with other church leaders supporting the issues brought to light in Love Patrol.

Some people would be very conservative, they wouldn’t want to encourage this to be viewed by their church members, especially if they hold a gathering and part of the activity for this gathering we will show Love Patrol … those who are very conservative wouldn’t allow that for certain reasons of some scenes in it, and some terms, words used in it, … but for me as an individual church leader, I would show it anywhere, but with responsibility you know? I know that there are some scenes there that may affect some of the viewers but I also put myself in there as a person responsible that I’m prepared to deal with it. I’d say that it’s a good, very important information tool… (Church Leader, Vanuatu)

This informant acknowledges resistance to change and the difficulties faced in

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challenging prevalent norms, but he is prepared to deal with these. As noted by social change communication scholars, “since it’s natural for audience members to resist changes, continually addressing the resistance from community members is essential” (Singhal et al., 2006, p. 281). Here a church leader is addressing resistance and supports proactively utilising Love Patrol as a resource to facilitate dialogue on difficult and sensitive issues. This perspective is in keeping with more liberal thinking within many churches, including the notion that “one cannot address HIV prevention without also addressing such issues as gender, stigma, denial, marriage, relationship education for young people, sex and sexuality” as advocated by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (Paterson, 2009a, p. 34). Consequently, there are religious leaders who support education of young people, not only on HIV, but also on sex, sexuality and safer practices within church structures and beyond (Heath, 2009). Within the context of Melanesia, there is a struggle occurring with conservative church and traditional leaders pulling one way, Love Patrol and its fans, young people, community members and other more progressive leaders, pulling another. The show is challenging power relations, a key function of edutainment approaches which focus on social change (Tufte, 2005).

Abstinence is the answer – or is it?

Social and sexual norms in Melanesia structure the possibilities of sexual interaction, defining the available ‘appropriate’ range of sexual partners and practices, namely between married couples for reproductive purposes. Such possibilities are defined through implicit and explicit rules and regulations imposed by the sexual cultures in which the church plays a key role. The silencing of young people’s sexuality is one aspect of this. In advocating for sexual intercourse only within the sanctity of marriage, Christian churches have played a major role in strongly discouraging pre-marital sex. Yet the very public nature of the HIV epidemic brings the church face-to-face with the contradictions between its teachings that sex should take place only within the context of a faithful marriage and the epidemic’s very public and assertive evidence of the church’s failure to reinforce these teachings (Campbell et al., 2005b). The STI epidemic amongst young people and growing rates of unplanned teenage pregnancy within the Pacific is further reinforcement. Yet within this context the church promotion of abstinence is a constant backdrop, and one that is also represented in Love Patrol.

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At the church PASTOR: You wanted to see me about some new idea? CHURCH YOUTH LEADER: Yes… I know you worry about teenage pregnancy and sicknesses that pass through sex. I worry for the young people here too. You know I don’t agree with you about condoms… I want to try a different way. A lot of young people today are choosing abstinence. They’re dedicating themselves to God. Young people are drinking; smoking marijuana… they treat sex as if it’s nothing. PASTOR: Yes… CHURCH YOUTH LEADER: But if they dedicate themselves to God… then they’ll hold back. Wait for their life partner. They won’t have any problems…no sexually transmitted infections or HIV. It’s the answer. I’m going to talk about it at the youth service tonight. (Love Patrol Series 3, episode 2)

The simplistic ‘answer’ of abstinence, a traditional Christian approach to the complex problem of HIV, STIs and unplanned pregnancy, is frequently found within the region (Eves, 2012). HIV prevention messages targeting young people preached in churches are often limited to abstinence, reinforcing dominant church moralities and understandings of sexuality (Mantell et al., 2011). Yet the abstinence-only approach to sexuality education is a model that ignores the social context, including the structural forces that significantly constrain the choices and circumstances of young people (Herdt, 2004, p. 41). The abstinence-based approach is represented within Love Patrol and then exposed as flawed in numerous ways. Firstly, viewers are exposed to how the sole promotion of abstinence, without any discussion on sexual decision-making, contraception and safe sex, leaves Amanda and Tony vulnerable to unplanned, unprotected sexual activity. Secondly, their fear of judgement leads to them conducting their relationship in secret without seeking information or support that may have otherwise enabled them to protect themselves.

We would promote abstinence eh, but then we should still be able to look at in the broader picture and seeing that our children, our young people like Amanda are given choices in terms of prevention, in terms of…family planning… eh? We cannot just be talking about abstinence…I say we should be able to, for the sake of our children, give them the options eh, provide them with the information they need to choose, or direct them, refer them to the right people (Woman, 54 years, Catholic Women’s League, Suva, Fiji)

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Love Patrol’s portrayal appears to facilitate some critical reflection amongst audiences on abstinence-only approaches and the potential consequences. In the context of this informant’s Catholic faith, previously characterised by an unquestioned promotion of abstinence as the only option for unmarried young people, there is now some consideration of the need for a more comprehensive approach to prevention. The story of Amanda and Tony illustrates how young people, constrained by a context in which their sexuality is denied and no information or support provided on developing safe and healthy relationships, struggle, and mostly fail, to put promoted ideals into practice. Amanda’s father, on a chance sighting of the young couple talking intimately, insists Amanda stays away from Tony, appealing to her ‘not to ruin her future’. Later, Amanda sneaks off in the evening to see Tony, returning home early the next morning to be confronted by her brother who is very angry.

AMANDA’S BROTHER: You were with Tony! AMANDA: Me? I was… BROTHER: I saw you! You spent the night with him…Tell the truth! I’m going to see Tony… AMANDA: No! Leave him alone! Don’t touch him! Her brother leaves and Amanda collapses on the bed crying. Her sister-in-law tries to comfort her. SISTER-IN-LAW: Don’t cry... AMANDA: I didn’t want it to happen…I did! But...I didn’t want it to ... ohh! SISTER-IN-LAW: Did you use a condom? Amanda shakes her head. AMANDA: I could be pregnant. I know it can happen the first time. But we didn’t have anything so… Now there’s nothing I can do. I don’t want a baby! Not now.

(Love Patrol series 3, episode 9)

Love Patrol articulates the reality of sex between young people, and it highlights the context of vulnerability structured by current norms in which it occurs. This storyline goes to the heart of young people’s sexual lives; it is about how sex ‘just happens’, unplanned and therefore often unprotected. Silence and denial also prevent young people, particularly young women, planning for safe sex. Young people may feel that ‘planning’ to have sex is unacceptable and if one carries condoms then one is planning for sex (Hammar, 2007; McMillan, 2008). Using or not using a condom is also an act structured by social identities (Stockdale, 1995) and in Melanesia the social identity for young women has been constructed as chaste and abstaining (Cummings, 2008; Meleisea, 2009). Within the region, norms of shame strongly impact on condom access.

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Clinics are often very public places, and if young people were to seek out condoms there is a fear that the community will come to know thus revealing that they are sexually active (Kaitani, 2003; Kennedy et al., 2013; UNICEF, 2010). A range of social and cultural forces impact on young people’s ability to access, carry and use condoms (McMillan & Worth, 2010); however, religious and cultural taboos are particularly powerful barriers. Christian leaders, such as the church youth leader in the previous scene, argue that abstinence should render condoms irrelevant to young people. As a consequence some young Melanesians are reluctant to access and even use them (Kaitani, 2003; Kelly et al., 2008; Labbé, 2011; McMillan, 2008). Differences between the countries indicate that the influence of the church is not as strong in some contexts. In Vanuatu young people are less likely to report church prohibitions on condom use, although injunctions about pre-marital sex are clear and actual use of condoms inconsistent (McMillan, 2008).

Religious factors affect young people’s access to information, condoms and services. This is particularly marked in PNG where churches dominate the civil society landscape (Luker, 2004) including both health and education services. Consequently, access to condoms is significantly impacted on due to the religiosity of providers (Wardlow, 2008). This has also infiltrated the discourse of young people and the meaning associated with condoms. Circulated beliefs result in moralistic narratives which preclude condom use, as argued by researchers in PNG: “as long as condoms are associated with adultery and adultery is regarded as shameful, condoms will remain outside the sphere of sexual practice of young people” (Kelly et al., 2008, p.10). Yet with statistics showing high rates of STIs in the region, with a prevalence of up to 40% amongst young people, and increasing numbers of HIV-positive young people (SPC, 2013), it seems that while in many cases the churches’ anti-condom message impacts on young people, its call to abstinence does not (Eves, 2008; Kaitani, 2003). Despite religious disapproval, many Melanesian young people are sexually active. Available data suggest that a significant proportion of young people are sexually active and at high risk of acquiring STIs51 (Seru-Puamau & Roberts, 2008; UNICEF, 2010; WHO Western

51 In Fiji over 50% of cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia were amongst 15-24 year olds (Fiji UNGASS report, 2012). In Vanuatu, the reported prevalence of ever being diagnosed with an STI was 26%, and over 60% of STI infections at the STI clinic were in clients aged less than 25 years (Vanuatu Ministry of Health & SPC, 2009). 147

Pacific Region, 2011). Although young people may take on messages the church and families give them, these have little relevance to their own lives (Gibson, 2001). The risk of HIV infection thrives in the contradictions between the socio-cultural expectations and ideals for young people and their actual practices and lived experiences.

The Love Patrol storyline on unplanned and unprotected sex may generate critical thinking within the community about the ways in which social institutions such as the church and the family contribute to the denial and marginalisation of young people’s sexuality and the consequent harm this causes.

In family life, this movie [Love Patrol] has really challenged us Pacific Islanders to accept changes, to be open about some sensitive subjects that we normally classed as taboo. In topics such as sex, condoms and even a young girl having a boyfriend is still classed as taboo subjects and this movie has really taught my community to be open and accept the changes. (Woman, 37 years, police officer, Fiji)

In focusing solely on denial of young people’s sexuality, parents and community members render them vulnerable to unsafe sexual practices. Young people’s vulnerability is produced by their position in the hierarchical social order and its power relationships and effects (Quesada, Hart & Bourgois, 2011). Adult refusal to face up to the reality of young people’s sexual lives, and the attendant failure to respect their rights to protect their sexual health is part and parcel of the wider social exclusion of young people in Melanesian society. Young people have low status and experience disempowerment and a lack of a voice in social dialogue (McMurray, 2006); this subtle socio-cultural domination acts upon them, is debilitating and constrains their agency. The deliberate withholding of sexual health information from young people can be seen as a form of ‘structural violence’ (Farmer, 2004), a systematic way in which social structures create inequalities. Building on the concept of structural violence it is possible to unpack how structural forces are reproduced in the lives of young Melanesians and shape their sexuality. Herdt (2004) argues that structural violence has been neglected as a lens for understanding the social oppression of young people, and I

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concur with his assertion that structural sexual violence is produced and reproduced through the promotion of abstinence-only policies. In contrast, an acceptance of young people’s sexuality and sexual rights opens the door to discussions on how the community can support them to have safe and healthy and fulfilling sexual lives. For some viewers, Love Patrol appears to strengthen their ability to identify and engage with the problem; that not talking about sex or educating young people about sexual health heightens their vulnerability. Regardless of efforts by representatives of conservative traditional authorities to maintain silence on such matters and maintain social control, change is happening. New forms of symbolic power challenge the traditional, potentially indicating shifts in where power resides in contemporary Melanesia.

Sex: It’s a thing that has to be talked about

Considering the taboos and silence surrounding sex, a key achievement of Love Patrol is how it has seemingly conquered a space in the public sphere where young people’s sexuality can be openly acknowledged, accepted and talked about.

It’s taboo, you don’t talk about that, but now that you watch Love Patrol … there is communication, open communication. They openly talk about it so you begin to understand that it’s for the good of the nation, it’s to stop the young people [becoming infected], I mean it’s like an educational thing to the young people about HIV and AIDS and how they can protect themselves and like I said you know, people don’t talk about sex, but now it’s a thing that has to be talked about so that the young, particularly the young people understand the importance of having safe sex. (Woman, 60 years, bank worker, Vanuatu)

In challenging current norms that impede open communication and increase young people’s vulnerability to HIV infection, Love Patrol appears to stimulate critical reflection and potentially shift attitudes amongst audience members. In accepting the need to be open about traditionally taboo issues, community norms may also begin to shift and the opportunity to educate young people becomes possible. Storylines and characters evoke community critical reflection through questioning current patterns of

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social behaviour and providing a rationale for non-adherence to social norms. The show actively encourages the discussion of sexual behaviours by demonstrating how restricting young people’s access to information and condoms can make them vulnerable to unplanned pregnancy and STIs.

At a roadside market A peer educator from a HIV NGO stops to talk with a young woman at a market stall. YOUNG WOMAN: Do you live round here? PEER EDUCATOR: No… I’ve come to talk to young people… Explain about sexual health and how to avoid teenage pregnancy. YOUNG WOMAN: Okay… They sit on a bench and chat together. YOUNG WOMAN: If I got pregnant my dad would kill me. PEER EDUCATOR: Do you and your boyfriend use anything? She shakes her head. PEER EDUCATOR: You will get pregnant. You should think about going on the pill… You know about the pill? YOUNG WOMAN: Yes… but umm…you have to go to the clinic and … PEER EDUCATOR: Or you can use these. He shows her a female condom. The church youth leader is walking towards them. PEER EDUCATOR: It’s a condom for women… All the instructions are here… He hands her a condom and a leaflet. The church youth leader is watching them. The young woman notices the church youth leader and looks uncomfortable. YOUNG WOMAN: Okay… thanks. The peer educator notices her discomfort and gives her a card. PEER EDUCATOR: My number…give me a ring when you’re free. I’ll come and explain properly. The peer educator walks past the church youth leader who looks at him with disgust. CHURCH YOUTH LEADER: What did he want? What did he give you? Show me. The young woman holds out the condom and the instructions. CHURCH YOUTH LEADER: Do you want this? She shakes her head. He puts the condom in his pocket. CHURCH YOUTH LEADER: Why did he give it to you? YOUNG WOMAN: He told me to take it. The church youth leader shakes his head and walks away.

In a later scene the church youth leader shows the condom to the church pastor. CHURCH YOUTH LEADER: He forced the girl to take it! CHURCH PASTOR: There’s nothing wrong with giving out condoms. Why did you take it away? CHURCH YOUTH LEADER: She didn’t want it. He was encouraging her to go out and have sex! (Love Patrol series 3, episode 6)

Circulating norms of silence and consequent denial with respect to sexuality present significant barriers to young people’s sexual health. Social authorities that are information gatekeepers in Melanesia, such as religious and traditional leaders, can act to filter or control information and attitudes to whole communities. A young person

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may understand the importance of condom use, but they may have to balance this against influential people in their community who publicly condemn the use of condoms as encouraging ‘promiscuity’. The Love Patrol narrative represents two antagonistic forces that exert symbolic power, the conservatism of traditional authority versus more progressive forces. Characters such as the church youth leader represent the maintenance of existing social order through shame, judgement and control, whereas characters such as the peer educator and the pastor represent progressive forces for change through encouraging young people’s education about sexual matters. Current norms and behaviours are thus put on the public agenda for dialogue and debate. Scenes such as the above are rich in demonstrating these two antagonistic forces at work and their realistic portrayal of how the current social order impacts on young people. In holding up a mirror to communities, the consequences and potential harms of maintaining the status quo are revealed and viewers may begin to question current norms. Normative debates are conducted firstly in the Love Patrol narrative and secondly in the discussions occurring amongst viewers, a process which has the potential to adapt and revise social norms.

When young people feel a sense of shame about their sexuality they are less likely to take control of their sexual health and use condoms or other forms of contraception (Gatter, 1995). Despite claiming to know about ‘the pill’ the young woman in this scene expresses reluctance to go to the clinic to access it. Shame and stigma serve as strong deterrents to young people seeking information, counselling, testing or even participating in outreach (Campbell et al., 2007). In the Melanesian context there are many stories of young people being refused contraceptives (Meleisea, 2009), judgemental attitudes of health workers (Gustafsson, 2007) and the use of shaming tactics by gatekeepers to prevent access to information or services (Hammar, 2010). Much of responsibility for judgemental attitudes towards condom use in the region is attributable to Christian religious institutions that focus so much attention on the sin of ‘promiscuous’ sex (defined as any sexual activity outside of the sanctity of marriage), which means that possession of a condom “implies premeditating sinning” (McPherson, 2008, p. 244). Condom promotion is thereby seen as encouraging pre-marital and extramarital sex (Wardlow, 2008).

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If you sell condoms, people have more sex... they go with other people, they are not frightened anymore, so we need to look into this, if the government goes with it [distributing condoms] then it is supporting sex and what will happen to Vanuatu? It is good for us to share it so people can protect themselves but then we encourage broken homes, so it has good and bad sides. (Man, 22 years, unemployed, Vanuatu)

This young man used a number of biblical references to reinforce his point of view that condoms promote not just sex, but illicit sex, leading to dire consequences for the community. His perspective provides insight into the influence of Christianity and the role of the church in the social representations of sexuality in Melanesia. Such discourse can be reflected in young people’s ideas about condoms and may result in distinct ambivalence towards them and illustrates how the church’s historically very conservative views on youth and sexuality may undermine safe sex initiatives (Campbell et al., 2005a). Thus the prevailing norm is to prevent young people’s access to condoms, as represented by the church youth leader’s attitude and behaviour in the above scene.

In distinct contrast, the interaction between the peer educator and the young woman in the scene models another way of dealing with the sexual behaviour of young people, namely open communication about prevention options and providing access to condoms.

Interviewer: Has watching Love Patrol made you think differently about anything? Well … sex education, teaching this … trying to be more open about it than letting people be halfway there already pregnant or they got AIDS because we didn’t talk about it … it’s good for young people to know about what’s going to happen… and more importantly there’s the one about contraceptives eh? It’s not promoting [sex] it’s just putting a barrier to unwanted things like diseases and pregnancies and all this. (Woman, 25 years, tertiary student, Lautoka, Fiji)

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For this viewer, Love Patrol scenes have prompted a reconsideration of her ideas about sex education and condom promotion. This is achieved through the show’s depiction of the vulnerability of young people such as Amanda and the young woman in the previous scene, who are denied sexual and reproductive health education and find it difficult to access commodities such as contraception. There are viewers for whom these storylines appear to undermine prevalent beliefs such as ‘promoting condoms promotes sex’ and garner support for sex education through the visible consequences of continued denial. This puts the issue of young people’s education on safe sex and access to condoms and other contraception firmly on the agenda.

Before [Love Patrol] condoms are not something that I’d want to talk about! … Now I’d encourage young people for condoms, so I like the way they go around into nightclubs [in Love Patrol], I think they should go into youth groups here and distribute condoms… I am more conscious of what we can do as being part of society, I can talk to young people about, ‘you know you really need to protect yourselves’… so I’ve changed my perception about condoms. (Woman, 60 years, bank worker, Vanuatu)

This older viewer described how previously she could not even say the word ‘condom’; it was too confronting and shameful. However, after following the Love Patrol episodes for several seasons she is now not only prepared to talk about condoms, she has become an advocate for greater distribution to improve young people’s access in her local community. Love Patrol appears to be influencing what viewers think about, and their attitudes towards issues such as condoms, condom access and use by young people, enabling discussion about this most sensitive of issues where it was not possible previously. This may even extend to motivating viewer advocacy for the rights of young people to education and access to contraception.

…When I go through town every day I see girls who are pregnant and I question myself – what’s happened to our society eh? Are they not learning things from home… or is it peer pressure that they get into those kind of activities? The consequence is that they become pregnant and

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become single mothers at a very young age… I just hate to see young girls who are like that because there’s a whole lifetime ahead of them and like Love Patrol shows, just one single moment, it’s changed their lives, so that’s why I’m trying to advocate for contraception. I worry for their future, and especially my two younger sisters… (Man, 23 years, unemployed, Suva, Fiji)

Lack of education for young people on sexual health is a form of social and institutional failing that has real, if not always immediately appreciable consequences in young people’s lives. As argued in Chapter 4, Love Patrol draws on local cultural values through its storylines and in highlighting current failings of families and communities with respect to young people’s sexuality and safety, community responsibility for young people is strategically referenced. As a result, this young viewer is moved to critique the current situation, personalising the associated consequences to his own family and community and advocating change. As predominant norms oppress young people’s ability to talk openly, question and express their opinion in this manner, the developing critical consciousness evident in this young interviewee’s ideas is important. Allowing young people opportunities to articulate and create solutions in support of their sexual health rights within their own contexts needs further support within Melanesia (Buchanan-Aruwafu, 2007).

Churches and the sticky problem of condom use

Scenes in Love Patrol bring to light the many myths that people hold about sex and condoms that are often propagated by conservative churches. The church youth leader in the scene described on page 150 exemplifies the existing social order, yet significantly there is also a pastor in this scene directly challenging it: “There’s nothing wrong with giving out condoms. Why did you take it away?” Now as well as peer educators and young people challenging the status quo, we have a member of the traditional leadership taking a pro-condom stance. This scene responds to the need for community dialogue to “deconstruct and contest the virulent moral discourses which stigmatise condoms and predicate their use” (Winskell, Obyerodhyambo & Stephenson, 2011, p. 959). Consequently, the association between young people’s relationships and immorality may be weakened. Scenes such as this are potentially useful as discussion

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triggers, challenging church and other social institutions not to deny young people sexual health education or access to condoms.

How do we get past in the churches about the sticky problem of condom use? Where we’re trying to still talk about marriage and values and abstinence, you know all that kind of stuff, but still have condoms as an acceptable ‘if all else fails, use a condom’ kind of thing, and still we deal with those issues, so the need is there as it starts to come up in communities, as people start to talk about it [Love Patrol]. (Methodist Church Minister, Suva, Fiji)

As community members begin to reflect upon and question the customary prescriptions and prohibitions with regard to the sexuality of young people, church leaders are themselves challenged. Scenes in Love Patrol may become prominent topics of conversation in communities, in turn stimulating a reflection on church approaches to issues of sexual safety in the context of HIV prevention. The difficulties of church doctrine versus the realities of sexual practice are acknowledged by this minister, as is the need to have condoms as an acceptable option. However, his use of the phrase ‘if all else fails…’ indicates condoms are clearly still framed as the last in the hierarchy of prescribed options. In acknowledging that change is necessary, some churches in the region are more open than others, with the growing network of Evangelical churches showing much greater signs of resistance. Traditional churches, however, show signs of their preparedness to consider such issues, as evidenced in a recent statement on HIV released by the World Council of Churches’ Pacific Member Churches: “We are committed not to focus our efforts working against the use of condoms - but rather recognise the freedom for individuals to make informed choices and to have access to condom use” (World Council of Churches Office in the Pacific, 2006, p. 4).

Love Patrol provides a much-needed change in social representations (Joffe, 2002) of church and condom use. The character of the pastor within the show is an important representation: church leaders supporting the need for condoms. Such representations create a ripple in the pool of circulated culture and shaped beliefs. There are church leaders who see Love Patrol as playing a specific role in education within communities:

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…We were discussing HIV with the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu and we talked about the issue of Love Patrol and an elder of the church was talking about how he utilises some of the episodes to explain some of the issues to young kids in the church. So right now discussing these things, the elders of the church have not condemned it. (General Secretary, Pacific Conference of Churches, Fiji)

Rather than resisting the series and the issues such as condom use raised within, Love Patrol is positioned by some church leaders as a potential resource for communities. Increasing dialogue at both community and institutional levels creates opportunities for support for sexuality education to be enhanced, potentially improving young people’s access to services and commodities. Love Patrol appears to prompt these issues to be talked about within communities, including church communities, and conversations that support change are important. The importance of engaging the churches cannot be underestimated as they have intensive and extensive, horizontal and vertical networks within the region (Hauck, Mandie-Filer & Bolger, 2005; Luker, 2004). However, significant differences in values and practices between denominations exist. Memberships of mainstream churches in Melanesia are being challenged by the upsurge of Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity (Gibbs, 2007) and their associated fundamentalist moral agenda is perceived as problematic from an HIV prevention standpoint (Eves & Butt, 2008). However, more recent research in PNG amongst these churches has indicated that there are pastors with more liberal views that accommodate the need for condom promotion, signalling the potential for positive change (Kuman & McMillan, 2013). This highlights the importance of continually harnessing opportunities to engage with and empower church leaders in effective HIV prevention responses through dialogue and education.

Supporting health workers and parents

The promotion of supportive responses to young people’s sexual health is an important social function of Love Patrol’s representations. In addition to highlighting the impact of negative attitudes of gatekeepers such as the church youth leader on young people,

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the show represents positive and supportive gatekeeper and family member attitudes, which facilitate young people’s access to services:

At the Clinic After Amanda spends the night with Tony, Amanda’s sister-in-law accompanies her to the clinic where they see a nurse. NURSE: This is just between you and me... You’re not going to tell me anything I haven’t heard before. The sister-in-law nods at Amanda, encouraging her to talk AMANDA: I … I had sex with my boyfriend and I’m so scared... It was the first time... Is there anything...? It’s too late! NURSE: Was this in the last day or two? Amanda nods her head. NURSE: If you had sex in the last three days you can take the emergency pill. Amanda looks at her sister-in-law then back at the nurse. AMANDA: You mean even if I had sex with him… I won’t get pregnant? NURSE: You won’t if it’s in the last 72 hours; you need to take two tablets, one now and one in exactly 12 hours time. AMANDA: And I won’t be... NURSE: You won’t get pregnant. But you shouldn’t do this again, if you don’t want to get pregnant you should be taking tablets or using condoms. AMANDA: I never slept with a boy before... I didn’t think… I didn’t mean to... NURSE: I’m not judging you... but this is for emergencies, plus it won’t stop you getting an infection that passes through sex or HIV. Only a condom will do that. Amanda looks relieved and lets out a sigh. (Love Patrol series 3, episode 10)

The above scene again provides viewers with an alternative paradigm in dealing with young people’s sexuality; a family member accompanying and supporting a young woman in accessing clinic services and a nurse with a positive attitude who does not lecture or shame the attending young person. This scene is aimed squarely at health workers in Melanesia who form part of the structural context in which young people’s sexual rights are constrained. Health workers are impacted by, and reproduce the same prevalent socio-cultural norms with regard to sexuality as the rest of society and these present significant barriers to gatekeepers talking to young people about sexual matters, including prevention of HIV through safe sex. With this scene focusing attention on the supportive, non-judgemental role of a nurse in her clinical interaction with Amanda, Love Patrol attempts to model a positive health worker response as part of promoting a supportive community response to young people’s sexuality. An ideal scenario, but perhaps not all that realistic in the current context whereby negative attitudes of health care workers have been documented as a key barrier to young people accessing sexual

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and reproductive health services in the region (Buchanan-Aruwafu, 2007; Hammar, 2008; Hammar et al., 2011; Kaitani, 2003; Kennedy et al., 2013; UNICEF, 2010).

In addition to informing young viewers about the availability of emergency contraception, there is another subtle message within this scene. In attending the clinic, the character of Amanda is proactively seeking clinical care and she is ‘rewarded’ for going to the clinic by receiving care. Amanda receives a positive and supportive response from the nurse, and obtains emergency contraception. This narrative promotes the availability and accessibility of contraceptive commodities and may motivate young people to seek these out in local settings.

Clients come to me and they’re asking questions like ‘we saw it in Love Patrol, that there’s this pill’ and if she’s got a question when she comes in I will always try to refer back to what she’s watching, what she’s seen on it [Love Patrol], so I think it helps me too … that’s why they come into the clinic, because they’ve seen all this and they know what this means for them so they come to the clinic. (Nurse, NGO clinic, Vanuatu)

Love Patrol depictions may prompt action by young viewers to seek services. The show’s capacity to promote services and potentially affect young people’s willingness to access them is recognised and appreciated by health workers. The service environment is critical to support this however. In representing a supportive health worker, Love Patrol seeks to influence a positive change in Melanesian health worker responses to young people but clearly it will take more than the portrayal of a supportive health worker on a television show to create youth-friendly services in the real world. As broader societal and structural factors constrain young people’s service access, structural changes will be required to create accessible services. Where such services do exist, a combination of Love Patrol viewing with timely outreach efforts may motivate action.

We went for an outreach in [Northern Island] and we were talking and doing the condom demonstration and the next week a boy came in, and he said “you know I have this symptom… because they were talking about it

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in Love Patrol and I just thought about it, and then you people re- emphasised it, I think it’s well for me to come in and have a check and test and then to use a condom”. That is what makes me love, Love Patrol! (Doctor, NGO clinic, Suva, Fiji)

Love Patrol appears to be playing a role in educating community members and further to this, where they are not constrained by other factors such as lack of accessible services, it may motivate people to take action such as seeking a check-up for STIs. As fear, shame and embarrassment result in young people not seeking services or support (Buchanan-Aruwafu, 2007; Kennedy et al., 2013; SPC, 2010e; UNICEF, 2010), challenging norms of shame associated with being sexually active through Love Patrol may contribute to creating a more supportive environment for young people to seek help.

Despite education on HIV supposedly having been part of countries’ HIV response strategies for over a decade, young people in the majority of the region have been denied comprehensive education in sexual matters. For religious and cultural reasons mentioned earlier in this chapter, young Pacific Islanders are exposed to little sexual and reproductive health information and what education they do receive is of poor quality (Hammar et al., 2011; Kaitani, 2003; Seru-Puamau & Roberts, 2009; Suzuki, Motohashi & Kaneko, 2006). Love Patrol challenges the oppression of communication and education on young people’s sexuality by consistently raising the issue within storylines. This appears to be highly valued by young viewers.

I feel so happy and so relieved watching Love Patrol, because my parents divorced since I was five, then growing up I lived with my father, he still has that Fijian way of thinking that it’s no time for them to speak to the kids about the issues like HIV. When I reach form three I started to live with my mother and then I started to know about these things because of watching it on Love Patrol, and then my mother started to share it and then I’m so happy, it has enabled me to become the person I am today. (Young man, 18 years, secondary student, Suva, Fiji)

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Traditional Melanesian parenting constrains discussion on issues of sexual health. The lack of discussion on sex and HIV in the home is a concern for young people (Kelly et al., 2008) and diminishes their opportunities for education on sex, sexuality and HIV. For young people silence is definitely not the answer, and the open discussion of these issues in Love Patrol appears to engender a sense of relief and affirmation. The airing of issues in the show works towards normalising the discussion of sexuality and sexual behaviour within families. Scenes focus attention on the link between prevalent problems such as unplanned pregnancy and talking to children about sexual matters and making condoms available. In the story of Amanda and Tony, after Amanda’s parents find out she has spent the night with Tony, her father banishes him from the house, saying that Tony has ruined Amanda’s future. Her father wonders where he went ‘wrong’ with Amanda.

By the river Amanda’s sister-in-law seeks out Amanda’s father to talk to him. AMANDA’S SISTER-IN-LAW: I know you’re cross with her… but you should try to understand her. Amanda’s Father sighs. They really like each other. It only happened because you forced them apart. AMANDA’S FATHER: I’d like to know what you’ll do when Enza [her daughter] starts liking boys AMANDA’S SISTER-IN-LAW: I’ll tell her everything she needs to know, I’ll put condoms around the house. I don’t want her getting pregnant before she’s ready. Amanda’s father turns away looking thoughtful (Love Patrol series 3, episode 10)

Love Patrol scenes put the issue of parents educating young people about relationships and sexual health firmly on the agenda. In representing a new way of dealing with sexuality and highlighting parental responsibility in providing education, parental critical reflection may be stimulated and potentially motivate action on familial dialogue.

I watch it with my two daughters and although some people might say that Love Patrol, kids should not watch it, but I work a lot with young people and this is the kind of thing that we are trying to pass onto young people. I let my two daughters watch it with me in the hope that they will also get those kinds of messages. Not only letting the children watch it

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while it’s on, just watch it alone, but hold discussions after with them and explain to them that this thing is good or not good…it’s a real fact but the way to address it is this or that. Don’t let them just watch it; we need to explain things to them. (Man, 32 years, government worker, Vanuatu)

There are parents and other adults who have become advocates for watching the show and utilising the content to educate family members. In the case of this interviewee, this is particularly surprising considering the local socio-cultural mores that would normally prevent a father talking to his daughters about sexuality-related issues. Although aware of some parental hesitation about Love Patrol within the community due to perceptions of ‘inappropriateness’ or social disapproval driven by circulating norms, he supports his children watching it. I am unable to determine if this is widespread, yet it appears there are parents overcoming such barriers and undertaking discussions that were previously considered culturally inappropriate.

HIV and AIDS is new and it’s a challenge. It [Love Patrol] makes it much more easier for us parents now to be fairer, I think that’s the benefit of Love Patrol, it just makes our role as parents our responsibility of trying to get that message across … to our young children, it has made it much more easier for us to converse openly with our children, I think that’s the big part of this, as well as you’re getting the information, it’s broken down some of the taboos to do with these things… It’s also good that as parents we should guide them through the show … and that’s what I do with my kids. (Woman, 41 years, unemployed, Port Moresby, PNG)

The show seems to provide an opportunity for parents and families to work through their doubts and uncertainties about this new and, for many, still unfamiliar disease of HIV, its relevance to their own lives and that of their children. Furthermore, the televising of culturally appropriate stories of sexuality, desire and sexual behaviour seems to provide a level of approval, of social sanctioning of these topics for consumption and discussion. Parents such as these interviewees specifically want their children to watch it with them in order to open up the topics for discussion. With a growing recognition that HIV-related issues need to be discussed, the show provides a

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platform for dialogue and education that may have never before occurred within families.

I have a 13-year-old grandson and sometimes we talk about it [Love Patrol]. There’s some of the things in there that I would never have discussed with my mother, now I can talk to him about it, he is 12 going onto 13 so I think it’s an age where I can talk about it to him so he does understand… like in my time it’s taboo, we don’t talk about it, in this day and age nothing is to be hidden. (Woman, 60 years, bank worker, Vanuatu)

STI, rabis sik52, HIV, yes, we talk about with my kids at home after Love Patrol ‘you see there’s a lot of bad diseases that lead to HIV and … you must have safe sex and use condoms all the time, if you don’t use condoms there’s a lot of diseases that can come and lead for you to have HIV so if you don’t want to get those diseases you must make sure you use condoms’. I try not to be ashamed to say it; I have to tell them, because my kids are growing up. (Woman, 39 years, office worker, Vanuatu)

Love Patrol provides rich fodder for family discussions on sexual matters, from safe sex and sexual decision-making to communication and relationships. Undertaking such conversations means overcoming traditional shame-inducing norms. Previous research has found that parents will talk to their children about sexuality if given the appropriate support (Bastien, Kajula & Muhwezi, 2011) and Love Patrol appears to support parents by enhancing their efficacy in undertaking conversations on sensitive issues. As a result there are parents and grandparents who are breaking socio-cultural norms and talking to their children and grandchildren about sex, HIV and STIs. Challenging the status quo is not always easy, parents must not only overcome shame and embarrassment in raising these issues, at times they also face the censure of partners and other family members:

52 Generic Bislama term for any kind of STI. 162

My husband yeah… sometimes my husband he sees a [Love Patrol] scene that’s not really appropriate he really gets upset or gets grumpy but I tell him ‘you just let them see it through and then we guide them, explain to them’. (Woman, 41 years, unemployed, Port Moresby, PNG)

Changes are not easily made, with resistance coming from those who are part of the dominant regime, such as husbands. Love Patrol seems to support parents to overcome such opposition and empowers them to negotiate with those that disapprove; these parents form part of the minority pushing for change. Such negotiations are important, as legitimising this new social behaviour of dialogue and education on sexual matters is dependent on parents’ ability to respond to the opposition and resistance over time (Singhal, et al., 2006).

As a local production embedded in local culture, Love Patrol may be seen as appropriate television viewing. In addition to providing a source of information and a platform for discussion, there are parents who see characters on the show as positive role models for their children. This appears to provide another incentive to support the show’s viewing, with parents and families changing routines to enable this. Homework is put aside: “when they’re doing homework and the Love Patrol comes on, they leave their homework to watch and then they go back to their homework” (Man, 32 years, government worker, Vanuatu) and other social activities rescheduled: “We were just back from church and we call our [extended] family “come we have lunch together” and after lunch, they said, “we have to go back” and the kids say “yeah Mummy, Love Patrol!” (Health worker, Suva, Fiji). Love Patrol appears to be fast becoming a key part of family routines, to be relied upon not only for its entertainment value based on Melanesian village life, but as a source of education that has been deemed culturally acceptable. Intergenerational dialogue is reportedly occurring as a result of Love Patrol, easing the way for parents to talk about sexual issues within the family. The show provides a fertile source of material for parents to draw from in order to raise sensitive and controversial issues with their children, creating a platform for discussion and modelling how these conversations might take place. As parent-child sexuality communication has been identified as a protective factor for adolescent sexual and reproductive health, including preventing HIV infection (Kirby, Laris & Rolleri, 2007;

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Kirby, Obasi & Laris, 2006), if Love Patrol is in fact facilitating this, it would represent a significant contribution to developing more supportive environments for young people.

Education and critical consciousness

This video [Love Patrol] is interesting because it’s mainly based on young men and women. It’s good that everyone should go and see this … it’s educational for young men and young women. Our bodies and our lives! I like it because when I watched it, it helps me to gain some knowledge and experience and this helps me to protect myself. (Woman, 24 years, unemployed, Madang, PNG)

In the placing of a youth voice in the public sphere Love Patrol presents an opportunity for young people to learn about issues that affect their lives. Young Melanesians want to learn about sexuality and sexual health; however, accurate information sources are extremely limited (Kaitani, 2003; Kelly et al., 2008). In light of young people’s concerns that they are missing out on what they need to know (Kelly et al., 2008), the show provides a source of information about relationships and sexual practices that has previously been denied them. In doing so, it may support young people’s agency in making informed decisions about relationships and sexual activity.

The realistic portrayal of young people’s sexual lives through such a public vehicle seems to empower young people to start questioning the power relations within their own community that marginalise their sexuality:

After watching the Love Patrol episodes … I just feel encouraged and empowered and I become more proactive on the issues concerning HIV …Sometimes because of the issue, the taboo issue and stuff … I find that sometimes the community leaders are irresponsible in the way that they do not allow their youths to come and attend meetings such as reproductive health…I think it’s important that community leaders work together with health officials to try and address the issues of reproductive health...

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Leaders themselves should be educated first about what reproductive health is and the advantages of learning and the disadvantages of not learning and the consequences that may come about if they just choose to ignore what reproductive health is, and allow the youth to also be educated. (Man, 24 years, office worker, Suva, Fiji)

For young Melanesians to articulate criticism of community leaders is powerful. Socio- cultural norms promote the belief that young people should not question their elders or express their opinions in adult conversations (Buchanan-Aruwafu, 2007). As discussed earlier in this chapter, young people have low status in the generational hierarchy within Melanesian communities, thus a young man suggesting that leaders are not fulfilling their responsibilities to young people with regards to HIV and associated issues in itself challenges the norms of silence and respect. Rather than merely a lack of information at an individual level, structural inequalities within communities are identified as a key problem. Love Patrol has stimulated this young viewer to critically reflect and communicate about the need for change rather than continuing to accept the status quo of passivity and unquestioning respect for leadership. Such emergent critical consciousness (Freire, 1995) where young people are empowered to critique the existing order and demand their right to education on HIV-related issues is an indicator of social change.

Interviewer: Do you think young people should learn those things [sexual health] at school? They MUST learn them, it’s a must, because they will come to that process, they must know before they grow up, before they get married, before they go out having friends like Amanda and Tony…they must know, they must know the good side of having sex, they must know the bad side of having sex, just to save their lives and save other people’s lives … so I think it’s good they know that in the classroom as well, we should start them … when they are doing primary to learn that. (Man, 21 years, tertiary student, Port Moresby PNG)

Young viewers were forthright in their acknowledgement of the inevitability of sexual

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behaviour, and strongly affirmed young people’s need for knowledge in order to make informed decisions. Interviewees such as this young man felt strongly about their right to education from a young age and reinforced the need for leaders and institutions to respond to this right. Evidence of conscientisation is found in young viewers’ ability to state their needs and interests with regards to their sexuality in a way that demands the recognition by other sectors of society such as leaders (Campbell, 2000). With research in both ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries indicating that education can positively influence sexual and protective behaviours (Kirby, Laris & Rolleri, 2007; Kirby, Obasi & Laris, 2006) it is imperative that such calls for comprehensive sexuality and HIV education for Melanesian young people are responded to. Television series’ narratives have previously been noted to serve the agendas of social movements by making core problems visible and thereby empowering audiences and putting pressure on leaders (Tufte, 2005) and Love Patrol adds to the increasing focus in the region on the provision of effective sexuality education as a vital part of HIV prevention.

Schools are recognised as being well placed to implement sexual health education yet progress to date in the Pacific has been limited. Schools provide an opportunity for interventions to achieve high coverage of young people before, or around the time, they become sexually active; they also offer the opportunity to encourage young people to delay the onset of sexual activity and increase their use of condoms and contraceptives after sexual initiation (Kirby, Obasi & Laris, 2006, p. 104). While there has been some progress in integrating sexuality education into Melanesian school curriculums, currently delivery is poor or non-existent in many settings and efforts to scale up urged as a priority (SPC, 2010a; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009; UNESCO, 2012).

Despite the current dearth of institutionalised comprehensive sexuality education in Melanesian school systems, young people are raising issues from Love Patrol in classrooms, and there are teachers utilising the show as a teaching resource.

The students say whatever they see in Love Patrol is around us, that is real life, all the social issues…The kids they would really discuss you know, they would be ‘everybody is saying that condom encourages sex but if you don’t give us condom we would still want to have sex’ and then one student was ‘give us condom and protect us because we want to have 166

sex’. And this is northern Fiji where people are timid, it’s a rural area and students are talking about sex and saying give us condoms, they’re saying ‘if you don’t give it we’ll still have it [sex] – we need to protect ourselves’, in the classroom, the discussions of ‘so much could have been prevented if people use contraception’ it would come from them. (Secondary Teacher, Suva, Fiji)

The dialogue and debates stimulated by Love Patrol may be motivating action on sexuality education within some school settings. Further, Love Patrol appears to motivate and empower young people to voice their sexual health needs. Contrary to cultural norms, which indicate that sexual matters cannot be talked about, it is clear that young people want and need to discuss these issues and will do so if provided with an appropriate forum (Kelly et al., 2008). Teachers who dare to go against the current norms are responding to this need and engaging their students in discussions and educative sessions on sexuality and relationships based on the Love Patrol narrative. Allowing students to have a voice and articulate their issues and needs within the classroom is a very powerful outcome and a signifier of taboos beginning to break down.

In an effort to maximise Love Patrol’s capacity to induce community dialogue, Wan Smolbag has developed resource guides for teachers and community facilitators. Although a drama produced for television, the show has also been repackaged into a multi-media toolkit for use by schools and non-government agencies. The producers have made a DVD set of each series, accompanied by a resource guide demonstrating how the show can be used to generate class and community discussions. Teachers and schools have taken the initiative and begun to utilise Love Patrol resources within school settings in Vanuatu and Fiji, with at least 65 schools reported as implementing the materials in the classroom (WSB, 2011). “This [Love Patrol] helps us to get to know the students better, a lot of them are going through many of these problems, it gives us a way to talk about those things and makes the students feel okay to share them” (Secondary teacher, Vanuatu). Efforts by Pacific Ministries of Education to introduce sexual and reproductive health education into schools have not always been met with support from teachers. A major challenge is the implementation of the full

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program where the sexuality component is comprehensively integrated (SPC, 2010a). A 2012 review undertaken by UNESCO identified a number of key barriers to implementation including: teachers’ lack of confidence in teaching the subject, as well as insufficient training, support and resources (SPC, 2010a; UNESCO Office for the Pacific States, 2012). The training of teachers and the provision of Love Patrol materials appear to have increased the implementation of sexual and reproductive health education in schools in Fiji and Vanuatu (WSB, 2014).

Love Patrol was the first available resource to take to class and teach Family Life Education53. The training was very informative and empowering and we were supplied with a set each of the Love Patrol. I took it back to my school to share with other teachers… Before they [the teachers] didn’t want to do FLE, but after I worked through the book with them, it clicked and they became more interested… and last year, to my surprise most of the teachers they used Love Patrol, the whole set from page one to the last page! (Secondary Teacher, Lautoka, Fiji)

In the provision of Love Patrol resources and teacher training Wan Smolbag appears to be assisting teachers to overcome some of the significant barriers in implementing sexual and reproductive health education. Further, teachers seem to be motivated to undertake peer in-servicing to increase the confidence and capacity of other teachers in their schools. Within the Fijian context at least, Love Patrol resources and the accompanying training have become an important component of progressing Family Life Education (FLE) implementation in schools.

We have been actively using Love Patrol from form 4. They [students] are interested to do it because they have seen it on TV… Before we started the kids just couldn’t open up, they were really uncomfortable, you know the culture, but once we start to expose them to this material, they start to just open up, because they can relate themselves easily... it really helps students…. it is so relevant to our Fijian setting. When we are going

53 In Fiji, sexual and reproductive health is called ‘Family Life Education’ (FLE) and has been incorporated into the national secondary school curriculum as a compulsory subject from form 3. The frequency of FLE classes is one per week in most schools, or one class per fortnight in some schools. 168

through the role-play and I notice a few girls who were sitting back and looking concerned and then they ask if they can borrow the book, then after a while they come to you and say ‘oh I have a friend…’ and they come to you to seek help. (Secondary Teacher, Labasa, Fiji)

After going through the classes doing Love Patrol the students become so much more confident to speak. This was something very new in the school, and it also flowed into other classes … they asked more questions, become more involved. Fijian students they are very quiet, they hardly ask questions but now they tend to speak up. I also noticed that the number of students coming for counselling increased, students coming in to talk about what was going on. The way Love Patrol talks to them, the issues in it, they become confident to talk about it. So I see it has a lot of influence in my teaching and in my school. (FLE coordinator, Secondary School, Suva)

Teachers and school communities are mobilising and educating young people supported by Love Patrol and the apparent student response is extremely positive. Implementing teachers reported that the use of Love Patrol in the classroom enabled students to talk about sensitive issues and gave them confidence to seek support in dealing with issues experienced either themselves or among their peers (WSB, 2014). The impact on students was seen to be one of increasing their confidence and engagement in class, and often this extended beyond FLE classes. In Fiji, Love Patrol has now become a key resource for use in schools, endorsed by the Ministry of Education, and teachers continue to be trained in its use (WSB, 2010, 2011, 2014). Endorsement of such a resource is a powerful advocate for sexual health and HIV education to be institutionalised within education systems and indicative of how Love Patrol is playing a role in structural change. With studies indicating strong and encouraging evidence for the positive impact of sex education programs on the sexual behaviour of adolescents and young adults (Kirby, Laris & Rolleri, 2007), mobilising school communities in Melanesia to progress work in this area is a critical achievement.

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Conclusion

If social norms need to change … it must start with young people. For young people, the issue is not about behaviour change – it is about motivating informed, safer behaviour from the start (Piot, et al., 2008, p. 850).

The crucial role of educating young people as part of HIV responses and social change has been well recognised. Within Melanesia to date there has been a lack of critical thinking about the marginalisation of young people’s sexuality and the ensuing consequences of silence and denial. To prevent an increase in HIV prevalence the circumstances and structural vulnerabilities that impact on young people, including social proscription, must be addressed (Buchanan-Aruwafu, 2007). Media approaches have been found to be an effective means of broaching sensitive topics such as cultural attitudes regarding sexuality (Stangl et al., 2010). Love Patrol introduces young people’s sexuality to the public agenda, creating spaces for discussion and education thereby making HIV prevention possible.

I have argued that Love Patrol challenges the existing social order and fosters social discourses of change. This is achieved by its representation of two antagonistic forces in the narrative, whereby existing patterns of social behaviour are questioned and a new social reality modelled: a rights-based response to sexuality which empowers young people. Love Patrol wields the power of a mass media narrative, which conflicts with that of the traditional cultural/religious authorities who offer resistance in order to maintain the status quo. As audiences critically reflect on the existing social order, dialogue and debate is prompted within communities, thus setting an agenda for change. As a result, new models of social realities inspired by Love Patrol are being communicated between people and entering their explanations of young people’s sexuality and supporting the need for sexuality education. The show is mobilising adherents for open dialogue and education amongst parents, grandparents, health workers and teachers and in some cases church leaders. There is some evidence of shifts also occurring at institutional levels within education systems. This thesis is unable to determine if Love Patrol has actually increased parents and other adults

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talking to young people or whether this has made a difference in young people’s sexual lives; however, there are indications of greater recognition of sexuality and sexual rights occurring. These efforts are important components in creating supportive social environments that enable young people to protect their sexual health and prevent HIV.

The next chapter continues with the theme of social norms, but turns to the meanings associated with HIV within Melanesia. I focus on the story of Mark and Elizabeth, demonstrating how these characters positively influence social norms and attitudes towards people with HIV.

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CHAPTER 6

HIV DOES NOT = DEATH

Elizabeth is married to Mark who is a police detective. While pregnant with her first child she attends an antenatal clinic and is offered an HIV test. The test is positive and she leaves Mark following her diagnosis, blaming his unfaithfulness for the infection. Mark initially refuses to get an HIV test, although it is revealed he has had many partners. Elizabeth undergoes treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission. She reconciles with Mark once he takes the test and faces up to his diagnosis. Mark goes through the process of denial about being HIV positive and the initial shame and challenge in disclosing his status to work colleagues. With the support of the Chief Inspector and workplace non- discrimination policies he continues in his role as a detective. Elizabeth becomes an HIV-positive public advocate, working with the non-government organisation ‘AIDS Alert’.

Love Patrol is a culturally embedded television production that tells the stories of people with HIV in the context of daily village life. It portrays the social network of relationships in communities, both reflecting and challenging cultural and social norms as a means to influence audience responses to those affected by HIV. Major storylines revolve around two central characters, Mark and Elizabeth, who are HIV positive and the series addresses issues related to prevention, treatment and support, as well as tackling HIV-related beliefs.

The HIV epidemic has long been noted as an “epidemic of signification” as much as an epidemic of disease (Treichler, 1987) and this remains so within Melanesia. Negative attitudes towards HIV and those living with the virus are based on socially defined norms of behaviour, moral judgements and fear (Cameron et al., 2011). Within the region religion plays a significant role in shaping beliefs about HIV thus the social construction of HIV attributes infection to moral and social transgression. Those living with HIV are routinely labelled as outcasts and immoral due to the socially taboo circumstances in which the virus is transmitted, its perceived high prevalence in marginalised communities, and association with death (Campbell et al., 2005a; Farmer, Connors & Simmons, 1996; Parker & Aggleton, 2003). This chapter examines what HIV ‘signifies’ in the Melanesian context and how Love Patrol engages with this signification with its particular representations of people with HIV. I will argue that in

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addressing the meanings associated with HIV, the narrative positively influences audience responses to PLHIV.

Attributions of infection to sin and social transgression are characteristic of responses to HIV in Melanesia and this frequently results in the social exclusion of PLHIV (Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation [PIAF], 2009, 2011; Rule & Liriope, 2013). As discussed previously, the cultures of Melanesian societies are collectivist, with relational concepts of the person prevailing over more individuated models (Lepani, 2008a). Social belonging in Melanesian societies is critical to identity, and the loss of social status and community belonging through the stigma of HIV risks the loss of personhood itself (Herdt, 2001). Love Patrol engages with notions of sin, immorality, transgression and contagion in order to influence community responses to HIV. I will argue that not only does Love Patrol inform audiences about HIV; it challenges socio-cultural norms and social attitudes to reduce social distancing of PLHIV. As a result, Love Patrol evokes acceptance of PLHIV within the community and stimulates audience members to consider HIV testing. Finally, I will argue that Love Patrol is contributing to the empowerment process amongst PLHIV in Melanesia.

Reshaping the meanings associated with HIV

The diversity of Melanesia, and the differences in the HIV epidemics occurring, means HIV is made sense of in many different ways (Eves & Butt, 2008). Labbé (2011) describes two popular discourses on HIV operating in Fiji; the first portrays people with HIV as contagious and dangerous, and the second that the virus is a punishment from God for immorality and sin. Within PNG fear of casual transmission as well as morality-related stigma also operate alongside local understandings of illness (Eves & Butt, 2008; Gibbs & Mondu, 2010). In common is the role these discourses have in reproducing social inequality and exclusion. The meanings associated with HIV have serious impacts on the lives of PLHIV in Melanesia, resulting in a lack of care and support, shaming, abuse and isolation (Eves & Butt, 2008; Hammar, 2008; Hayley, 2010; PIAF, 2009). They not only hamper diagnosis, prevention and care but also generate fear and lack of empathy and are used to justify violence against those with or suspected of having HIV (Jolly, 2012). Within this context, the Love Patrol narrative

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challenges prevalent beliefs which link HIV to undesirable attributes and attempts to reshape the meanings associated with HIV.

Challenging notions of sin and social transgression

Prevalent social attitudes in Melanesia attribute HIV to sin and social transgression. This is not unique to the region; the association of HIV with sexual promiscuity, immorality and death has been prominent throughout the world (Campbell et al., 2005a; Parker & Aggleton, 2003; Pigg, 2001). Campbell, Skovdal and Gibbs refer to this as the “AIDS-shame-sin representation” (2011, p. 1215), a particularly pertinent way of conceptualising it in the Melanesian context. For people living with the virus, the meanings attached to the infection often have effects as profound as HIV itself. Strong norms about sex that link sin and immorality with HIV lead to the designation of various social groups as the source of HIV infection. Based on Christian understandings of sexual ‘normality’ and morality, HIV is commonly associated with homosexuals and people who are ‘promiscuous’, particularly women (Labbé, 2011). Such views reflect ideas about HIV that have been generated partly through media coverage and prevalent prevention messages and partly through local socio-cultural norms.

The association of HIV with immorality and death promoted via early prevention messages, the media and religious organisations has intensified HIV-related stigma in the region. Dominant social representations concerning the origin and spread of HIV have frequently contained allusions to 'risk groups' such sex workers and MSM, the focus of early fear-based prevention messages (Hammar, 2010). Such representations are also the result of circulating global discourses on HIV being translated into local contexts (Pigg, 2001). Meanwhile Christian churches have also played a key role in shaping views on HIV in the Pacific by promoting an association with sin and immorality (Butt & Eves, 2008; Hammar, 2010; Wardlow, 2007). This construction of HIV as a manifestation of sin is prevalent and powerful. In fact Jolly (2012) contends that church-propagated images of sinful sex and moral decay seem to have had far more effect on popular perceptions of HIV than many of the awareness programs throughout the region (p. 23). With HIV tied to attributes that are socially constructed as undesirable, such as ‘promiscuity’, HIV infection comes to be understood as the result

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of an individual’s deliberate action and a reflection on their moral integrity, thus subjecting them to moral judgement. Within Love Patrol key storylines engage with pre-conceived notions of the location of HIV infection risk.

There’s a misconception here still that we think HIV happens to other people, it happens to ‘those’ types of people and by having a very real story about it actually just happens to everyday people, it happens to police officers, maybe not to sex workers, but maybe young kids, it just happens to people because it’s purely through unprotected sex and I think that identifiable message all the way through [Love Patrol] is really important. (NGO worker, Lautoka, Fiji)

Love Patrol’s HIV-positive characters, Elizabeth and her husband Mark are an ordinary couple. As they are not members of a putative ‘risk group’ these characters do not conform to the stereotypes of those who become infected. The character of Elizabeth in particular challenges the association between HIV and immorality.

At the church Elizabeth and her colleague from ‘AIDS Alert’ meet with the pastor and church youth group leader to enquire about doing an education session. They all shake hands and sit down. AIDS ALERT WORKER: We come from an NGO. We do work around HIV and sexual health for young people. We want to ask if you could let us talk to your youth group… ELIZABETH: We want to explain about HIV and AIDS. Young people don’t get much information about HIV. They get it before they realise it can happen to them. CHURCH YOUTH LEADER: Why do you want to talk to the church youth groups? They’re all Christians. NGO WORKER: You can be a strong and committed Christian and still get HIV. The youth leader looks at him with disbelief. ELIZABETH: I’m a Christian. I haven’t drunk alcohol or been out at night for years. It doesn’t matter if you are a Christian, if your partner brings the disease home to you. CHURCH YOUTH LEADER: But you haven’t got it. You’re not sick. ELIZABETH: I’m HIV positive. I found out when I got pregnant with my son… The youth leader looks at her in shock and wipes his hand on his trousers. PASTOR: It would be good for the youth to hear you speak Elizabeth. I’m sure they’ll have lots to ask... People are still very frightened of it. Why don’t we hold a meeting for any youth who want to hear about HIV? (Love Patrol series 2, episode 5)

The reaction of the church youth leader in the above scene is laden with assumptions about HIV; that it is a disease that affects ‘others’. An ‘othering’ discourse allows

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people to distance themselves and their self-defined in-groups (‘Christians’) from the risk of infection by blaming contraction of HIV on characteristics normally associated with out-groups (Deacon, 2006). The church youth leader’s view, anchored in a religious ethos, serves as an enabler of negative othering (Petros et. al., 2006, p. 71). Religion, which plays a central role in the lives of most Melanesians, is a perceived safe zone from which to deny and distance HIV as a problem that affects those of questionable moral character, and locate it outside the church. Drawing on existing forms of social prejudice and power, individuals enact such social discourse to reduce perceptions of personal risk (Deacon, 2006, p. 421). Programmatic interventions that focus on particular ‘risk groups’ or ‘key populations’ (such as sex workers and/or MSM) perpetuate the denial of HIV risk among people who do not identify with risk categories. Prevention efforts are undermined as church members may feel protected and safe, yet paradoxically this may render them more vulnerable to the virus as they may be less likely to take precautions against it, effectively distancing themselves from the ‘immoral people’ that HIV prevention messages target. Furthermore, the linking of HIV with behaviour considered improper and immoral is used to justify judgement and discrimination of people with HIV, or those presumed to have HIV (Daftary, 2012). The framing of HIV within discourses of sin and immorality foregrounds ‘bad’ individuals and their specific behaviours in understanding HIV transmission rather than considering the factors which may render people vulnerable to HIV (Campbell et al., 2011, p. 1212). The representation of HIV-positive characters such as Elizabeth marks a shift in emphasis from risk and ‘risk groups’ to vulnerability.

Love Patrol’s portrayals challenge persistent stereotypes within Melanesia about ‘who’ gets HIV. In developing the character of Elizabeth, the producers were intent on presenting her in a very particular way: “…she had to appear ‘blameless’ to refute all the ‘they got HIV because they deserved it’ commentary” (Love Patrol scriptwriter). Hence Elizabeth is a strong Christian, a committed wife, unaware of her husband’s dalliances with other women. This was also driven by script and character development discussions between the producers and the Vanuatu’s sole public HIV-positive advocate.

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We discussed how this is normally how it happens [HIV infection]… Elizabeth’s situation is very realistic …a recent case from here, she was disconnected by her relatives, her husband died of AIDS but her father-in- law chased her out … he must be thinking that it’s the wife that brought HIV, the women get the blame… I really like how Elizabeth contradicts this. (HIV positive advocate, Vanuatu, original emphasis)

Elizabeth is depicted as a ‘normal’ married woman who longs for a child, staying at home providing support to her husband who has a demanding job as a police detective. She finally falls pregnant, but as a result of antenatal testing she discovers she is HIV positive. This storyline directly tackles the tendency to blame women for HIV infection, which has been well documented in Melanesia (Eves & Butt, 2008; Hammar, 2008, 2010; Lepani, 2008b; PIAF, 2011). In PNG, there are strong beliefs that it is women who infect men, not the other way around. Particularly ‘dangerous’ are women in town, who infect men who then take HIV infection back to the village (Keck, 2007; McPherson, 2008). These beliefs parallel those about other STIs that are seen as ‘women’s sicknesses’ to which men are more vulnerable to acquire from women (Wardlow, 2002). The notion of women as the source of HIV infection is also driven in part by the fact that women in Melanesia are often diagnosed first, through antenatal testing, leading to them being viewed as the source of infection. The imposition of blame is underscored by gender norms and sexual double standards that not only hold women responsible for HIV (or STI) infection, but also for men’s infidelity (Hinton & Earnest, 2010). In the storyline of Elizabeth, the clear articulation of her husband as the source of infection in their relationship counters this belief. The narrative makes it clear that Elizabeth is a monogamous wife, yet she has acquired HIV. This reframing of risk in the context of marriage represents an important challenge to current norms.

Before Love Patrol, AIDS was just associated with those people involved with prostitution, but then there’s also the situation where the wife like Elizabeth is very faithful and the husband isn’t, so she never went out and had an affair or anything like that, she was very faithful staying at home, a normal person, and there is the husband going around, he gave it to her and

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then he was in denial. So we can see now that not everyone is to blame, some people are just innocent. (Woman, 25 years, student, Lautoka, Fiji)

Elizabeth’s story reveals that a Christian wife who adheres to the socially sanctioned role of faithfulness can still get HIV through the actions of her husband. Strong norms in the region dictate that a ‘good’ woman stays chastely at home in the village, which coincides with the belief that those with HIV get it through ‘immoral’ or ‘improper’ sexual activity. Socio-cultural change and modernity also function to intensify beliefs about the need for female propriety, and may increase the scrutinisation of women’s behaviour. Women's potential for interacting with a larger social universe can be threatening to emerging but uncertain notions of male prestige (Knauft, 1997). Hence, women are increasingly judged against traditional virtue or Christian propriety and can be tainted irrespective of their sexual relationships. In this way, indigenous and modern notions of power and stigma are combined (Knauft, 1997, p. 244), and applied to sexual and gender dimensions of identity. Yet with the growing feminisation of the epidemic in Melanesian countries, the vulnerability of married women to infection is increasingly coming to the fore (Hammar, 2010; Lepani, 2008b; Meleisea, 2009). Elizabeth’s HIV status contradicts the belief that infection only happens to those who step out of the bounds of socio-cultural norms and this portrayal seems to resonate powerfully with viewers, often generating a reconsideration of who gets HIV. Notions of innocence and blame are stubbornly persistent however, as evidenced by this interviewee’s ideas about those who are ‘guilty’ or deserving of HIV infection.

In challenging prevalent notions of who gets HIV, Love Patrol appears to inadvertently reinforce notions of innocence versus sin. Elizabeth denies the popularly conceived ‘improper’ behaviour (for a Melanesian woman) of drinking alcohol or going out at night, thus reinforcing a stereotype of a married woman as ‘innocent’ of sinful behaviour. People who acquire HIV are still separated into those who are innocent and those who are guilty, consequently, those who are deserving of sympathy as opposed to those who are blameworthy. This scene and viewer response highlights the tensions in attempting to undermine ideas about the association of HIV with sexual promiscuity and the protective nature of marriage, without reinforcing existing stereotypes.

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Beliefs that construe HIV as a punishment for sinful behaviour also abound within Melanesia.

I really like the character of the inspector (Mark) yeah, the bald-headed one. In his role, you see that he is HIV positive and this is through his past life when he slept around and you follow it through and you see that now he has changed his life, he is coping with it, his family life too. He is not afraid to tell his colleagues, the police. Despite his being HIV positive, he is continuing with his life, that’s why I like him. (Man, 32 years, government worker, Vanuatu)

As the character of Mark is lauded for his courage and confidence in revealing his HIV status to others, this interviewee’s beliefs about social and moral transgression are foregrounded. With the pervasiveness of sin-based understandings of HIV in Melanesia (Eves, 2003; McPherson, 2008; Wardlow, 2008) Mark’s infection is perceived to be a result of his previous ‘promiscuous’ behaviour and perhaps it is God’s ‘punishment’ for his immorality. Consequently, moral reform plays a key role in this viewer’s admiration of Mark; this character is likeable because he has turned away from his old lifestyle redolent of sin. This may not be the producer’s intention, but in the context of the existing highly moralised belief systems in Melanesia there are viewers reading the subtext of Mark’s story in this manner. This highlights the fact that regardless of producer intent in constructing character representations and storylines, they can ultimately be decoded in numerous ways (Hall, 1980). The positive response to Mark may also rely on the cultural acceptability of men’s infidelity, as opposed to strong condemnation directed at women (Kaitani, 2003; Meleisea, 2009); due to prevailing sexual double standards Mark is a figure that can be sympathised with in a way that a straying wife would not be. These issues highlight the complexities of portraying likeable, admirable characters in Love Patrol with which audience members can readily identify without playing into prevalent stereotypes and inadvertently reinforcing beliefs in moral reform as an HIV response. This is particularly important in light of the rapid rate at which Christianity in Melanesia is becoming more conservative and fundamental (Wardlow, 2008), with Evangelical and Pentecostal churches propagating an individual culpability for HIV, simplistically positing the response as an individual matter of moral reform and the avoidance of sin (Eves, 2008, 2012). The framing of characters and

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stories in the show thus needs careful and ongoing consideration based on monitoring viewer response to each series and taking into account audience readings of the narrative. Ultimately however, it is a reality that audiences may or may not align themselves to the preferred narrative reading purported by the series (Hall, 1980). This also highlights the challenges in shifting deeply held beliefs, which are reinforced through so many other fora.

Due to the persistence of cultural stereotypes, any shifting of attitudes requires continued challenging of prevalent beliefs.

A lot of the students and the community members say that watching the [Love Patrol] movie made them actually understand that anyone can have it [HIV]. Previously for them it was multiple partners, every time they say, ‘when we hear AIDS we laugh because that person must be having many partners, and after the movie it is so clear that it could be just my husband, my first partner can infect me’. For example my mother-in-law … she got all this information [from Love Patrol] and one day I heard her discussing it with these village ladies ‘you know how this can happen? Because there is this man who has extra-marital affairs’ and I heard her telling the wife ‘you should be very careful, you should use condoms’. This is my mother-in-law! (Secondary school teacher, Suva, Fiji)

Elizabeth’s story challenges the often-promoted ideal (particularly to young women) of abstinence until marriage followed by faithfulness as being protective against HIV infection. This ideal may lead people to have false beliefs about the safety of their intimate relationships and potentially heightens their risk to HIV (Hammar et al., 2011; Hewat, 2008), as relationships are only safe if both parties are monogamous. Within the region marriage is often promoted as the institution that will protect people from HIV, but this assumption is faulty and even dangerous, as many married people who have acquired HIV have discovered (Hammar, 2010; Wardlow, 2007). The effect of Love Patrol’s portrayal is for viewers to begin to question their previous assumptions, which have been propagated by religious institutions and accord to cultural norms. Through identification with the characters viewers may begin to understand that one can be

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exposed to HIV within domains traditionally regarded as ‘safe’. Sexual behaviours are situated within specific gendered socio-cultural and structural contexts (Higgins, Hoffman & Dworkin, 2010, p. 441) and people experience risks that arise out of gender inequality and social disadvantage. In the context of the low prevalence settings of Fiji, PNG and Vanuatu clearly not everyone is at equal risk of HIV infection. However, focusing attention on ‘normal’ community members who have contracted HIV through sexual behaviours may facilitate a shift away from blame directed towards certain sectors of the population, and a greater consideration of factors of vulnerability54. Further, although the risk of HIV infection may not be high in these countries, STI infection is (WHO Western Pacific Region, 2012). Importantly, viewers seem to discuss the risk with others within their networks, and information shared between family and friends in social networks is more deeply processed and more likely to be accepted and internalised (Stangl et al., 2010).

HIV is amongst us

Where previously HIV was located amongst members of ‘out-groups’, in portraying Mark and Elizabeth as ordinary people, Love Patrol storylines reinforce the potential reality of HIV within viewers’ own families and community.

I love this really because it [Love Patrol] really tells the public that these people really do exist, there’s a person with HIV in the family we have to take care of them and when their husband goes out with somebody with HIV [sleeps around] he can bring the HIV back in the house at home… so the lesson that they portray in this film, I really love it (Man, 21 years, student, Port Moresby, PNG)

The depiction of HIV-positive characters in such a culturally proximate show as Love Patrol appears to drive home the existence of PLHIV in viewers’ own communities. Audiences can perceive that HIV is no longer something that happens to ‘others’ in remote lands or to those who belong to certain risk groups, but to one’s own family

54 Paiva (2003) contends that the concept of vulnerability transcends an individual approach to to HIV risk practices to emphasise the structural HIV influences beyond an individual's control.

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members. This challenges the social exclusion of PLHIV, and for viewers such as this young man, reinforces the responsibility for taking care of affected family members. A sense of the vulnerability to HIV infection of family and community members promotes a sense of ownership and provides an incentive to address the issue, as opposed to a distancing strategy that locates HIV in a stigmatised ‘out group’ (Campbell et al., 2007). For this interviewee the show has also highlighted how unprotected sexual activity undertaken by a husband may result in HIV infection within a family. This is an important reframing of ideas about risk; HIV is no longer the preserve of certain groups, but rather attributable to behaviours practised by anyone.

The Love Patrol narrative can also prompt reflection on the possibility of a family member or themselves testing positive to HIV.

Elizabeth talking about how she had HIV and how she got it – I talked to my sistas, other girls about it, this was very touching to me, we talked about what we would do, who we would tell if it was us. (Young woman, 17 years, unemployed, Port Moresby, PNG)

When that person has the HIV she doesn’t know what to do, she just runs away, and because I was imagining … sometimes my imagination goes on with the movie [Love Patrol]… then I could imagine how if one of my family members has that experience, what would we do? Because … we know what families do eh? It’s enabled me to talk about it to people… (Young Man, 18 years, student, Suva, Fiji)

The emotional involvement of viewers with Elizabeth’s story may lead to translation of HIV infection into the context of their own lives (Liebes & Katz, 1986). This involvement seems to stimulate viewer consideration of ‘what if it was me?’ and ‘what if it was my family?’ Such personalisation of HIV infection is further evidence of audiences associating HIV with ‘us’ rather than ‘them’. Love Patrol not only encourages such personalisation of the issues raised but may also stimulate dialogue on available support networks. When viewers are motivated to discuss how they would respond to a family member who found out that they were HIV positive the behavioural

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effects of the show are indicated (Papa et al., 2000; Sood, 2002). The show appears to provide audiences with opportunities to discuss HIV with trusted peers and enables them to feel safe enough to discuss it in their families and communities. Such discussions form the building blocks of critical thinking necessary to facilitate change (Campbell et al., 2007) and may also prepare the environment for supporting an HIV- positive family member.

The media has a key role in establishing societal templates for responses to PLHIV, countering popular stereotypes in order to encourage rejection or modification of dominant cultural beliefs (Pescosolido et al., 2008). The characters of Elizabeth and Mark challenge cultural norms of shame and blame which lead to judgmental attitudes and their association with HIV, as well as assumptions about who gets HIV. Reducing negative responses to PLHIV requires sensitisation to the problem of ‘othering’ and its complex social dynamics (Petros et al., 2006); an issue amply noted in recent research on the experience of PLHIV in PNG that highlighted the insidious nature of gossip and the social processes of ‘othering’ behind it (Rule & Liriope, 2013). In its ability to facilitate personalisation of HIV infection, Love Patrol assists in locating HIV as a family and community concern; rather than being the ‘other’ it is now ‘us’, family and community members. As representations of HIV as associated with sin and immorality have been found to profoundly affect attitudes towards PLHIV in the region (Labbé, 2011) alternate representations are extremely important. In challenging existing values and beliefs that drive negative attitudes Love Patrol has the potential to increase community acceptance of those affected.

Contesting ideas about contagion

Despite over two decades of HIV awareness-raising activities within the Pacific, there remains a low level of knowledge about how HIV is and is not transmitted (Sladden, 2005; WHO, 2006). A lack of in-depth information about HIV allows fears of casual transmission of HIV to endure which can lead to stigmatising responses from community members. People may cope with such fears by ‘social distancing’ or differentiating themselves socially from another person or group, subjecting them to various forms of exclusion as a way of distancing themselves from the threat of HIV infection or being associated with someone with HIV (Campbell et al., 2007; Nyblade,

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2006). Social distancing may include being unwilling to partake of food or drink together or go to church with PLHIV, both important social activities in Melanesian cultures. Notions of PLHIV as being of questionable moral character, as discussed earlier in this chapter, and also the deep association of HIV with death in Melanesia drive distancing behaviour. This is contested in Love Patrol storylines in several ways; first by selectively drawing on Melanesian cultural values; second by addressing fears about casual transmission in culturally relevant ways.

In the settlement The Pastor has asked his wife to call on a sick woman in a neighbouring community. She arrives with a friend to find the sick woman alone, bedridden and very weak. SICK WOMAN: No one... No one comes… PASTOR’S WIFE: We’re here. We’ll look after you. WIFE’S FRIEND: She needs water! The Pastor’s wife goes outside to find water and approaches neighbours who are standing outside the house. PASTOR’S WIFE: Can I have some water please… she’s sick! What’s wrong with you? There’s a sick woman in that house…she needs water. Can I have some water please? Women turn their back on her as she walks through the community until finally one young woman agrees to help. PASTOR’S WIFE: The other women ran away! YOUNG WOMAN: You know why? They say she’s got AIDS. The Pastor’s wife returns to the sick woman’s hut PASTOR’S WIFE: … they think she’s got AIDS…Where are her husband and her family? Why don’t they help her?

(Love Patrol series 2, episode 9)

Cultural values in Melanesia are complex. Butt and colleagues (2010) describe how cultural values and ideas about illness, the body, and contagion can discriminate against PLHIV; these are rooted in long-standing ideas about contagion and epidemics and can result in ostracism. At the same time, cultural values about family and clan support can be protective (Butt et al., 2010). Love Patrol draws on values of family and community support, using these to contest social distancing of people with HIV.

…Especially we [family] talked about this part where this woman with AIDS was locked inside the house, nobody wants to go near that place and because of that maybe she died, that part’s so very sad …how could they do that? (Woman, 25 years, student, Fiji)

A scene of a sick woman ostracised by her community due to the suspicion of HIV 184

evoked a powerful response in this viewer’s family. This lack of support depicted is completely at odds with collectivist values, which place high value on mutual support, obligation, reciprocity and human responsibility. With the negative social impacts of HIV on Melanesian PLHIV documented as being much worse than the physical impact (PIAF, 2011; Rule & Liriope, 2013), highlighting this within Love Patrol has significance and relevance to the local context. The inherent conflict of such practices with cultural values of nurture and care of sick family members is made visible through this portrayal. These scenes appear to be confronting to viewers, yet realistic to what many PLHIV have experienced in Melanesia. Forms of discrimination perpetrated by families and community members documented in the region range from subtle actions such as gossip to outright physical isolation (PIAF, 2011; Rule & Liriope, 2013). Within the show such actions are strategically contested by positioning them as being against Melanesian culture. Further, in featuring the Pastor’s wife attending to the sick woman, scenes such as the above leverage notions of ‘Christian duty’ in responses to people with HIV.

Contesting notions of contagion are also reliant on accurate information about HIV transmission. The development of comprehensive knowledge of HIV is dependent on access to culturally appropriate material and education (Valdiserri, 2002). HIV prevention messages in the Pacific region have been found to be frequently ineffective, culturally irrelevant and often misunderstood (Eves, 2010; Eves & Butt, 2008; McPherson, 2008; Meleisea, 2009). In contrast, Love Patrol provides audiences with culturally appropriate, accurate information about a range of aspects of HIV, from transmission and prevention to what it means to live with HIV. The educative role of the characters and narrative has potential to play a role in breaking down myths and reducing HIV-associated fear. Scenes within the show articulate modes of HIV transmission in familiar settings and within the broader Melanesian context where HIV prevalence is low. Characters such as ‘Mark’, the HIV-positive police detective, take a proactive stance in disclosing his HIV status to his colleagues and educating them:

Police station interior One of the police officers, Jimmy, is speaking to a new officer when he sees Mark coming down the corridor. JIMMY: That’s him... might as well get it over with. “Lieutenant! This is the new officer”. Mark walks up to them. 185

MARK: Morning. Mark… How do like it here? NEW OFFICER: It’s fine… Mark puts out his hand. The new officer looks at his hand and hesitates. MARK: Jimmy must have told you I’m HIV positive? Don’t worry. It doesn’t spread by shaking hands or touching people. They shake hands. NEW OFFICER: I’ve never met anyone with.... HIV before. MARK: You’ll meet others. It’s a good idea to have a test and make sure you’re not positive yourself. The new officer stands aside and Mark walks towards his office. (Love Patrol series 3, episode 1)

The uncertainty portrayed towards Mark as an HIV-positive person within this scene is quite realistic and relevant to the Melanesian context. Many people in the Pacific may have had little or no contact with PLHIV, particularly in countries such as Vanuatu with few HIV diagnoses. The above scene represents the fear of social transmission of HIV felt by many in the islands, which often results in social distancing behaviour.

When the policeman [Mark] … he’s infected with HIV, and then some of the workers, they’re really afraid, you know, they don’t want to go close to him, the other police officers but it really tells us something that you know, he’s still our friend, so it tells us that we can still be friends, it’s [HIV] just come through … the sex and maybe needles and stuff … this really helps us to find out the real facts about life, because some of us think that this is gonna happen just like this [from shaking hands] but we’re just thinking wrong. (Woman, 35 years, waitress, Vanuatu)

In challenging beliefs that associate contagion and danger with HIV, Love Patrol assists audiences to understand that casual transmission is not possible. In facilitating critical reflection on preconceived notions about HIV and people with HIV, the show enables the breaking down of barriers built by these false beliefs. This can then lead to the conclusion that there is no reason to avoid PLHIV; they are still part of the community. Social distancing may be about fear of casual transmission of HIV, but equally may be a form of social censure because the person is assumed to have contracted HIV through immoral behaviour, or be about fear that others will assume that because you are eating or socialising with a person with HIV, you too must be HIV positive (Nyblade, 2006). Love Patrol seems to challenge social distancing behaviour on each of these levels and

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as inclusion is a crucial part of Melanesian culture and key to identity, this effect of the show’s narrative may be critically important.

[Mark & Elizabeth] they’re very brilliant because they work together to save other lives. [Mark] he’s not only detecting and solving cases he’s also making an awareness to save the lives of the people. It [HIV] doesn’t flow through shaking hands; it applies when you have sex with a positive person, that’s when you can get this sickness. So they [the community members] see and we discuss and they understand this. (Man, 39 years, community leader, PNG)

Love Patrol’s capacity to generate meaningful dialogue in viewer communities may develop greater understanding about HIV and address fears of casual transmission. Based on the knowledge gained from the show about the routes of transmission, interviewees reported feeling more comfortable interacting with PLHIV. This is in keeping with research in Fiji that found that reducing fears about infection through accurate and detailed knowledge about modes of HIV transmission increased the likelihood of people showing support to PLHIV (Labbé, 2011). As fear and stigma are more likely to thrive in an environment of ignorance and half-truths (Valdiserri, 2002, p. 342), the critical role of culturally competent education, including how HIV is and is not transmitted, cannot be underestimated.

Frequently consumed within a communal viewing setting, Love Patrol responds to the need for social spaces where people can discuss unfamiliar HIV education messages and translate them in ways appropriate and relevant to their lives (Campbell, Nair & Maimane, 2006, p. 133). The collective processing of the Love Patrol text allows for the possibility of integration of new knowledge and action in the social and cultural practices of everyday life. Watching Love Patrol appears to help people to talk to others about HIV and as discussed in Chapter 4, watching in the Melanesian context often occurs in a group setting. In this way, a social space with the potential for debate, discussion and the negotiation of new social norms is created (Campbell, Skovdal & Gibbs, 2011, p. 1205). Through a process of dialogue which occurs in the group setting, people are able to make information relevant to their own lives by processing it in ways

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that are compatible with their own pre-existing frames of reference, vocabularies and social practices (Campbell et al., 2007, p. 413). The importance of participatory processes of information sharing should not be underestimated, particularly in the Melanesian setting, as therein lies “greater potential to turn the process of knowing into the practice of knowing and doing” (Lepani, 2008a, p. 266).

Dispelling myths of danger and death

Within Melanesia, HIV remains strongly associated with death. Early HIV prevention messages focused on death and powerlessness caused by ‘AIDS’ (Cullen & Callaghan, 2010; PIAF, 2011). Education campaigns have failed to differentiate between HIV and AIDS; fear-based messaging focused on the idea that AIDS (which the infection is still frequently inaccurately referred to) equals death, and as a consequence the fear and stigma created has had a lasting effect in the region (Gorman, 2013; Hammar, 2010). Where AIDS is understood to imply death, and the conflation of HIV with AIDS results in the belief that HIV too causes imminent death. For example, in PNG HIV infection is known as ‘sikAIDS’ in Tok Pisin, literally ‘AIDS sickness’. There is no word for HIV per se, or differentiation between the infection and the conditions attributable to AIDS. People believe that those who get sikAIDS die; they do not walk around for years looking healthy (McPherson, 2008, p. 232). As with other developing country settings, the connection between mortality and HIV is further underlined due to diagnosis often occurring following onset of symptomatic illness, thus obscuring the possibility of living a long, healthy life with HIV (Mills, 2006). This is where the depiction of the characters of Mark and Elizabeth in Love Patrol are fundamentally important in contradicting the belief that HIV equals death. Through these characters, PLHIV are represented as productive members of their communities who are living their lives. In the provision of strong examples of PLHIV who are typical in ways familiar to the audience (Creel et al., 2011) stereotypes that associate HIV with sickness and death may be challenged. It is not only the HIV-positive characters within Love Patrol that can be influential but also the support shown by peers and community members. Within the show, the reaction of Mark’s senior colleagues and management to his diagnosis models a supportive workplace.

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At the police station Mark confronts a junior officer who has been spreading rumours and gossiping about him, while a supportive senior officer watches. MARK: I’ve got something to say to you. There’s a story in today’s paper. It’s about my wife Elizabeth. She’s HIV positive. JUNIOR OFFICER: And you? MARK: It doesn’t matter whether I’ve got it or not. What you have to understand is people with HIV aren’t dangerous to you. You can’t get HIV from drinking and eating with someone who has the virus… or working in the same place. Even living in the same house! SENIOR OFFICER: And you don’t even know who’s got it. People with HIV have no signs of the sickness. (Love Patrol series 2, episode 4)

Characters such as Mark, positively represented in Love Patrol, work towards normalising HIV infection within the community. A number of researchers have lamented the lack of positive images of people with HIV who are productive and responsible members of society (Ogden & Nyblade, 2005; Somma & Bond, 2006). This is key in collectivist cultures grounded in values of reciprocity and may impact on the social value of the person as a community member. Reciprocity is an important mechanism for forming and maintaining social relations (Bourdieu, 1977). Reidpath and colleagues (2005) argue that if reciprocal exchange is an important value, then the capacity to engage in acts of reciprocal exchange may be important in the determination of any one group’s social value (p. 474). Stereotypes that link HIV with sickness and death reduce the social value of HIV-positive individuals by positioning them as a drain on community resources. Conversely, positive representations of PLHIV as healthy and productive members of society reinstate their social standing, hence the HIV-positive characters in Love Patrol may play a role in reshaping perceptions in the community about the social value of those living with the virus.

That police character who has HIV…what happens is that most people when they know someone who has got HIV they start to ignore them, in this film we have seen that he was still was hired as a police officer, well he was given a letter to leave, but again he fought for it and he was given back his job and he still does it. (Man, 23 years, unemployed, Suva, Fiji)

The manner in which the character of Mark resists devaluation is a powerful image for this interviewee. This storyline is readily related to real-life situations whereby a person

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with HIV is marginalised on discovery of their status; their standing in the community reduced. Viewers seem able to identify the ways in which the character of Mark fights back against this marginalisation. “I like the way he [Mark] didn’t fall back, he moved on, the colleagues they reacted, but he didn’t, he was not ashamed, he kept on” (Woman, 35 years, receptionist, Suva, Fiji). As argued earlier in this chapter, the attribution of shame is a common response due to the association of HIV with sin and immorality; consequently Mark’s resistance challenges associations between HIV and shame.

This is where it [Love Patrol] try to help people too, they could really understand and see, it’s about sensitising people to HIV, in the workplace and all this and how they can work together… that’s where a lot of people also find it very hard, like with this thing [HIV] people say that’s it, that’s the end of our life, we can’t get into our workplace now, because we’ll be stigmatised, discriminated, this is what goes on in their mind, and so people tend to forget about their jobs, they just walk off... So like being him [Mark] he’s a very strong man and it’s also a positive sign to tell other positive people that even with this [HIV] you can still work, live your life, I think it’s really good. (HIV-positive advocate, Goroka, PNG)

On diagnosis it is common for PLHIV in Melanesia to either lose their jobs or give up work due to a combination of fears of imminent death and fear of stigma (PIAF, 2009; Rule & Liriope, 2013). People with HIV no longer see themselves as productive or worthwhile members of society; therefore going to work is pointless. The social construction of HIV drives a negative self-identity associated with HIV that is immoral, culpable and permanent (Daftary, 2012). In contrast, Love Patrol’s depiction of strong positive characters with HIV reinstates their social value. This interviewee believes that characters such as Mark enable HIV-positive viewers to see it is possible to continue on with their life and play an important role in the community. Media characters vastly expand the range of role models available to people in their immediate environment (Lapsansky & Chatterjee, 2011) and the characters of Mark and Elizabeth provide culturally proximate role models to whom Melanesian PLHIV may not have had access previously.

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The detective, Elizabeth’s husband … he’s really bold and courageous in his character … despite the pressure of being seen as being HIV positive like he puts his job forward and the wife too is supportive and despite going through all kinds of rumours and problems and stuff, they’re only positive characters. (Woman, 20 years, student, Port Moresby, PNG)

Rather than evoking fear due to their HIV-positive status, Mark and Elizabeth appear to evoke admiration and respect from audiences. The potential power of using more positive images of PLHIV has been noted in efforts to reduce marginalisation (Somma & Bond, 2006), hence in showing the productive lives of the HIV-positive characters, Love Patrol may increase viewer empathy towards PLHIV in real life, making separation and dehumanisation more difficult. By appearing in the public forum of television and sharing their ‘lives’ the HIV-positive characters serve visible, useful and prominent social roles that counter expectations about the abilities and status of real life PLHIV (Creel et al., 2011, p. 463). Furthermore, in the context of Melanesia where as argued in Chapter 4 the distinctions between fiction and reality are blurred, the potential influence of these characters may be even greater.

Positive portrayals seem to have enabled Love Patrol viewers to see the characters with HIV as figures worthy of respect and they were frequently named as favourite characters. Viewers highlighted Elizabeth’s strength and support:

The wife [Elizabeth] she didn’t leave him as well, because that’s the true love – what happens here [Fiji] is where there is a boyfriend/ girlfriend and they found out that one of their partner is sick they start to break up and go away, but in this [Love Patrol] no – they were together most of the time and she was helping Mark with whatever stuff … (Man, 23 years, unemployed, Suva, Fiji)

Elizabeth is admired for supporting her partner and maintaining their relationship despite HIV infection. In relating this scene to real life, this interviewee made a strong connection between the on-screen character and how people in Fiji should respond to an HIV diagnosis, where relationship and family breakdown has been documented as a

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consequence of diagnosis (Labbé, 2011). Previous research has acknowledged the influence of fictional characters and audience members’ ability to make a connection between the characters’ on-screen conduct and how PLHIV should live and be treated by the wider community (Frank et al., 2011). Positive portrayals can lead to respect and provide role models to community members, as well as to PLHIV themselves.

Not all role models are equally effective however, with prior research suggesting that information delivered through engaging storytelling, involving characters which audiences ‘know’ and care about is more likely to have an impact on viewers and modelled in attitudes and behaviour (Frank et al., 2011; Murphy et al., 2011; Singhal et al., 2004). The admiration of the characters of Elizabeth and Mark in Love Patrol shows identification with these characters by audience members and evidences strongly developed parasocial relationships; viewers seem to feel they know these characters and have a deep connection to their stories. “This [Love Patrol] show is a story of everyone, and they feel that ‘yes it is going on’ … they are seeing their stories and they are co- relating themselves and they find themselves sometimes with the actors” (NGO worker, Goroka, PNG). In watching the show, viewers appear to be transported, becoming emotionally involved in the characters, and as I have argued in Chapter 2, the greater the emotional involvement then the greater the potential influence of a drama (Kincaid, 2002).

HIV is a treatable illness

A key part of challenging beliefs that negatively associate HIV with illness and death is educating Melanesian audiences about the availability and impact of treatment for HIV. The need for the integration of prevention and treatment has been well documented, with authors recommending that every opportunity provided by one is used to reinforce the other (Lamptey & Wilson, 2005, p. 104). Attitudes towards PLHIV in Melanesia, rooted in fear with images of HIV as a death sentence prevalent, were formed prior to treatment becoming available in the region (Kelly et al., 2009; PIAF, 2011). Many community members do not have good knowledge of either the availability of treatment or the impact on positive people’s lives and health (Butt et al., 2010). Research in PNG indicates that there is little information on treatment (antiretroviral therapy or ‘ART’) circulating in the public domain and the majority of PLHIV first

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hear about treatment through health services (Kelly et al., 2009). The same study also found that the media as a source of information was extremely low. This lack of widely available information on HIV treatment, its benefits and access contributes to the lingering belief in HIV as a killer disease. In order to affect the social attitudes regarding HIV as a treatable disease, easily available information on treatment for the general populace is important. Love Patrol uses storytelling and visual representation, communication approaches familiar and accessible to Melanesian audiences. Viewers seem to be highly engaged with characters who are HIV positive, on treatment, healthy and getting on with their lives as members of their community. “The portrayal of the positive characters is good, seeing Mark so healthy, he looks like anyone else. This reinforces that you can’t tell if someone is positive” (HIV-positive advocate, Port Moresby, PNG). Characters who look healthy, undertake work and participate in community life may have a number of constructive effects on audiences. The first is enabling them to question common myths such as ‘you can tell by looking’ that someone has HIV. Counteracting this myth is important from a prevention point of view as this false belief leads to the assumption of safety regarding someone who is healthy-looking and attractive, therefore rendering safe sex measures such as condoms unnecessary. Secondly, this portrayal enables the benefits of treatment to be recognised and promoted to audiences, reinforcing again that HIV does not mean death.

The detective [Mark] on the show, he looks after himself so he looks healthy and people would not tell easily whether he is HIV positive or not. So they might come up with questions like, ‘You were HIV positive and how are you like this? Are you getting treatment, or what sort of treatment do you have?’ so in that way they can come out and have treatment. (PLHIV network member, Madang, PNG)

Increasing awareness about the benefits of ART can help quell community perceptions about the mortality associated with HIV (Daftary, 2012). Importantly, such portrayals may prompt HIV positive people within communities to come forward to access treatment and may assist with treatment adherence. In PNG, a desire to ‘look healthy’ has been found to be a major driver for accessing and adhering to ART (Kelly et al.,

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2009). Strong notions of appearance being linked to disease exist in Melanesia (Butt, 2008; Hewat, 2008) which are tied in with beliefs in illness as a sign of wrongdoing, leading to a propensity of community members to make judgements based on someone’s external appearance (Eves, 2008). Consequently, for a person with HIV looking healthy is important in terms of combating social distancing behaviour.

There appears to be a link between ART and acceptance and social support. Research in the region has documented the positive impact of treatment on PLHIV with improvements to their health and appearance resulting in greater acceptance by the community (Gibbs & Mondu, 2010; Labbé, 2011). When ART impact is seen, in addition to stigma towards PLHIV being reduced, support for testing and treatment is facilitated. In making the positive effects of ART visible in Love Patrol, viewers may be prompted to provide support for friends and family accessing treatment:

Just lately one of my cousins, she also had this virus, after watching this [Love Patrol] especially those [characters] living with HIV, she [cousin] was not on ART so I said ‘you should go on ART because it’s helping people not only people here, across the Pacific it’s helping people, so you should go on ART and you might live longer’ … just seeing the pictures [in Love Patrol] and also seeing some other people living on ART, it makes a big difference. (Woman, 29 years, technician, Goroka, PNG)

The depiction of HIV-positive characters in Love Patrol responding well to treatment can facilitate viewer reflection on the personal situation of family and community members. If the benefits of treatment are recognised audiences may be motivated to encourage and support others with HIV to seek treatment. There has been a growing realisation of the need to prepare and educate communities about ART (Aggleton, Yankah & Crewe, 2011); treatment education informs and engages individuals and communities about ART, including treatment benefits (UNAIDS, 2006). In the Pacific, it is only in recent years that access to ART has been available and this still varies greatly across Melanesia. Despite the increased availability of ART, people with the virus are still constrained by the stigma and discrimination fostered by beliefs about HIV as a death sentence (PIAF, 2011). This highlights the critical importance of

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quelling community perceptions about the mortality associated with HIV and promoting the effects and benefits of treatment. Seeing the positive impact of treatment on the lives of PLHIV also highlights the benefits of seeking diagnosis, therefore there is potential for Love Patrol’s characters to influence audience members to get tested.

Love Patrol’s depiction of Mark and Elizabeth as healthy despite their HIV status opens the doors for viewers to consider testing. A key to increasing HIV testing is for people to see the potential for personal benefits, and access to ART is critical (Hutchinson, Mahlalela & Yukich, 2007). The characters in Love Patrol openly discuss and promote the benefits of testing: Mark raises the issue with police colleagues and Elizabeth promotes testing as part of her outreach work with ‘AIDS Alert’, whereby she shares her experience of being tested and diagnosed.

At the prison Elizabeth undertakes HIV education outreach with female prisoners. ELIZABETH: It is better to know. I didn’t think so when I found out. But if I hadn’t I’d be sick now or even dead. I’m fit and healthy because I get the medicine. And I’ve got a healthy son…He isn’t HIV positive. FEMALE PRISONER: It passes from mother to baby! ELIZABETH: It does… but if you take the medicine while you’re pregnant it can stop HIV from passing to the baby. That’s why they offer pregnant mothers the test.

(Love Patrol series 4, episode 8)

The show exposes viewers to conversations about testing which clearly highlight the benefits. In a later scene, audiences see the female prisoner who is the recipient of Elizabeth’s advice seeking out a clinic nurse for further advice and again the benefits of testing are reinforced. In yet another scene a friend of Elizabeth’s, a woman of high status – a politician’s wife – is depicted seeking a test. Such portrayals are important; research in the region shows that prior to their diagnosis, many women with HIV felt ‘safe’ from infection as they did not belong to a perceived ‘risk group’ (PIAF, 2011; Labbé, 2011). In challenging notions of risk and vulnerability, Love Patrol promotes HIV testing across boundaries of age, gender and social status. Storylines that incorporate characters who get tested and discuss testing with others seem to impact on audiences.

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It’s when Mark’s wife [Elizabeth] got tested and she got HIV and I remember we discussed it…We come in here [workplace] and we can talk about it, they [work colleagues] were surprised that I had gone for the test, nobody here has gone for the test ... The others were surprised and they were afraid, and I told them ‘it’s good to know your status, you don’t know, and if anything happened then it strikes you. But if you want to do the test then it’s good that you and your husband discuss it very well, and both of you test’. (Woman, 29 years, receptionist, Vanuatu)

On-screen stories appear to stimulate audience discussion on testing in a range of settings including workplaces. Elizabeth going for a test affirmed this viewer’s experience of testing, and motivated her to share her personal story with colleagues and promote intimate partner conversations about testing. This illustrates the role Love Patrol appears to be having in information sharing and stimulating interpersonal dialogue about HIV, including the collective processing of issues (Singhal et al., 2004). As a result of sharing personal experience, the fear of HIV may be reduced and HIV testing behaviour normalised. “I think Love Patrol creates discussion, it creates interest in testing and trying to know about people living with HIV, I think given the environment to talk about it, people will talk about it” (PLHIV network member, Fiji). The potential for more positive media messages to break down barriers that currently prevent Melanesians testing to determine their HIV status has been noted (PIAF, 2011). With low rates of self-initiated testing and late diagnosis of HIV (after the onset of significant illness) highlighted as key challenges for HIV prevention and care in the region (Labbé, 2011; Oceania Society for Sexual Health and HIV Medicine [OSSHHM], 2008; SPC, 2013), this could be an extremely important effect of the Love Patrol narrative.

One of my friends who is in form seven, my best friend … I was sharing to him about the movie, Love Patrol … he was also sharing his problems, what he goes through eh? And then I was telling him maybe the best option for him is to go and have a blood test, and then from there we can carry on. (Young man, 18 years, student, Suva, Fiji)

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The process of sharing Love Patrol storylines amongst audiences seems to engender the sharing of personal stories and concerns, evidence of the dialogue-promoting effect of the narrative. The positive personal dialogue and support-giving behaviour described by this interviewee is an example of advocacy between individuals (Giles, 2002; Sood, 2002). The show appears to facilitate spaces for discussions about sexual health issues, focusing initially on fictional television characters, and then spilling over into real life. In drawing on the show’s storylines, peers and family members may be encouraged and supported to seek testing.

Community health workers have also experienced the influence of Love Patrol in stimulating viewers to think and talk about testing. A nurse in Vanuatu shared a conversation held with some young men in the settlement area where she lives:

At one time I met these two young men on the road who asked me ‘do you do the test too at the clinic?’ and I say ‘of course, you are voluntarily to come and do the test if you want to’ and they said ‘because we saw it in the Love Patrol and we worry about, you know….’ So I think it’s in the community that most of these young people they like to watch it…and more people who see Love Patrol, it encourages more people to come voluntarily to test. (NGO clinic nurse, Vanuatu)

Love Patrol appears to be encouraging young people in communities to consider testing. They watch the show, talk about it with their peers and then on seeing health workers they know, ask about testing facilities. The show’s popularity and proximate nature seems to enable the effective placement of HIV testing information into social networks. The seeking of information after watching Love Patrol indicates strong behavioural involvement with the show and also supports the notion that information- seeking is substantially stimulated when a health message, such as the benefits of HIV testing, is tied to an ongoing storyline (Kennedy et al., 2004). Whether these young men will take that final step and go for a test is unknown; however, considering testing and being motivated to discuss it with others is an important first step.

Storylines within Love Patrol may also influence viewers to seek testing.

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My sister-in-law went for a test after watching the [Love Patrol] show. I think her perception before was that because she’s involved in HIV she’s safe and she assumed that she knows her status, but after watching, she said ‘oh no, I think I should go for a test’ so she went for a test… Before she was aware but there was no interest in getting a test, but … something about Love Patrol, something in the story she related so strongly to motivated her to get a test, because she says ‘this is really us’ [original emphasis] and she continues to say that. (PLHIV network member, Fiji)

Despite having a family member who was living with HIV, it was not until after watching Love Patrol that this viewer was motivated to go for a test. This decision was attributed to a powerful identification with the characters and situations portrayed on the show. This effect is in keeping with research in Botswana that found that radio serial drama listeners who were strongly engaged with characters might attend to and learn from those characters (Sebert Kuhlmann et al., 2008). The researchers proposed that favourite characters educate viewers and motivate them to get tested, and this may be what is occurring with Love Patrol. Role models, whether real or mediated, provide information about how to perform a new behaviour and what to expect as a result. A viewer’s belief that social norms are consistent with these behaviours may be enhanced, as may their belief in the availability of social and emotional support (Sebert Kuhlmann et al., 2008). This is further strengthened when such characters and stories become topics of conversation amongst social networks (Skuse et al., 2011; Stangl et al., 2010).

Acceptance, support and empowerment

When they see those characters in the show live with HIV it draws their attention and leads them to understand that HIV-positive people can live normal lives like any other non-HIV positive person... This will help people to change their ways of understanding and their behaviour towards people living with HIV. (PLHIV network member, Madang, PNG)

With social belonging critical to Melanesian identity, increasing community support and acceptance of PLHIV is of utmost importance. In representing the HIV-positive

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characters as normal, contributing community members, Love Patrol may facilitate greater acceptance of those with HIV and a recognition that they are deserving of care and support. A key message that audiences appear to take away from the narrative is that HIV positive people are also part of the community.

I think it [Love Patrol] really gives us ideas, that we will be ok, if someone in the community – she or he is HIV positive, it will give us an idea that we’re ok, we won’t get it with him, it’s not that HIV positive should be away or we would not want to be more close to, to be more sick. I think it gives us some ideas, it always brings us together, we don’t have to think ‘he’s HIV positive I will always stay away from him’, he’s still one of us. (Woman, 35 years, waitress, Vanuatu)

In addressing issues of social value of PLHIV and challenging the myth of casual transmission of HIV, the show enables the need for ostracism to be dismissed. Rather than exclusion this viewer’s narrative focuses on inclusion of those with HIV. With the reinstatement of the cultural norms of collectivity, the community response to HIV becomes a central issue. Consideration of how communities can collectively and supportively respond to HIV infection of a community member is crucial and vitally important in Melanesian cultures.

Interviewer: Has watching Love Patrol made you think differently about HIV? Yes, especially the people with HIV, not to feel different towards them but to treat them as ordinary people. At first … I didn’t want to get myself involved with them … watching stuff like Love Patrol encourages me to treat them positively as normal and help them, to hear their views and be encouraging…I think being HIV positive doesn’t give you, make you be limited to what you cannot do; being HIV positive you’re as an ordinary person too like others. You can help others and get treatment and live a normal life as how they portray themselves as being detectives, helping others. (Woman, 20 years, student, Port Moresby, PNG)

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Engagement with the HIV-positive characters in Love Patrol may positively influence viewer attitudes and normalise the presence of HIV-positive individuals in the community. A key effect in the translation of the show’s storylines into real life seems to be a recognition that a diagnosis of HIV does not have to limit a person’s life or contribution to the community. Referencing the characters of Mark and Elizabeth, viewers commonly articulated an acceptance of PLHIV as ordinary members of the community: “I like this policeman, the detective … he’s a normal human being on this earth, his life is up, down, this way that way [points sideways] no matter that he has HIV.” (Pastor, Port Moresby, PNG). Through depicting a character with HIV who is perceived to experience the same ups and downs as any member of the community, the show assists in the process of normalising HIV infection. This reading of Mark as a normal person is powerful; the character’s personhood and social value is intact, his HIV infection a mere detail. With the Love Patrol viewing audience including members of the clergy, well-respected positions within the Melanesian context, there is great potential for positive perspectives on PLHIV to be further disseminated through pastoral power. The involvement of church leaders and religious institutions has been noted as key to effective responses to HIV (Nyblade, 2006); consequently the show’s capacity to engage religious leaders is critical.

With acceptance and social belonging may come the acknowledgement of rights:

Mark, yes, and his wife [Elizabeth] they both got HIV and it’s normal for them to live in the community with HIV … they have the right to live in the community. They have the right to go to church together, eat together, socialise together, yes. (Woman, 40+ years, shop attendant, Vanuatu)

Through the portrayal of Mark and Elizabeth as ordinary people regardless of their HIV status, Love Patrol appears to confirm to viewers that PLHIV have rights as community members, participating in daily community activities. As community members they are thus deserving of care and support. The show presents an alternative paradigm whereby Melanesian PLHIV have rights and agency, and demonstrate their capacity. For those living with the virus within local communities, the HIV-positive characters appear to provide a sense of their own legitimacy.

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I think Love Patrol is really helping me a lot ... you can see like they’re giving people ideas, thoughts about a HIV person, ‘alright, well that person is just the same as everybody else and she or he has a right too’. (HIV-positive advocate, Vanuatu)

People who have HIV, they got the rights to do anything like the other [Love Patrol] detectives or non-HIV positive people can do. They have the same rights, they are all equal and they have got same rights. (PLHIV network member, Madang, PNG)

The representation of the lead characters Mark and Elizabeth as productive members of the community having the same rights as others seems to be empowering to Melanesian PLHIV. Love Patrol’s depiction is particularly important in order to negate the previous fear inducing and stigmatising images of HIV portrayed in local media, as discussed earlier in this chapter. HIV-positive viewers in PNG explicitly drew a direct contrast between Love Patrol and other local film productions produced by faith-based organisations. In particular, there was great concern expressed about a recent PNG production that depicted a young woman with HIV being isolated from the village and made to live in a small locked hut away from the community. No doubt this film was based on a true story and possibly realistically portrayed; however, the way community viewers ‘read’ this depiction was extremely disturbing to local members of PLHIV support groups. They described how the film was taken very literally, as a model of how to ‘deal with’ people with HIV in communities. As one HIV-positive advocate argued:

…It’s taking time for us now to get over this, to get all of these sort of things out of their mind, and say ‘no, we are all human beings and we all have our own rights to live in this place’ … but with this movie Love Patrol I think it’s really having a positive impact on the community. (Local PLHIV network president, Goroka, PNG)

Members of HIV support networks in all three countries spoke excitedly about Love Patrol as a supportive resource, seeing its potential for positively affecting attitudes within their communities. There is a sense that the series can make a difference to 201

acknowledgement, acceptance and support of local PLHIV. In the spirit of reciprocity I organised copies of Love Patrol to be provided to all PLHIV networks with which I had contact during the course of the research. The series is positioned as a tool to assist in the building of an enabling environment for PLHIV.

…Having people to view the [Love Patrol] series really prepares the environment to testing, supporting, for people living with HIV, and it’s crucial to those who are just trying to form a positive network, as much as they need support from experts, but they need also their family members, community members… tools like this can help prepare the environment, so once the [PLHIV] network is established, the environment is ready to accept that there is a network. Accept, acknowledge, partnership too with a positive organisation. (PLHIV network member, Suva, Fiji)

A key determinant of effective prevention and care is the existence of a humane and supportive environment for PLHIV (Ogden & Nyblade, 2005). Love Patrol is a resource that appears to engage with the lives of both PLHIV networks and communities thus opening up the possibilities for positive community participation and response (Parker & Aggleton, 2003). Accordingly, PLHIV network members in Fiji and PNG were keen to utilise DVD copies of the series as part of awareness in remote communities without televised access and organise facilitated viewings with villagers. The importance of encouraging and nurturing PLHIV networks and groups to break down the sense of isolation which many PLHIV experience has been well documented (Busza, 1999, 2001; Hodgson et al., 2012). In the case of Melanesian countries, where there are small numbers of HIV diagnoses, or few who are public with their HIV status, the importance of this cannot be underestimated. Vanuatu is a clear example, there are currently only four PLHIV and a support network is yet to be established. The sole public HIV-positive advocate spoke of how she felt about Love Patrol being on air:

I’m so happy about it! Like in Vanuatu I’m by myself ah? By myself, and I think like that movie [Love Patrol] going around all of Vanuatu it really helps. In the beginning it was so hard [when she was first diagnosed], I didn’t talk to anybody and just like, I can tell that nobody can understand

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me, but now … I have more friends than before … so that is a good thing, I’m not alone anymore. (HIV positive advocate, Vanuatu)

This advocate believes Love Patrol has improved understanding amongst the Vanuatu community, leading to greater openness in hearing her story and providing support. She argues that the show has played a role in breaking down barriers with the community in Vanuatu and assisting her to overcome isolation. Similarly, Love Patrol may provide a platform for mobilisation for PLHIV across other small, scattered islands and remote highland communities that characterise Melanesia. The process of normalising the presence of PLHIV within a community also involves helping PLHIV learn from each other, gain strength and identify priorities (Busza, 1999). Although Love Patrol is a mass-mediated product, its ability to facilitate community dialogue amongst viewers and the communal viewing context may contribute to the empowerment process for PLHIV. The show allows for networking and discussion by people who might not otherwise have had geographical access to one another. It is breaking down social barriers and reaching a wide audience, providing information, positively representing PLHIV, and reducing isolation and advocating for the rights of PLHIV. Love Patrol cannot replace the need for PLHIV networks, but it may support them and those living with the virus that are not linked to existing networks.

Conclusion

In the course of socially constructing an illness, symptoms are identified and the disease is named. Theories of origin, transmission, prevention, and cure are formulated, promulgated, criticized, and revised. Responsibility and blame often are assigned. Those who contract the disease come to be regarded as victims or patients, guilty or innocent, dangerous or benign, heroic or pitiable. (Herek, 1990, p. 108)

Representations of HIV as a disease of sin, shame and deviation have profoundly shaped Melanesians’ attitudes towards women and men living with HIV in the region. Love Patrol responds to calls for initiatives that deconstruct the discourses that portray

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PLHIV as contagious, dangerous and immoral people (Labbé, 2011; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). I have argued that in engaging with the popular discourses of immorality and sin and fears of casual transmission, Love Patrol creatively resists and subverts the ‘AIDS-shame-sin’ representation. This chapter has shown that in presenting HIV-positive characters as ordinary community members, beliefs regarding personal responsibility for HIV can be challenged and associations between HIV and norm-violating behaviour reduced. Practices of social distancing are contested through addressing fears of contagion and selectively drawing on Melanesian cultural values within the narrative. As a result, Love Patrol evokes acceptance and social inclusion of PLHIV within the community and contributes to the empowerment process in Melanesia amongst PLHIV. This chapter has also shown that promoting the effects and benefits of treatment through characters quells community concerns of mortality and reframes HIV as a treatable illness.

Love Patrol draws Melanesian audiences in with its close depiction of daily life and realistic characters that produce viewer identification and emotional involvement as a means of normalising, ‘personalising’ and de-stigmatising the epidemic (Aggleton et al., 2010). The series engages communities, harnesses participatory processes of information sharing and penetrates social networks to enable deeper processing and increased acceptability and internalisation of issues raised (Stangl et al., 2010). Values and beliefs that shape attitudes towards PLHIV are contested in respectful and community-responsive ways. The show provides a strong cultural connection, viewers are emotionally and critically involved, PLHIV are positively represented and empowered by the representation, and individual and community reflection is engendered. Influencing social norms and addressing the meanings associated with HIV which drive social exclusion have potential to positively affect community attitudes towards PLHIV (Aggleton et al., 2005). The show’s narrative provides a safe space in which communities and individuals reflect on and discuss their HIV-related beliefs, attitudes, and values. In doing so it influences audience responses to PLHIV, generates a greater sense of ownership of HIV-related issues as well as a sense of responsibility for tackling them.

This chapter has also highlighted the challenges in shifting deeply held beliefs. Sin-

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based understandings of HIV are pervasive in Melanesia and Love Patrol’s portrayal must contend with these prevalent beliefs, as well as the notion of moral reform as an HIV response reinforced through conservative religious institutions. As religion shapes beliefs about HIV it is critical to understand how churches either facilitate or undermine effective HIV responses. Religion is dominant influence within the Melanesian social context and among members of a respective community. Through this influence, religion has the ability to construct and reconstruct people’s views on HIV, which will affect their very interaction with the disease and PLHIV on a daily basis (Du Toit, 2010). Conservative moralistic responses that frame HIV in terms of sin and punishment can undermine effective HIV prevention and perpetuate social exclusion of PLHIV. Equally, church teachings of love and care open up many potential spaces for an increased positive role in supporting PLHIV and encouraging social action to address HIV (Campbell et al., 2011). Thus continued engagement with the churches, particularly with Pentecostal and Evangelical churches and their growing number of adherents, is critical as strategies for HIV prevention are much more likely to be effective if they work with, rather than against, dominant social structures (Scambler, 2006; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009).

This chapter examined how Love Patrol affects beliefs circulating in the social domain and thus impacts on socio-cultural norms and attitudes towards those with HIV. The next chapter turns to the issue of sex work. I examine how the storyline of Lorraine and Betty’s reveals the social context of sex work in Melanesia and exposes the reality of sex workers’ lives. I argue that specific representational strategies are used in Love Patrol to contest dominant discourses of sex work and mobilise public opinion.

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CHAPTER 7

SEX WORK IN MELANESIA - A REALITY CHECK

Lorraine has seen a lot of life, she has worked as a sex worker and seen how men pick up girls and throw them away. Her jaded view of life is made worse when her best friend Betty is made pregnant by her stepfather and dies during her attempt to abort the baby. (Love Patrol scriptwriter)

While the selling or exchange of sex has existed in some form or other in most societies, sex workers are a marginalised group. Stereotypes, derogatory names, stigma and general indifference to their human rights prevail worldwide, including in Melanesia, and the media has often contributed to prejudice and the perpetuation of myths (Mendes et al., 2010). This chapter examines the prevalent stereotypes of women55 who sell and exchange sex in Melanesia, comparing and contrasting them with Love Patrol’s portrayal. The social context of sex work is a central theme. The stories of Lorraine and Betty in Love Patrol make it clear that it is socio-economic disadvantage and gender inequality that impels many women to sex work in Melanesia. In bringing these issues out into the open Love Patrol presents sex workers as women who are trying to earn a living to support themselves and their families, an alternative representation that challenges prevalent stereotypes.

Sex work is widespread in Melanesia and the conditions underwriting it include unequal gender relations, women’s social and economic disadvantage, the effects of urbanisation, and rapid economic and social change (Jenkins, 2007; McMillan & Worth, 2011a, 2011b). Negative perceptions and social rejection directed at people who sell or exchange sex in the region have been amply noted (UNAIDS Pacific region, 2009; UNFPA, 2011). Further, generalised assumptions and moralities about sexual behaviour (including sex work and sexual exchange) permeate HIV prevention in the region (Lepani, 2012, p.31), yet this does not mesh well with the diversity of Melanesia

55 There are also men and transgendered individuals who sell sex in the region (Kelly et al., 2011; Vanuatu Ministry of Health & SPC, 2009) but as the sex worker characters in Love Patrol are both women, this chapter will focus on women who sell sex. 206

in which various forms of sexual exchanges are key to cultural practice (Wardlow, 2006). Consequently, Melanesian societies have many negative associations surrounding the exchange of sex for money and these are constantly reinforced by media coverage that represents sex workers as sinners who are criminals. This is the context into which Love Patrol introduces a sex worker as a central character, and uses the unexplained death of a young woman who sells sex as a key storyline for the third season of the show. In this chapter I argue that Love Patrol uses specific representational strategies to challenge dominant discourses of sex work. Further, that this portrayal stimulates dialogue and debate on sex worker issues and evidences a more nuanced perspective on the sex work issue. Finally, I examine the impact of Love Patrol on affected communities and contend that it supports the agency of Melanesian women who sell sex.

The sex worker stereotype

Negative representations of sex work and sex workers in mainstream media in Melanesia maintain an environment of stigmatisation. The dominant representation and framing of sex work is overwhelmingly negative; of criminality, of sex work as morally reprehensible, degrading and disempowering and stigma attached towards anyone associated with it (UNFPA, UNAIDS & Asia-Pacific Network of Sex Workers [APNSW], 2012). A sample of recent headlines from media outlets in the region typify this representation: “Young girls lured into illegal activity” and “A special evil”, Fiji Times 22/12/10; “Sex ring under watch” Fiji Times 26/1/11; “More PNG women engage in sex trade” Islands Business 28/1/11. These headlines were clearly designed to grab attention, the language used is judgemental and emotive and indicate the stereotypes prevalent in reporting. Where sex workers as individuals are mentioned, it is either as a victim who is lured or forced into sex work or of a criminal causing harm to the moral fabric of society. Media coverage, particularly in Fiji, is also characterised by tales of victimhood. Sex workers are also frequently used in images implying they are repositories of disease and infer blame for HIV infections (UNDP, 2009). Biomedically grounded technical discourse, driven by international donor funding, informs the social representations of HIV in Melanesia and the language of prevention campaigns. These approaches are having little success in Melanesia however, where prevention messages do not coincide with the cultural realities (Eves & Butt, 2008, p.

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6), including the other meanings that the exchange of sex for money has in the local context (Wardlow, 2004). Such prevention campaigns also continue to reinforce harmful stereotypes; dramas, brochures and posters link HIV with illicit sex and sex workers, reinforcing the notion that sex workers are to blame for the spreading of HIV (McPherson, 2008).

As argued in Chapter 2, negative media framing perpetuates and reproduces stigma and prejudice. The way the regional media portrays sex work is a prime example of framing (Edelman, 1993; Entman, 2004) whereby a selective description of the issue of sex work promotes an interpretation of immoral criminal activity that is against the culture of Melanesian Christian countries. Media coverage has been characterised with few exceptions by indifference to the broader story of sex workers and a failure to examine the critical facets of social and economic disadvantage, driving forces of much sex work in Melanesia. Love Patrol attempts to counter this trend by exposing the social realities of many women who are involved in sex work.

The power of defamatory words and negative framing has been very effective in the process of socially excluding sex workers in Melanesia. Stereotypes of sex workers as immoral women engaging in illicit sex and as sources of HIV abound, and make them easily dismissed and easily held responsible for HIV infection (Meleisea, 2009). Stereotyping is a signifying and exclusionary practice, which reduces sex workers to a few simple essential characteristics that are represented as fixed. Stereotyping thus reduces, essentialises, naturalises and fixes ‘difference’ (Hall, 1997b, p. 258). In stereotyping, the ‘normal’ and acceptable is divided from the ‘abnormal’ and the unacceptable, symbolically fixing boundaries and excluding anything or anyone that does not belong. It is part of the maintenance of social and symbolic order, thus it tends to occur where there are inequalities of power (Parker & Aggleton, 2002, 2003). Power subordinates and excludes certain groups, in this case sex workers. In unequal societies, interlocking symbolic, material and institutional dynamics ensure that inequalities are perpetuated (Bourdieu, 1984, 1989). Symbolic power is the exercise of representational practices and stereotyping is a key element in the exercise of symbolic violence. The media plays an important role in setting local norms about how sex workers are viewed and treated (UNFPA, 2011) and there is a need for dominant constructions of sex work

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to be challenged in order to foster a dialogical space for sex workers (Basu & Dutta, 2008). This is where Love Patrol may play a unique role.

Re-presentation of sex workers: Love Patrol’s portrayal

In presenting the stories of two characters who sell sex, Love Patrol attempts the complex task of countering the reductive stereotypes of Melanesian sex workers. Research, the local context and contacts with sex workers are drawn on to ground the stories of Lorraine and Betty in real life. Wan Smolbag has a sex worker outreach project that has been operating since 2008, through which sex workers are employed as peer educators. The organisation has also undertaken research with sex workers at a local level (Bulu, Gold & Sladden, 2007; van Gemert, 2013) thus the storylines are developed from a sound base of local knowledge. Interestingly this has resulted in the portrayal of two very different sex worker characters in Love Patrol: Betty is presented as a victim of circumstances with a history of childhood trauma that drives her to sex work, whereas Lorraine is a strong and defiant character, apparently making a conscious choice to sell sex to earn a living.

Betty’s story is revealed postmortem, via a series of dreams and remembrances of her friend Lorraine. Young and attractive, Betty draws the attention of many men, especially older men of means including white men, who like to spend time with her, buy her drinks, gifts and more. Lorraine’s dreams gradually take us deeper into Betty’s life, to reveal that her back story is also one of abuse; following a series of rapes by her stepfather in the islands viewers learn that she runs away to town. Betty finds herself with nowhere to live and no way to earn an income, yet wanting to send money back to the islands for her brothers and sisters so they can stay in school. She meets Lorraine who takes her under her wing and shows her how to earn money by selling sex. Betty goes back to the islands to visit her siblings but is raped by her stepfather again; she returns to town and finds herself pregnant with her stepfather’s child. She cannot bear the thought of having the baby and convinces Lorraine to help her try to abort it, and Betty dies in the attempt.

The characterisation of Betty, although undertaken through a desire to generate empathy within audiences, is problematic as it serves to reinforce notions of sex worker as

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victim. It may also be misleading for audiences, as childhood trauma as a driver for sex work does not appear to be true for most sex workers in Melanesia. There is a small but slowly growing body of research on the lived experiences of sex workers in the region that indicates financial need as a key driver for sex work (Kelly et al., 2011; McMillan & Worth, 2010; McMillan & Worth, 2011a). Only a small number of women had been sexually abused by family members, which led to later acceptance of money for sex (McMillan & Worth, 2011a), although factors of abuse and family breakdown were found to be reasons for young women moving to town, where they engaged in sex work (Jenkins, 1997; McMillan & Worth, 2010; McMillan & Worth, 2011a.) Wardlow (2006) presents an alternate perspective for one part of the highlands of PNG, describing how multiple forms of abuse in the home has lead to some Huli tribeswomen appropriating their sexuality for their own purposes. Hence, leaving to go to town and receiving money for sex can be an act of resistance and a denial of victimisation. In this setting, Betty’s character may resonate well with many women; yet this likely represents only a small proportion of those undertaking sexual exchange within Melanesia. Certainly this was not a finding of studies undertaken by Bulu, Gold and Sladden (2007) or Worth and McMillan (2011a) of sex work in Vanuatu, where Love Patrol is based.

Overall, Betty’s portrayal inadvertently falls into the trap of ‘victimhood’, particularly as this character’s death drives her storyline. This is not to say that elements of Betty’s story are not realistic to young women’s experiences in Melanesia. Sexual abuse perpetrated by male family members is documented as relatively common (Ellsberg et al., 2008; SPC, 2009b) as is unsafe abortions due to restrictive abortion laws (Ellsberg et al., 2008; Family Planning International, 2009). However, in attempting to address multiple issues through this storyline, the stereotype of sex worker as victim is supported. This is disempowering and builds on the discourse of women as victims in need of rescue and rehabilitation (Kapur, 2002).

Lorraine is a distinctly different character. Rather than a passive and an unsupported victim of fate, she is portrayed as strong and defiant, possessing agency. Although young, Lorraine is portrayed as having seen a lot of life and has a jaundiced view of men and their treatment of women. Similarly to Wardlow’s (2006) notion of a

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‘wayward woman’ (p. 23), Lorraine has chosen an illicit and stigmatised path and become sexually wayward. She spends time in bars with men, earning drinks, accommodation and money and for her company. Her characterisation appears to strike a balance between her vulnerability due to the stigma and social exclusion she experiences and by ensuring a degree of autonomy and agency and is shown. Although Lorraine appears in earlier Love Patrol series, she takes a central role in the third series whereby a major storyline unfolds about Betty’s (initially) unexplained death. Lorraine is the key character through which both her and Betty’s stories are told.

[Lorraine’s story] that has really helped me to see into the eyes of a sex worker… one thing I always promote is that they [people] really need to hear life experience, real experience of people who are sex workers … and the reason why they do sex work, to me that really helps people to understand. (Woman, 30 years, PLHIV network member & community sector worker, Fiji)

The stories of Lorraine and Betty provide a human face to women who undertake sex work. This is an effort to move audiences beyond stereotypes and facilitate viewer identification and the generation of affective ties with the characters. The labelling of women who sell or exchange sex as ‘prostitutes’ or ‘sex workers’ tends to define them solely as people who sell sex, effectively negating their lives and identities as mothers, sisters, daughters, girlfriends and wives (Jolly, 2012, p. 24). Once placed in the category of ‘sex worker’ they are separated from other sources of identity and henceforth stigmatised and degraded by definition and may be consigned to social death (Schoepf, 2001 p. 339). In contrast, Love Patrol’s portrayals emphasise the complexity of the social identity of sex workers and affirm their other connections to and roles in the social fabric. The show’s narrative provides an opportunity for audiences to hear their stories and learn about their lives and experiences.

Revealing the social context of sex work in Melanesia

The selling or exchange of sex is widespread in the Pacific, though not always in the classic sense of ‘commercial’ sex work. More organised sex work is most identifiable in larger towns and cities and around economic enclaves such as mining and logging 211

camps in PNG and the Solomon Islands (UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009); however, the vast majority of sex work is informal, taking a variety of different forms. Sex is exchanged for drinks, food, clothing or a non-specific amount of money, and the sex- for-money exchange can be for one occasion of sex or more long-lasting (Stewart, 2006; McMillan & Worth, 2010). Sex work may be driven by survival needs and family wellbeing. In some settings, it is tied to reconfigurations of the moral economy of social relations, kinship obligations, and emerging individualism (Wardlow, 2006). Furthermore, many women who engage in sexual exchange do not necessarily view themselves as sex workers (UNDP, 2009). There are blurred lines between ‘sex work’ as survival and young women wanting ‘nice things’, new clothes or a new phone, which can be purchased with money from a sexual exchange. This close relationship between casual sex and paid sex has been noted in a number of local studies (Bulu et al., 2007; McMillan & Worth 2010, 2011a), in common is the economic imperative underlying both.

Many women who engage in sex work in Melanesia do so as a result of the conditions imposed by socio-economic disadvantage and gender inequality. In much of the region, women have limited rights to property and there is a preference for educating boys rather than girls, which in turn leaves women with limited income-earning opportunities (Buchanan-Aruwafu, 2007; Labbé, 2011). Also influential is the effect of urbanisation and rapid economic and social change, particularly as it impacts on domestic relationships and responsibilities (McMillan & Worth, 2011a; Wardlow, 2006). In undertaking research for her role playing ‘Lorraine’ the actor spoke to sex workers in her own community to learn about their lives:

They’re single mums most of them…It’s really hard for sex workers, especially when they really want something that they can’t have so they’ll have to work for it and they can’t find a job and it’s very hard, and I’ve seen with the girls I’ve talked to, they want so many things for their kids. (Actor who plays ‘Lorraine’)

The drivers of women selling sex in Vanuatu, are centred on economic disadvantage and limited opportunities. Many Melanesian women who sell sex are supporting

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families; they may be sole parents or sole income earners within a family in the context of high rates of unemployment and a general lack of opportunities for women. Women, particularly in rural areas, are increasingly vulnerable to poverty and the effects of poverty. Much of women’s work in Melanesia is in the informal sector, such as markets and roadside selling, which yields low returns (SPC, 2010b). Women have a higher risk of poverty linked to labour force discrimination, lack of property rights, and heavy responsibilities with regard to subsistence farming, the household and the community (SPC, 2010b). In peri-urban areas, women and families experience cash poverty and hardship in squatter settlements as a result of unemployment and underemployment (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2012). These factors drive the sale of sex for survival and support of families. Love Patrol brings these issues out into the open.

Within Melanesia, the factors that lead women into sex work and sexual exchange for goods and money are commonly obscured by prejudice, moral indignation and general misinformation. Media representation of sex workers excludes the ways in which socio- economic disadvantage and gender inequality can impel women into sex work. The stories of the Love Patrol characters reflect those of many women within Melanesia, including their pathways into selling sex. The investigation of Betty’s death exposes a background of abuse and familial rejection.

At the police station Following the discovery of Betty’s body in the bush, the police bring Lorraine in for questioning. DETECTIVE: How long have you known her? LORRAINE: A few months. She’d been living in the islands. Her father died and then her mother married again. She didn’t like her stepfather. He treated her...bad. So she came here. DETECTIVE: Where did she live? LORRAINE: She stayed with family. DETECTIVE: Where do they live? LORRAINE: I don’t know. She didn’t get on with them...She came and stayed with me for a few weeks till she found a room. She kept moving from room to room…She didn’t always have money for rent. DETECTIVE: Did she work? LORRAINE: She had to eat. DETECTIVE: She worked with you? Lorraine nods and stares at the detective FEMALE POLICE OFFICER: How did Betty start [selling sex]? LORRAINE: She came into the bar one night with this guy. I found her outside; she was being sick and crying. She said he’d had sex with her and just walked away. I said at least get the guy to pay for it! DETECTIVE: Who was he?

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LORRAINE: I don’t know. She never saw him again. In a later scene, after Lorraine has identified Betty’s body she speaks to the female officer about Betty. LORRAINE: She was a good kid…I don’t hang around with the other girls. But I used to talk to her about everything. She had a bad time at home. FEMALE POLICE OFFICER: What happened? LORRAINE: Her mum remarried…her stepfather forced her to have sex with him. That’s why she came to town. Her mum didn’t want her in the house. FEMALE POLICE OFFICER: She threw her out? LORRAINE: She didn’t want to admit he’d done it…so she blamed Betty. And then when she went back last time...he forced her again. Like he’d done before… when she was just a kid. (Love Patrol series 3, episode 3)

The characters of Betty and Lorraine represent the socio-economic reality of many women in Melanesia who sell sex. Love Patrol’s fictionalised account is in keeping with research indicating the social context of sex work to be one of gender inequality, domestic violence, poverty, denial, and social exclusion (McMillan & Worth, 2010; UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre, 2011). Betty’s story of family breakdown, abuse, isolation and urban drift is similar to many stories from recent studies undertaken in both Vanuatu and Fiji on the experiences of women who sell sex whereby a move to an urban area is precipitated by an unsafe home or village setting (Hammar, 2008; McMillan & Worth, 2010; McMillan & Worth, 2011a). Exposing these stories in Love Patrol can develop audience understanding of what may lead someone into sex work.

We have a street very famous for prostitution, where you find all kinds of people… where people will go just to sneak about and doing prostitution and instead of laughing at them, taunting them, now [after Love Patrol] we know what they come from, their background. (Woman, 25 years, student, Lautoka, Fiji)

Betty’s story seems to resonate with audience members, enabling them to connect it to similar situations within Melanesian communities. Through the characters ‘Lorraine’ and ‘Betty’ viewers learn about the complex realities of the lives of women who sell sex, their economic disadvantage and limited opportunities, their pathways into sex work and their vulnerability. Love Patrol positions the activity of Melanesian women selling sex in a context of limited opportunity, unemployment, financial need, family breakdown and abuse.

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Well [Lorraine] she’s not doing it for fun! The mindset of many people is that they’re [sex workers] just doing it for fun, she’s from a very hard background, she’s earning a honest living I might say, and just supporting her family, she’s not trying to... she’s just trying to have a good life. (Woman, 35 years, receptionist, Suva, Fiji)

Lorraine’s portrayal enables her to be perceived as a young woman with hopes, dreams and struggles like any other. Audiences seem to identify with her efforts to try to earn money to survive in the difficult context of high unemployment, which is exacerbated by urban drift. As a result, this interviewee sees Lorraine as not very different from other women in the community, trying to earn a living and have a good life. Showing social groups such as sex workers in roles that are sympathetic and positive allows for identification by audience members and encourages respect (Huston et al., 1992). This ability for viewers to identify with Lorraine’s character is an important component in reducing prejudice. In revealing how viewers share values and goals with women like Lorraine, including the desire to be accepted and to contribute to family and society, understanding and empathy may be developed. These are key responses to engender more positive attitudes and behaviours towards marginalised populations (Stangl et al., 2010).

Efforts to facilitate identification with Lorraine’s character and engender understanding are not always successful however, with significant negative attitudes remaining amongst audience members.

With me, I don’t want to be close with people like Lorraine; they spoil their life, because here we call ourselves a Christian country. It’s true, life is hard, you have to find a way to survive, but there are many ways that you can find money, we can’t change anyone, but I don’t agree with this kind of people. (Woman, 40+ years, shop attendant, Vanuatu)

Although Love Patrol appears to have evoked recognition of the economic difficulties of urban life, this viewer’s opinion of Lorraine is still informed by a backdrop of church-influenced moralistic attitudes. Lorraine’s act of undertaking sex work is who she is, not what she does, resulting in strong disapproval redolent of social distancing 215

and marginalisation.

There are viewers for whom narrating the lived experiences of women who sell sex does appear to evoke reflection on what drives sex work, leading to identification and understanding rather than judgement and criticism. Consequently, Lorraine’s portrayal may change viewer consciousness about sex workers and perceptions of women who do it.

In real life she is…? (No, she’s an Actor) I really had no idea… because it makes it really real you know about sex work in the Pacific and sex work in Fiji, showing that this is what a woman would go through, this is how they… how people have the perceptions of sex workers and how you know we have that typical stereotyping of looking down at them and saying that they are the cause of all this eh, I think [Lorraine] she’s quite brave. (Woman, 54 years, Catholic Women’s League, Fiji)

The reality of Love Patrol is so potent that many viewers do not differentiate Lorraine as being a fictionalised character as opposed to an actual member of the community. The resultant identification and empathy developed from this perception can influence the existing stereotypes about sex workers that produce stigma (Schiappa et al., 2005; Slater & Rouner, 2002). In challenging preconceived notions of sex workers and facilitating critical reflection of existing stereotypes that cause community members to look down on them, the show appears to positively influence audience attitudes. As noted at the first Asia and Pacific regional consultation on HIV and sex work held in 2010, it is essential to ensure that local sex worker experiences are heard and addressed as policy makers, health providers and members of the community rarely understand the realities of sex workers’ lives (UNFPA, 2011). Exposing such realities opens up dialogue and debate on the complexity of the issue of sex work. The revelation and interrogation of the ‘bigger picture’ of why women may do sex work and the reality of their lives within Love Patrol creates opportunities for critical reflection and dialogue.

Lorraine shows an issue that is increasing in the country, we must not ignore it. I think the main message that goes out to those who are too 216

conservative and those who respect custom too much that it’s a real issue that exists in the community so we need to be aware of it and to address it… it’s taboo but I think it is good so that people in Vanuatu should know that there’s this kind of activity that is going on here. (Man, 32 years, government worker, Vanuatu)

Purchasing sex is common in Melanesia, yet despite the widespread nature of sex work by and large it is not talked about. Perceived as a social and moral transgression (Wardlow, 2004), discussion on this issue is traditionally proscribed. The very public portrayal of a sex worker character in a popular local television series exposes the reality and context of sex work occurring in local communities. Despite collective reluctance to admit its occurrence, Love Patrol viewers acknowledge that sex work is real and it is happening in their local context. Such recognition is a first step in addressing stigma and discrimination towards women who sell sex (Huston et al., 1992). The show seems to facilitate reflection on the need for acknowledgement, acceptance, and dialogue about the issue amongst community members. Once the social norm of silence is broken, dialogue becomes possible. Love Patrol puts sex work on the agenda, prompting people to think and talk about sex work that is occurring in their community and what may lead someone to undertake it.

That’s something that struck me about Love Patrol, it’s a small community, they have a lot of issues of their own …you have prostitution, I don’t think most of us would like to admit it happens… but I’m really happy it’s on screen because for me, I can see that the children will identify, because Lorraine herself looks very much a child, she’s very young and so they [children] actually see someone like that, they can start making that connection, so I’m happy that it’s out there, it’s on the screen, because for most prime years we don’t talk actively with the children to discuss these issues, that’s something that… culturally you just sort of draw the line, but it’s [Love Patrol] another form that it comes across. (Woman, 40 years, government worker, Fiji)

A common theme emerging from interviews was how Love Patrol has opened up space for and legitimised discussion of the sensitive topic of sex work, even between 217

generations. Where previously culture had prevented discussion, the show seems to provide a mechanism and a stimulus for dialogue to take place. Cultural proximity, character identification and perceived similarity lead to strong engagement between viewers and on-screen characters regardless of them being sex workers. This enables connections to be made between sex workers’ lives and their own lives, and those of their children. As discussed in Chapter 2, the media has an agenda-setting role, and this is a second-level affect of the agenda-setting function of Love Patrol (Usdin et al., 2004; Singhal, 2005; Singhal & Vasanti, 2005). Firstly, through its repeated discussion of sex work, the show tells the audience to think about women who sell sex. The second level suggests how people should think about the issue, and Love Patrol’s framing of sex work and sex workers represents particular explanations and interpretations to audiences (Entman, 1993).

The portrayals of Lorraine and Betty appear to stimulate conversations that examine the context in which the selling of sex takes place in Melanesian communities, a stark contrast to negative views that direct condemnation and blame towards sex workers. Discussion moves beyond the individual level to the social context, focusing on societal response and responsibility.

Interviewer: What do you think about the character ‘Lorraine’? We discuss that in church … in terms of economic injustice, if a woman is not able to work... gets married and then is married young and is not as educated and the husband leaves and she’s got children that she has to feed and clothe and take care of and she can’t get a good job and she can make money this way to provide for her family, rather than judging the morality of the work she does, to look at the desperation that the person is driven to and so from a Christian perspective we can handle that, we can address that and we look at the bigger issues, and we encourage our people to look deeper. That’s one of the challenges that we face as church leaders to try to encourage our members to look beyond the surface, to look at the person… and then to say it’s not just enough to tell them to get off the streets, we’ve got to find a way to make them be able to provide for their family. (Methodist church minister, Suva, Fiji)

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Lorraine’s story is being utilised in a church setting to explore the drivers of sex work and the ways in which women are vulnerable due to underlying social and economic factors. This is surprising considering that previously there may well have been moralising and judgement with reference to sex work in such a setting. The nature of Love Patrol’s representations seems to be able to tap into church notions of compassion and the fostering of Christian commitment of compassionate caring (Benton, 2008). Although this minister acknowledged the difficulties of talking about this topic, he was supportive of facilitating these discussions and helping his parishioners process the issues. In doing so, he is also encouraging the development of an understanding and empathetic response towards women selling sex in local communities. Respect and love for one another is a core value of Christianity, and it also underpins human rights thus an approach which leverages such notions has potential to engage religious institutions and their members in a positive way.

The televised portrayal of local sex worker characters appears to provide tacit permission for sex work to become a topic of conversation in a range of public forums. Growing attention to and community dialogue about the issue of sex work seemingly stimulated by Love Patrol has led to it being picked up by other media outlets within countries. In Vanuatu, after the airing of episodes featuring Lorraine and Betty, sex work became a topic for talkback radio:

These things came out because of Love Patrol, because it’s been bombarding them over the last months and they say, ‘hey we need to do a talkback show on this and see what people think’. It’s brought things up to the surface…One of the comments on the talkback show the other day was ‘yes it may not be prostitution as we understand it in the legal form, but it’s happening, it’s for money or in exchange for goods’. The talkback that they did, people were talking more on the economic side of things, one old woman rang in and said ‘I’m 60 and I can go and sell some food in the market and this month I can get this much money and maybe you can do the same’, and some other one said, ‘No, there’s not enough jobs’. Listening, there’s a lot of comments, a lot of good comments you know, there’s a lot of contradictory comments but you could see where they’re

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coming from and also someone would respond saying ‘This is because A or B happened’… But they’re talking about it! (Ministry of Health staff member, Vanuatu)

Against all probability within a culture of silence on such issues, Love Patrol has enabled debate on the context of sex work in the public forum of talkback radio. Unprecedented public dialogue amongst different sectors of society ensues. The show’s representation of the complexity of the issue of sex work seems to facilitate the sharing of different perspectives. Rather than focusing on morals or social transgression, the debate described by this interviewee centred on socio-economic disadvantage and the vulnerability of women. The broadened notions of sex work indicated by this debate suggest a more nuanced discussion of sex work and its drivers is enabled. Love Patrol has made the social context of sex work publicly visible in a manner that seems to encourage more balanced commentary in the media; this is a key function of its role as an advocate and agenda setter (Wallack, 1990). This is critically important in order to sensitise communities about the issues of women in sex work and to encourage reflection on societal attitudes and biases.

Love Patrol’s inclusion of sex worker characters and storylines generates controversy. Different perspectives are brought to the fore, including more entrenched traditional views:

With Lorraine, it is a choice, and how does the community deal with people like Lorraine if we want to be a respectable society... we say that Vanuatu is a Christian country so together as a community… how do we deal with people like Lorraine? I mean I don’t appreciate what she’s doing but it is to the society to look at how we are going to deal with that situation. (Woman, 60 years, bank worker, Vanuatu)

As argued earlier in this chapter, the media portrayal of sex workers strongly affects community opinion on the issue of sex work. Sex work is often simplistically framed as a choice within the popular media without reference to the social, economic and political forces that hinder women’s work choices. Consequently, Lorraine makes a choice, consciously or unconsciously, among an available set of structurally provided

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alternatives (Hays, 1994). This interviewee expressed a popular community view perpetuated by prevalent mass media coverage, that strict enforcement of laws and associated punishments is needed to dissuade women from exercising the immoral option of engaging in sex work. In the region the traditional response to prostitution is almost wholly punitive, involving arrest and incarceration (Stewart, 2005, 2006; UNDP, 2013; UNFPA, 2011). This strategy is based on the assumption that if women are punished harshly enough for participation in sex work, they will be persuaded to leave it and adopt alternative ways of providing for themselves and their children. Such an approach is fundamentally flawed as it ignores the economic and social constraints that determine many women’s choices about sex work.

Audiences do appear to be responding to the more complex representation of sex workers offered in Love Patrol though with many viewer responses demonstrating a growing understanding of why women like Lorraine may choose sex work.

Like Lorraine, we all have our back, behind, stories behind to be it [a sex worker]. It doesn’t happen anybody to want to be it, no, no, it’s got a lot of reasons, and with those reasons, … we can always make a stop to it if we all help each other for that reason not to start…. (Woman, 35 years, receptionist, Fiji)

Love Patrol seems to encourage viewers to look beyond the activity of selling sex to develop some appreciation of the context in which one might undertake sex work, thereby enabling them to understand Lorraine’s situation. For this interviewee, the focus is community responsibility; the need for the community to play a role in preventing the conditions that may lead someone to undertake sex work. Consequently, in engaging with the social context of sex workers in Melanesia, Love Patrol may enable audiences to look beyond individual behaviours and practices to consider the need for community level approaches focusing on the social drivers of HIV in line with social and structural approaches to prevention (Auerbach, 2009; Auerbach et al., 2011).

Women who sell sex in Melanesia are subject to disapproval, labelling and blame, not only for their own behaviour but also of that of others, particularly men (Hammar, 2010) and this is also reflected in viewer responses to Lorraine.

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When Lorraine comes with her lifestyle like that, it will make people fail [to uphold moral behaviour] because of the attraction of Lorraine …That short period they got rid of the good thoughts in them and they fall down as Lorraine is making them fall, that is what I see. When she comes the thinking of some of the men who are in this world is affected and they fall down. (Man, 43 years, manual labourer, Vanuatu)

This framing of sex workers as responsible for the behaviour of men and infidelity is not uncommon in public discourse within the region. Women are blamed for accepting money for sex as if only they are responsible. This interviewee attributes men’s failure to remain morally upright to women such as Lorraine; she spoils their ‘good thoughts’ and influences their behaviour. The above quote exemplifies the blame that is attributed to women who sell sex and to women generally. This ties into what Cummings (2008) terms a “gendered culpability” within Melanesia (p. 134) and illuminates the underlying assumption “that it is the duty of women to protect the sexual morality of society” (Jayasree, 2004, p. 65). It is women who are blamed if norms of socially appropriate sexual behaviour are not upheld, with women like Lorraine and Betty held responsible for the decisions and behaviour of men. In the prevailing culture of masculinity in Melanesia, men are deemed to have difficulty controlling their sexual urges, allowing them to be absolved from responsibility for their behaviour (Meleisea, 2009), particularly when they are away from home and ‘in town’. Within Melanesia, notions of women living in urban areas as sexual predators are not uncommon (Keck, 2007) and these ‘promiscuous’ women are also frequently characterised as ‘preying’ on married men (Hammar, 2008). In addition, women who sell sex are seen as a threat to men as they appear economically independent and to have power, refusing to submit to men’s control (Stewart, 2012, p. 228).

The ideas of higher status groups dominate the social representations of HIV (Joffe, 2003b), often working against the best interests of disadvantaged groups such as sex workers. This is instanced primarily in the representation of sex workers as the vectors of HIV. As men have power and resources in patriarchal Melanesian societies, responsibility is deflected away from them. The pervasive social order feeds the social representation that blames women, particularly sex workers for the HIV epidemic. An

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analogy can be drawn to the ‘system justification’ function of stereotyping, a process whereby widespread ideas are used to justify existing status hierarchies (Howarth, 2006b; Jost & Banaji, 1994). Such widespread beliefs perpetuate a social order in which men are constructed as ‘innocent parties’ in the spread of HIV. A complex interplay of identity and power issues perpetuates existing values, norms and power relations (Ogden & Nyblade, 2005).

The tensions in the process of social change can be seen in the contradictory audience responses to Lorraine, between those viewers starting to see the broader social context and drivers of sex work and those who hold more traditional perspectives. The potential influence of Love Patrol’s alternate representation of sex workers must be viewed against a backdrop of culture and gender norms that support the excusing of men, and tradition which has been manipulated and reinvented to justify the suppression of women (Stewart, 2012, p. 228). Although there appears to be some evidence of shifting of beliefs amongst viewers, there remains an underlying sense of blame attributed to sex workers, particularly from men interviewed. This indicates that there remain significant gender issues to overcome in order to reduce the vulnerability of women to HIV; this is key to responding effectively to HIV in the region (Worth & Henderson, 2006).

Exposing the vulnerability of sex workers to violence and HIV infection

Sex workers face specific forms of social exclusion and work-related exposures that greatly heighten their health risks. Sex work is often associated with poor health, financial exploitation and physical and sexual abuse (UNAIDS, 2002, 2009b). These abuses are not necessarily intrinsic to sex work, but rather the manifestation of the prejudice experienced by sex workers where violence is seen as a form of punishment for transgressing socio-cultural norms (Stewart, 2012; WHO, 2005). Violence also needs to be understood in a wider context of gender inequality; women have unequal power in relationships with men and lower status in society in general in much of Melanesia (Jenkins, 2007; Meleisea, 2009; SPC, 2010b). The underlying structural vulnerabilities faced by sex workers due to their social and economic position are exposed in Love Patrol, as the reality of Lorraine’s life is laid bare.

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At the bar Lorraine is drinking at a table with a man MAN: I’ll take you for a drive later...I know a nice place. LORRAINE: A hotel? MAN: Somewhere nice and quiet, no-one there to bother us, no one at all. In a later scene it is early morning and Lorraine has returned to the settlement. She staggers into her room, very dishevelled. Her hair is a mess and she has mud on her face and clothes. She sits down and picks up a mirror to survey the damage. Her finger feels her face, stopping at a cut along her eyebrow. LORRAINE: Bastard! (Love Patrol series 3, episode 2)

Lorraine’s vulnerability to abuse and violence as a sex worker is revealed. Her experience is in keeping with research in the region that documents the frequency that women who sell sex experience violence related to sex work (Kelly et al., 2011; McMillan & Worth, 2010, 2011a, 2011b). They are made vulnerable to further violence through public identification as a sex worker, which is then used as justification for rape and sexual assault (McMillan & Worth, 2011b). Women such as Lorraine, who are seen as too assertive or too worldly, are often targeted through sexual violence that, in this context, is used as a form of social control (Wardlow, 2006). This combination of violence and HIV-related stigma and discrimination makes sex workers highly vulnerable to HIV and undermines broader HIV prevention efforts.

Scenes such as this raise awareness about the difficult conditions for sex workers and develop audience understanding of their situations. When asked whether Love Patrol made her think differently about anything, one interviewee responded: “Yes, about prostitution, it changes the mindset… now we know they have very unfair treatment” (Woman, 25 years, student, Lautoka, Fiji). Where previously social norms led to judgement and condemnation of women who sell sex, there are now audience members considering a different perspective. Notions shaped by prevalent stereotypes may be replaced by a new understanding of the context in which sex workers operate that expose them to risk.

I think it [Love Patrol] shines a new light on what sex workers go through eh, their life as a sex worker…I think it’s good because sex workers go through a lot of things, they’ve been treated badly and probably some have been exposed to the virus and they can speak from their own experience of

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how to handle a relationship with someone. So that’s what I think is important about the character as a sex worker. (Man, 24 years, office worker, Fiji)

Love Patrol appears to evoke audience reflection on the treatment that sex workers receive from both clients and community members. For this interviewee this also enabled a realisation of how sex workers are rendered vulnerable to HIV infection by the perpetration of violence, and how this was beyond the control of the individual sex worker. In triggering emotional responses amongst viewers, Lorraine’s narrative may challenge notions of blame directed towards sex workers. Narratives are able to illuminate issues and emotions, which assists viewers to reflect on an experience and interpret it (Ellis, 2006 p. 180).

Like for the prostitutes they [community members] sympathise with them now, I’ve seen the change, because before they comment “you deserve that because you expose yourself to the problem”, but now the ones that have seen [Love Patrol], they sort of have a different attitude towards prostitution… as to condemn, yes there is, but it’s not that strong as I expected it to be, the mindset, the attitude has changed … a few [sex workers] came to visit yesterday and my family, the younger generation of my family, they’ve changed their attitude, they were welcome “come, come, come, come take the seat” and they serve them, stopping whatever they were doing, that was not what happened before … (Health worker, Suva, Fiji)

By exposing the reality of sex workers’ lives through Lorraine’s story, an understanding of their vulnerability may be developed and social norms challenged. This health worker reflected on changes in attitude he has seen amongst his own extended family and community. As community members became emotionally engaged with Lorraine and Betty and identified with their difficult circumstances, empathy was developed. Where previously there was blame and dismissal, sex workers seen as ‘deserving’ HIV or other negative consequences of their sex work activity (abuse, violence), there is now

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greater understanding of the situation of sex workers. He further contends that this has affected change in how sex workers in his own community are received.

Moving beyond blame

Women who sell sex are blamed for spreading HIV in many parts of the world, including in the Pacific region (PIAF, 2011; Kelly et al., 2011; Stewart, 2012). While the societal rejection of certain social groups such as sex workers may predate HIV, the disease has, in many cases, reinforced this (Jenkins, 2000). This is exacerbated by the simplistic and reductive notion of transactional sex used in HIV prevention discourse which disregards the complexities of Melanesian sexual cultures and the informal exchange economy, where sexuality is valued as a form of social capital (Lepani, 2012; Wardlow, 2006). Love Patrol represents attitudes of rejection and blame towards women who sell sex within scenes in the show:

Settlement road Lorraine walks down a settlement road. Some young men are sitting on the side of the road and see her. YOUNG MAN: Hey darling! LORRAINE: Go hang yourself! YOUNG MAN: How much? LORRAINE: More than you’ve got! YOUNG MAN: You should come to the church listen to the AIDS woman! LORRAINE: What? YOUNG MAN: The woman with AIDS is talking at the church there…you could use the information! (Love Patrol series 2, episode 7)

This scene reflects the reality of how sex workers are commonly linked with HIV within Melanesia. Still prevalent in the region are the popular and influential beliefs that construe prostitution as the source of HIV infection (Stewart, 2006; Labbé, 2011) and sex workers blamed for its spread. Predominant media coverage goes a long way towards maintaining this association with HIV and responsibility for having brought HIV into an island or village (Stewart, 2012). Sex worker HIV vulnerability is a reality; for many women who sell sex, social exclusion and health risk converge in HIV infection. While data for all countries in the region is not available, in PNG studies have found HIV infection rates up to 19% amongst women who sell sex in Port Moresby (Kelly et al., 2011), which is much higher than the general population. Yet

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despite the available evidence, sex workers remain relatively neglected by HIV prevention programs within the region (Aggleton et al., 2011; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009; UNFPA, 2011). The challenge lies in facing the reality without blaming sex workers. Sex workers are vulnerable to HIV infection for a range of socio-structural factors and circumstances beyond the control of individual sex workers (McMillan & Worth, 2010). There is a tension here in trying to represent such vulnerability yet undermine the stereotype of sex workers as the source of infection. In engaging with a number of the conditions that render sex workers vulnerable to HIV infection, the Love Patrol narrative attempts to move audiences beyond the rhetoric of blame.

In addition to highlighting the vulnerability of sex workers, another approach employed by Love Patrol to reframe the relationship between women who sell sex and HIV is the re-presenting of sex workers as condom users.

When Lorraine is walking past those boys and they make those comments about her and HIV, this is very common in Fiji and a misunderstanding to say that sex workers are the ones spreading HIV…there’s a lot of stigma against sex workers here in Fiji, we’re seen as HIV carriers but in fact more sex workers are practising safe sex and using condoms than anyone in the community. (Sex worker, Sekoula project56, Fiji)

This interviewee is well aware of the prevalent community attitude that links the transmission of HIV to sex workers, thus Love Patrol’s depiction of sex worker condom use is highly valued. Although sex workers in some settings may be using condoms, this is by no means consistent across Melanesia57, with very low use reported in transactional sex in Vanuatu (van Gemert, 2013). The introduction of positive images linking sex workers and condom use in Love Patrol is a counter-strategy to intervene in the dominant regime of representation (Hall, 1997b). Scenes show her requesting condoms from a peer educator and also assertively stating to a client that he has to use them.

56 Sex worker outreach project, Lautoka, Fiji 57 In PNG, 37% of sex workers used a condom every time for vaginal sex, 30% for anal sex (Kelly et al., 2011); in Vanuatu condom use was much lower, with only 7.5% of sex workers reporting consistent condom use with transactional partners (van Gemert et al., 2013). 227

A bar at night Lorraine and a man sit at a table. A peer educator passes by distributing condoms. PEER EDUCATOR: Want some condoms good people? MAN: No. PEER EDUCATOR: You don’t want to pick something up or get the lady pregnant. MAN: Get lost! The peer educator moves onto the next table. LORRAINE: You heard what he said. You have to use them. MAN: Not me baby. I’m clean... look at me… Lorraine leaves the table and goes to the bathroom. A girl is combing her hair in the mirror and Lorraine walks to the sink where there’s a basket of female condoms and she picks one up. GIRL: You use those things? LORRAINE: They’re good. You put it in before you have sex and the guy doesn’t even know. I’m not going to let some guy make me pregnant. Lorraine walks into a toilet stall holding the packet. The girl picks up one of the condoms and looks at it with interest. (Love Patrol series 3, episode 2)

Notions of sex workers spreading HIV are challenged through scenes depicting Lorraine as a condom user and advocate; assertively speaking to clients of the need to use condoms and talking to other young women about female condoms in a nightclub bathroom. The existing negative imagery of sex workers as vectors of disease that dominates popular representation is contested by substituting ‘positive’ images of sex workers as safe-sex advocates (Hall, 1997b). Such depictions appear to be having some effect on audience attitudes.

…Ok so she’s a sex worker, I still think it’s good [that she’s in Love Patrol] because especially in PNG … I think most of the sex workers they do use condoms but people when they see them they see them as ‘these people are the ones spreading the disease’ which might not be true, so in the show it’s good, so people will have a different view about sex workers. (Woman, 29 years, technician, Goroka, PNG)

Lorraine’s representation begins to link sex workers and condom use in the minds of audience members. Once viewers begin to question assumptions, stereotypes begin to break down and the stigmatisation of sex workers may also lessen. However, the positive imagery introduced by Love Patrol circulates in a context of overwhelmingly negative stereotypes. Adding positive images to the largely negative repertoire of the dominant regime of sex worker representation increases the diversity of the ways in 228

which sex work is represented but does not necessarily displace the negative (Hall, 1997b, p. 274). The condom-using safe-sex advocate we see in Lorraine will likely still appear as an immoral, ‘polluted’ sex worker stereotype in other media and programs in the region. A particular challenge is replacing negative images within HIV prevention programs themselves. McPherson (2008) describes an HIV drama performed at a large community gathering in rural PNG whereby a Provincial AIDS Council58 trained troupe acts out a story of a husband travelling to an urban area for work where he is ‘lured’ by a predatory sex worker, and afterwards returns home, eventually becomes ill, is diagnosed with AIDS and dies (p. 229). The training of community theatre groups has been a key initiative in PNG’s prevention response (Corrigan, 2006); hence more than one group has likely enacted this drama in a number of provincial communities. This example is indicative of how awareness activities may continue to reinforce notions of sex workers as immoral women and sources of HIV, rather than women who are earning money to support their families (McPherson, 2008).

Locating sex worker vulnerability as a community concern

[Lorraine] her character is really good…like from what I see it makes people to realise that in reality they do have people like this and sometimes it will also challenge someone that they’re not far off, they’re here, they’re part of us, meaning that they’re part of your family already so why deny or ignore the fact. You that can point the finger and say out there, when you actually have them close to you, so start thinking of this, what do we do about a situation like that, it’s a really good way of making people look and understand the real situation especially the sex worker (Man, 31 years, NGO worker, Port Moresby, PNG)

Love Patrol’s portrayal seems to bring the reality of sex work activity home. Whereas previously the selling of sex was considered to be the ‘other’, rather than ‘us’, a process whereby people distanced themselves from the issue, there now appears to be a growing acknowledgement of the reality of sex workers within local families and communities.

58 Provincial AIDS Councils or PACs are local level representatives of the National AIDS Council Secretariat, performing leading and coordinating functions of HIV responses at the provincial level. 229

This locates sex work, the drivers of sex work and the vulnerability of women who sell sex as a community concern, potentially facilitating community ownership of the issue and participation in the response.

As argued in Chapter 4, Love Patrol situates HIV as a community concern and harnesses cultural traits for HIV prevention through reminding and affirming to audiences cultural norms of shared responsibility. In portraying Lorraine and Betty’s isolation Love Patrol illuminates the social processes at work which create HIV vulnerability (Kippax, 2012).

When I was watching I said ‘where’s the parents and how come nobody came to talk to her [Lorraine], or any family came and talked to her or even the police, when they were searching for her, the police would go to the pastor, but where’s the family? If she was nurtured and cared for properly by her parents I think maybe her life would have been good, better, and even the pastor wouldn’t pay any visit, to visit her or invite her to come in or give her counselling or anything, no one is really helping her…I hope that someone will come to her and help her. (Woman, 35 years, waitress, Vanuatu)

[Betty] she got pregnant but you know what, she wasn’t expecting the pregnancy. (It was the stepfather) Yes – there was a dream she said to her mother ‘you should have welcomed me home, protected me, disregard or forgive me for what I’m doing but you got cross with me and send me out’ you see the mother is not doing the right thing, that’s one of the problems, so that’s what this [Love Patrol] shows. And that applies to the families in the settlement who is doing that. (Man, 39 years, unemployed, Port Moresby, PNG)

Viewers seem to recognise Lorraine and Betty’s isolation. Family and community support, usually a feature of Melanesian society, is readily identified as lacking and this may lead to a critique of the community response to these young women. Empathy requires a deep sense of connection with that individual’s situation (Campbell & Babrow, 2004), and this is in evidence in these viewers’ engagement and emotional 230

involvement with these characters. For the community leader, his engagement with the character of Betty enables translation from the screen into the local context as he considers women in similar situations in his own community. This capacity of the characters to foster empathy in audiences is critically important, as it has been found to be key in reducing stigmatising attitudes and behaviours (Stangl et al., 2010) and potentially affecting change in local communities. In drawing on cultural values Love Patrol elicits critical reflection and social critique of local practices and changes that may be needed.

Supporting sex worker agency

In contrast to prevalent stereotypes, Lorraine provides an alternative representation of a Melanesian sex worker. Campbell (2000) argues the need for more nuanced accounts of the lives of women who sell sex that puts more focus on women’s strengths and resources, rather than solely focusing on their oppression (p. 482). At a more subtle level, the show indirectly serves to promote a more open recognition of sex work as valid labour and may create a sense of legitimacy amongst women who sell sex.

There’s a sex worker that’s being acknowledged in a piece of mass media on TV, they [sex workers] can see a sex worker, people are talking to the sex worker, life is happening for the sex worker, it’s not hidden…I think using the mass media and having a sex worker in that role [Lorraine] is really important. (Peer educator, sex worker outreach project, Port Moresby, PNG)

Within Melanesia women such as Lorraine who do sex work are frequently forced to hide the nature of their work in order to conform to social norms. Although much sex work in the region is driven by poverty, lack of opportunity and family breakdown (exemplified by the character of Betty), there are alternative routes into sex work. We are not told how Lorraine entered sex work, but she may represent women in the region who sell sex in an effort to achieve a form of independence and autonomy from men, kinfolk and traditional systems that narrowly define their roles and restrict their access to resources. Sexuality can be seen as a resource for female agency; Wardlow (2004, 2006) has described how ‘passenger’ women in PNG undertake sex work as a means of

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autonomy through the appropriation of their sexuality and it’s sale as a resource. This is conceptualised by Wardlow (2006), as ‘negative’ agency59; in exchanging sex for money these women deny their male kin access to bridewealth to which they would otherwise be entitled (pp. 163-164). In Vanuatu women sell sex to break from the restrictions of traditional or conventional womanhood and to earn money in order to have independence (Bulu, Gold & Sladden, 2007; McMillan & Worth, 2011a). Thus Lorraine’s motivations for engaging in sexual exchange may be economic; equally they may be in order to attain (and maintain) freedom and independence. Regardless of her reasons, Lorraine’s portrayal seems to appeal to sex-worker viewers.

The sex workers … I think they were actually quite encouraged by it [Love Patrol], like a lot of them are really… they feel strongly that sex work is work, that they want to be seen as people who are actually earning money rather than just begging and I think having their area of work highlighted in a piece of mass media gave them a sense of pride about it. (Project officer, sex worker outreach project, Fiji)

Sex work as an income-generation strategy is an empowering and positive perspective for sex workers. Framing sex work as an active strategy for women who live in poverty, rather than as a moral weakness is an important feature of a strength-based approach (Dalla, 2000; Sallman, 2010), an approach that is only recently gaining ground in the Pacific. The strengths perspective emphasises the individuals’ capacities, talents, competencies, possibilities and hopes. Important sources of strength are personal stories and narratives (Saleebey, 1996) and Love Patrol may provide such a narrative. These more positive representations highlight ‘assets’ which may form a starting point to achieve greater assertiveness and confidence among sex workers in relation to their sexual health even within the difficulties of their working conditions (Campbell, 2000; Moser, 1998). The need to recognise the skills and assets of sex workers and build upon the existing informal sex worker networks in the region has been identified (McMillan & Worth, 2010).

59 Negative agency manifests as “the refusal to cooperate with others’ plans and expectations as well as a kind of excision of a woman’s energies and skills from the social body” (Wardlow, 2006, p. 24). 232

In recent years consideration of sex workers’ issues within the literature has expanded to include the critical issue of rights, particularly in relation to health and violence. Love Patrol reflects this shift and encourages human rights dialogue through highlighting the abuse of rights that sex workers experience on a regular basis. A key area in which this occurs in Melanesia is with interactions with the police or in the case of Fiji, the military. This is vividly portrayed in a number of scenes in Love Patrol. In a scene where a man is holding Lorraine against her will, police officers arrest Lorraine ignoring the man.

At the police station The arresting officers bring Lorraine into the police station, but the detective confronts them on arrival, demanding to know why they have arrested her. DETECTIVE: Did you ask her [Lorraine] what was going on? MALE OFFICER: Any fool can see that! She’s a sex worker and she was after him for money. DETECTIVE: Did you take his name and address? Did you try and find out her side of the story, instead of guessing what was going on? Next time two people are fighting bring them both in!

Following the confrontation with the detective, the officer is sent to follow up on the murdered girl, Betty. He complains to another colleague about this assignment. MALE OFFICER: We can’t spend all our time on a dead prostitute who made porn films. (Love Patrol series 3, episode 9)

As a sex worker, Lorraine is immediately assumed to be at fault, with the male client escaping any attribution of responsibility or blame. Such assumptions and bias by police (or military) underwrite interactions with sex workers, or those presumed to be sex workers in many parts of Melanesia (McMillan & Worth, 2010; Stewart, 2006). Sex workers are frequently regarded as easy targets for harassment as they are considered as immoral and deserving of punishment. From the perspective of the male police officer, the murder of a sex worker (Betty) is not deemed as a worthwhile use of police time. Betty’s ‘spoiled identity’ (Goffman, 1963) so stigmatises her that she is seen as undeserving of basic human rights. The idea that sex workers are somehow ‘less human’ or at least not entitled to the same human rights as other community members is a commonly reported reality in the region (UNFPA, 2011). Scenes such as this seem to resonate with the lived experiences of local sex workers.

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Through the episodes the sex worker was arrested and went through the process of being charged and involved with police and things, and a lot of that is quite real for them [sex workers] for their daily life day in, day out. (Project officer, sex worker outreach project, Fiji)

Love Patrol scenes featuring Lorraine’s interaction with the police are particularly relevant in the context of Fiji where sex workers experienced elevated levels of harassment from the military following the new Crimes Decree in 2010 (McMillan & Naitala, 2011; McMillan & Worth, 2011b). In the above scene the detective challenges Lorraine’s treatment, and in doing so the issue of rights is raised. The portrayal of abuse of sex worker rights through a mass media product such as Love Patrol is extremely timely for the region as some countries are beginning to discuss decriminalisation of sex work (such as PNG) and sex worker groups mobilising for human rights (PNG and Fiji). “[Lorraine] she is good enough to talk with the policemen. She is strong, she fights for her rights” (Sex worker, Madang, PNG). Love Patrol is playing a role in supporting such debates by putting sex worker rights on the agenda. It remains to be seen whether this will play an influential role in countries such as Fiji where heightened human rights abuses and detrimental effects on HIV prevention have been documented since the criminalisation of a wider range of activities associated with sex work (McMillan & Worth, 2011b).

Sex worker communities in the region appear to admire Lorraine’s character for advocating her rights and the detective for his support. Love Patrol scenes promote sex workers rights whilst simultaneously providing a model for Melanesian police on upholding human rights.

[Love Patrol] is for the safety of the sex workers as well. At that time [in Love Patrol] the police is on the side of the sex workers. Sex workers need help from the police because they have equal right as any other human being has…That is why, in Madang today, we must talk for the rights of sex workers and we must ensure that many of our policemen and women must be on the side of the sex workers and must work to provide support and protect them and fight for the rights of the sex workers here. (Sex worker, Madang, PNG) 234

Lorraine she was very confident and she was talking to the policeman and certain that she had her rights as well, and the policeman… he didn’t come in a way to bash her up or treat her with bad words, but he was asking her politely just to get some information about the dead person, so there was something that it can really help our policemen in PNG because the sex workers here they feel… they have this fear, when they get rapes and other kinds of abuse they don’t attend to the policeman because of some attitude problem, so it’s very good, this movie here will really help our PNG cops really understand rights for everyone. (Peer educator, sex worker outreach project, Port Moresby, PNG)

Efforts to work with police are seen as critically important to sex worker rights and safety. As documented in Fiji, where organisations had worked with police to improve understanding about HIV prevention there were reduced reports of harassment or police brutality (McMillan & Worth, 2010). In PNG, the non-government organisation Poro Sapot60 is working with police to develop respect and improve their treatment of sex workers. Training of police is conducted on HIV and human rights, gender and violence, stigma and discrimination and other issues facing vulnerable populations such as sex workers (Save the Children PNG, 2009) and Love Patrol is now utilised as a resource in this training. Police interactions with sex workers have improved to some degree in those communities where police sensitisation has taken place (Godwin, 2010). The continuation and expansion of this work has been recommended in order to address the high rates of abuse experienced by sex workers in PNG (Kelly et al., 2011) and Love Patrol’s portrayals support this work.

Sex worker as educator

As argued earlier in this chapter, the character of Lorraine shows a great deal of agency with regard to condom use. She is portrayed proactively seeking out a peer educator to obtain condoms and assertively states to clients that they have to use them. In the scene in the bar described on page 228, Lorraine noted the client’s reluctance to use condoms and therefore took matters into her own hands by seeking out female condoms.

60 ‘Poro Sapot’ means peer support in Tok Pisin. Poro Sapot is a project of Save the Children, PNG which works with sex workers and MSM. 235

[Lorraine] she is a good character. She always used condoms with the clients. She distributed condoms and also she talked about the uses of condoms. She encouraged others to follow her, like for safety purposes. (Sex worker, Madang, PNG)

In taking a female condom and talking about its use Lorraine is performing an important educative role. In the eyes of her sex worker peers it appears she is seen as a consistent condom user and safe sex advocate. Peer educators and support workers see her as a positive role model, proactively protecting her health. Lorraine is a character who shows agency and promotes condom use whilst simultaneously debunking myths around sex workers spreading HIV. With research from Fiji indicating that sex worker peers are important facilitators of condom use (McMillan & Worth, 2010), this character has potential to positively influence safe sex practices amongst sex workers.

What Lorraine was doing will really help our sex workers in here in PNG to play safe sex, because even she was in a nightclub, she was drinking with the partner, but she walked into the toilet and picked up a female condom because she knew that the partner was not wanting to use the condom and she knows how to use the female condom. We have some sex workers who are really concerned about their life and they practise safe sex but there are some and they are under the alcohol, beer, they don’t think … so Lorraine’s picture will really help others. (Peer educator, sex worker outreach project, Port Moresby, PNG)

[Love Patrol] It helps the sex workers to remember to always take condoms along with them whenever they go out to a party. When we want to go out with some men, we must make sure that we bring condoms along with us. That is for our own safety. When a man wants to have sex with you, ok, you bring out the condom and tell him to use it. If the man does not want to use condom then you have to refuse having sex with him. [Love Patrol] It’s good; it helps us to be conscious of our own lives and to protect ourselves. (Sex worker, Madang, PNG)

Sex workers and outreach staff identify the link between alcohol and unprotected sex 236

represented in the scene in the bar as a real issue which impacts on condom use. The agency exhibited by Lorraine’s character positively reinforces sex worker planning and preparation, carrying condoms for self-protection. The positive approach to HIV prevention used in the scene appeals to sex worker desires to look after themselves and take control of their lives (McMillan & Worth, 2011a). Campbell (2000) argues for the renegotiation of the social and sexual identities of women who sell sex in a way that increases their sense of control over their health and their motivation for them to protect it (p. 492). Love Patrol may provide a context for such a renegotiation to take place, particularly if it provides opportunities for members of sex worker communities to discuss and debate protective behaviours and negotiation at a collective level. Where Love Patrol is being utilised as a resource in interventions targeting women exchanging sex, it appears to be showing signs of success in this regard.

Anecdotal evidence infers the effectiveness of the [Love Patrol] tool as a glue that pulls community members to a strategic point where they are able to compare notes… Love Patrol has been effective in mobilising women exchanging sex in some of our project communities and empowering them to discuss issues relating to female condom use, violence in their communities, impact of alcohol on condom use, et cetera. (Prevention program coordinator, NGO, PNG, personal communication, 25 March 2014)

This informant reports that in Goroka and Central Province PNG, Love Patrol has enabled sex workers to meet regularly and participate in collective dialogue and peer support. With this project working across 11 provinces in PNG, there is potential for this approach to spread to further sites and engage women who exchange sex at a local level, providing support for sex worker agency.

Although a powerful scene for condom promotion, one critique of this scene is the way condom use is framed more in the context of contraception rather than reinforcing their role in the prevention of HIV/STIs. The peer educator in the scene makes a subtle reference to STIs ‘you don’t want to pick something up’, but Lorraine only mentions pregnancy prevention to her peer in the bathroom. With research in both PNG and

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Vanuatu indicating some sex worker uncertainty about the protection from HIV afforded by condoms (Kelly et al., 2011; McMillan & Worth, 2011a), this is a missed opportunity within Love Patrol to make a strong link between condom use and the prevention of HIV and other STIs. This is particularly important as sex worker attitudes towards condom use are affected by awareness of the protection they provide (McMillan & Worth, 2011a).

Supporting health-seeking behaviour

Sex worker access to health care is a key right, yet one of the challenges in meeting the needs of sex workers is that stigma and discrimination tend to reduce support-seeking behaviour and health service use (PIAF, 2011; UNFPA, 2011). In Vanuatu, the character of Lorraine seems to be encouraging sex workers to seek advice and support. Since the start of Love Patrol series three airing on national television in Vanuatu (late October 2010), the actor who plays Lorraine has experienced sex workers seeking her out to talk about their lives and ask her advice:

I have had a few that are hanging around …asking about contraceptives and stuff…Maybe they saw the film, and they decided ‘oh we can talk to her’ so … They came to me and I explained and I told them we had a clinic down here [at Wan Smolbag], coz they’re too scared to go to anywhere… Interviewer: Do you think they’ll go to the clinic? Well I told them I’m not going to push them into doing anything, they know it’s safe and confidential, it’s free… Interviewer: It’s interesting that they sought you out, you particularly, not any other actor… I guess they came to me just because they related to me; otherwise they would have been too shy. (Actor who plays Lorraine)

Although a fictional character, Lorraine does not seem to be perceived as such by sex workers. Amongst the local sex worker community in Port Vila she is apparently considered a peer and approached as a trusted and credible source of advice. Sex

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workers are often fearful of accessing services lest they be judged and discriminated against (McMillan & Worth, 2010). Seeking ‘Lorraine’ out becomes a valuable opportunity for informal peer education and advice on accessing safe, non-judgemental services. This speaks to realism of the character and the level of identification that these women have developed with Lorraine on Love Patrol and this is not restricted to Vanuatu:

[Lorraine] she is a good girl. She is a sex worker too and she always carries condoms around with her. In the community she can sit with her friends and they can talk about how they can protect themselves from getting HIV or any other sexually transmitted infections. (Sex worker, Madang, PNG)

Sex worker viewer responses in other countries also seem to indicate Lorraine is perceived as a peer and a source of information and advice. Strong parasocial relationships are developed with her amongst sex worker communities, increasing the potential influence of her character. Viewers learn more from role models that they identify with, like, feel as if they know, or perceive to be similar to themselves (Bandura, 2002). When audience members identify strongly with characters there is potential for them to adapt their behaviour in order to emulate them (Brown & Fraser, 2004). This is a key point in terms of positively influencing condom use and support- seeking behaviour. It appears that advice from Lorraine may also lead to action. The clinic located at Wan Smolbag has noted an increase in the number of sex workers accessing services since Love Patrol series three aired in which Lorraine is a central character (Clinic statistics, Wan Smolbag Annual Report, 2010). “After [Love Patrol] there are more sex workers attending the clinic now, also ones coming for boxes of condoms and take it back to give to others, this is a change” (Clinic nurse, Wan Smolbag). Clinic nurses and peer educators who work with sex workers in Port Vila believe that the character of Lorraine may be positively influencing sex workers accessing services:

Sometimes it is hard for them [sex workers] to move forward but if they see in the picture, like if Lorraine does it, you won’t know how it touches

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them but they take a step forward and come [to the clinic]. That month the scene was on with Lorraine, a sex worker, I think they came because they saw it on the screen. (Peer educator, sex worker outreach project, Vanuatu)

Lorraine is seen as a motivating force and also role model for health seeking behaviours. Sex worker peers are important facilitators of attendance at testing and treatment services (McMillan & Worth, 2010) and the sex worker audience response to Lorraine supports the notion that highly proximate characters in a television series can play an influential role in modelling behaviours (Bandura, 2004; Brown & Fraser, 2004). Three years after Love Patrol series three was broadcast in Vanuatu, Lorraine remains a central character in the show, appearing in series four and five, and the Wan Smolbag clinic continues to see increased numbers of sex workers accessing services.

The role edutainment productions can play in empowering individuals and communities to question prevailing attitudes and take action to change social norms has been highlighted in other parts of the world (Usdin et al., 2004). Love Patrol may contribute to the creation of a more supportive environment for sex workers by challenging social norms that drive traditional judgemental, moralising responses towards women who sell sex in Melanesia.

Love Patrol makes me want to do more to promote how sex workers are not the ones spreading HIV, that we are using condoms and practising safe sex, more than anyone else in the community. I want to document our sex worker peer education project and show how we are advocates for safe sex. We need to do one about sex workers here [in Fiji] that would be good and might help reduce the stigma against us. (Sex worker, Sekoula project, Fiji)

Through televising the stories of sex workers, Love Patrol seems to have a motivating and inspiring effect on a sex worker support group in Fiji. Members have a desire to tell their own stories, highlighting their strengths and their survival skills. Their experience of positive representation in Love Patrol appears to be playing a role in reducing their

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sense of powerlessness and affecting their perceived collective efficacy. Love Patrol’s capacity to engage a sex worker community in such a way is important as effective responses are led by or continuously engage marginalised communities (Stangl et al., 2010). With the show’s success as a model there is the potential that Fiji sex worker projects may be able to access donor support to facilitate the development of their own stories and media products.

Conclusion

The media have the power to represent the world in certain ways and because there are so many different and conflicting ways in which meaning about the world can be constructed, it matters profoundly what and who gets left out, and how things, people, events, relationships are represented (Hall, 1997c).

Addressing HIV within the Pacific region requires a commitment to tackling the social marginalisation of sex workers. Sex workers suffer compounded forms of social exclusion, economic deprivation, and gender discrimination that translate into heightened health risks. Influential structures within society, such as the media, play an important role in setting local norms about how sex workers are viewed and treated; the media are on the ‘frontlines’ of the characterisation of issues (Ellis, 2006, p. 101) thus they are able to determine legitimacy and referee outcomes. Agencies in the Pacific have begun to advocate for programs to reduce stigma and promote acceptance of sex workers through media campaigns (UNFPA, 2011). Love Patrol is a fictionalised but realistic account of the negative reactions and discrimination perpetrated by community members and authorities, violence perpetrated by clients, and social rejection and isolation from community experienced by women who sell sex in Melanesia. In foregrounding sex worker voices in the show, Love Patrol challenges the dominant articulations of social reality, providing alternative perspectives and suggesting different interpretations of sex workers (Basu & Dutta, 2008). The show depicts the deeper lives and stories of women who sell sex in an effort to challenge the stereotypes associated with sex work and as advocacy for the general population, raising awareness of the

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difficult conditions for sex workers.

Those who sell and exchange sex have been relatively neglected in Pacific regional HIV responses to date (Coghlan et al., 2009; UNFPA, 2011). HIV and sex work interventions are significantly underfunded and there is inadequate coverage of sex workers by ongoing HIV prevention programs within the region (Aggleton et al., 2011; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009; UNAIDS, 2011, 2013; Worth, 2012). Love Patrol provides a mechanism for local sex worker voices and experiences to be heard, providing greater visibility of sex worker related issues. Effective approaches to HIV prevention in the context of sex work are those that recognise the realities of sex work and enable sex workers to protect themselves from the risk of HIV transmission (UNAIDS, 2009b). In providing a counter-representation (Hall, 1997b), Love Patrol opposes the hegemonic forces that restrict Melanesian sex workers to a reductive stereotype and works towards shifting community attitudes. Where previously sex workers were subjects of denigration and humiliation, Love Patrol facilitates viewer reflection on the isolation, lack of support and inequality which contextualise the lives of women who sell sex. I have argued that their characterisation as Melanesian women in difficult circumstances trying to live their lives invokes an audience response of understanding and empathy. This is achieved via the generation of ‘social proximity’ and processes of internalisation among viewers through the development of the sex worker back-stories; characters such as Lorraine turn the statistics of those who sell sex into individual women who are members of local communities. In revealing the context in which they undertake sex work and the reality of their lives Love Patrol is enabling a more nuanced understanding of sex work. I have argued that in revealing the social context of sex work and the reality of sex workers’ lives the show challenges negative social attitudes and begins to mobilise public opinion. It shifts beliefs away from blame and individual responsibility and concentrates attention on community responsibility. However, to achieve social change broader structural change is necessary. Interventions targeting structural level risk factors for sex workers have proven successful for increasing protective behaviours and decreasing HIV transmission (Baral et al., 2012; Ghose et al., 2008; Odek et al., 2009) and in highlighting sex worker vulnerability, Love Patrol may engender support for community-level approaches to HIV prevention that focus on social and structural constraints.

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For women who engage in sex work an environment must be created that empowers them to negotiate safe sex, maintain their health, and protects them from violence. These measures will achieve better public health outcomes and promote greater welfare in the general population by reducing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (Binagwaho et al., 2010). Raising awareness on sex work through media and storytelling in order to build an enabling legal and policy environment for sex workers in the Pacific is a key action point of the recent regional consultation on HIV and sex work (UNFPA, 2011). The capacity for positive media visibility to create change can be seen in efforts of sex workers in other regions; media debate in India prompted by a national conference of sex workers was followed by a campaign for decriminalisation of sex work and the acceptance of sex workers’ rights (Jayasree, 2004). The efforts of Love Patrol support the greater visibility of sex worker-related issues and may strengthen the capacity of Melanesian sex workers to speak out openly and advocate for their rights. Change through increased positive visibility and agency is beginning to happen in Melanesia, in early stages in PNG and to some extent in Fiji. In PNG an understanding of sex worker rights is growing and Friends Frangipani, the national network of sex workers, is actively advocating for law reform. In Fiji the establishment of two sex worker networks (Survival Advocacy Network and Pacific Rainbows) has resulted in capacity development and active participation in regional and national forums.

There is a critical need to foster and support sex worker organisations in order to create an enabling environment to reduce stigma and strengthen sex worker resilience. Involvement in a network or organisation has been found to reduce sex worker isolation and increase self-efficacy and the ability to gain control over their life (McMillan & Worth, 2010). Unfortunately in Fiji this has regressed recently under the new Crimes Decree that introduced heavier penalties for people associated with the sex industry, and there is mounting evidence of the harm to HIV responses caused by enforcement of these new punitive laws (UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre, 2011; McMillan & Worth, 2011b). Self-organising by sex workers is critical to the HIV response in the Pacific (UNFPA, 2011) and this needs much greater support within the region. Love Patrol is playing a role as a media vehicle, combating previous negative representations and advocating the rights of sex workers, and this can be powerful but also has

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limitations within the constraints of structural violence inherent in discriminatory laws and policies.

The next and final results chapter focuses on the transformative power of ‘Andy’, the first Pacific MSM television character. I examine the impact of the character at the personal level for the actor and at the broader MSM community level. I argue that Andy is mobilising MSM community and resistance in Melanesia.

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CHAPTER 8

UNLEASHING THE POWER OF RESISTANCE AMONGST MSM

Love Patrol is like a big thing, famous among the viewers here because of the characters that are on, and people are looking forward to watching the next episode and me I like it because of the new character of Andy. Andy was so great because he accepts who he is, you know just accept that he’s a gay. I like it because it’s getting to people’s mindsets, different thoughts coming in, before some were a bit stubborn about the gays in the country. (MSM peer educator, PNG)

Sexual stigma enforces the invisibility of sexual minorities and drives exclusion and inequality in many regions throughout the world (Caceres, Aggleton & Galea, 2008; Herek, 2004, 2007; UNAIDS, 2009a) and the Pacific is no exception. Love Patrol series three introduces a new character into the show, ‘Andy’, a peer education outreach worker who promotes safer sex and HIV awareness. Significantly, Andy is the first Pacific television character who is obviously same-sex attracted, his identity clearly articulated on the show. Such a character portrayal is crucial as stigma, invisibility and denial usually characterise the lives of men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Melanesian region. This chapter examines the manifestation of stigma towards MSM at both the structural and individual levels and how this is portrayed in Love Patrol. I argue that the character of Andy contests the invisibility of Melanesian MSM and the denial of their existence, and brings attention to issues of sexual stigma. I demonstrate how Love Patrol challenges stigmatising and exclusionary practices to promote tolerance and respect for the rights of MSM.

This chapter also examines the impact at a personal level for the actor who plays the character of Andy, how it has mobilised him as an advocate for MSM issues in the region. Furthermore, I demonstrate how in providing prominence and social status to MSM, this character impacts more broadly on marginalised MSM communities. I contend that Andy is playing a role in unleashing the power of resistance amongst stigmatised populations of MSM in Melanesia (Parker & Aggleton, 2003). To analyse

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the mobilising effects of this character I draw on Castells’ (2010) notions of identity, and in particular his focus on the collective identity among individuals and how it is formed in resistance to domination, arguing that Andy is emerging as a powerful resistance identity.

In order to understand the social invisibility and sexual prejudice experienced by MSM in Melanesia, I will discuss sexual stigma and its structural manifestations in the institutions of Melanesian societies. As I have shown in Chapter 2, stigma involves devalued differences that are seen as socially discrediting and are linked to negative stereotypes. Stigmatisation describes a systematic process of devaluation that is shaped by cultural and structural forces, a societal state of mind and a social dynamic. Sexual stigma is defined as the negative regard, inferior status and relative powerlessness that society collectively accords to any non-heterosexual behaviour, identity, or relationship (Herek, 2007, p. 907). It is socially shared knowledge about the devalued status of homosexuality, accordingly in Melanesia it is widely regarded that homosexual acts and desires, as well as identities based on them, are sinful, unnatural and sick (Jenkins, 2006). This shared knowledge constitutes stigma. Sexual stigma in the Pacific keeps MSM mostly hidden and their experiences negated by societies’ major institutions. When they have become visible they have usually been condemned, ridiculed or attacked (George, 2008; Herek, 2007). Consequently, sexual stigma functions “both to render sexual minorities invisible and to legitimize their ostracism and abuse” (Herek, Chopp & Strohl, 2007, p. 3). The internalisation of societal stigma results in sexual prejudice; an individual’s negative attitudes based on sexual orientation (Herek, 2004).

Stigma is defined in and enacted through social interaction and shaped by the socio- cultural context (Goffman, 1963; Pescosolido et al., 2008). As it is socially constructed its essence lies in the norms that guide behaviour, defining what is acceptable, customary or expected (Pescosolido et al., 2008). Sexual stigma creates the social context in which negative attitudes towards MSM are formed, maintained, expressed and changed. With an understanding of stigma as a social process, it follows that challenging stigma requires social action to change the attitudes that shape individual and community responses to non-normative sexuality. Addressing sexual stigma therefore requires engagement with culture, norms and shared beliefs. I examine how

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the character of Andy engages with social attitudes towards MSM and influences shared knowledge. I consider how a cultural product such as Love Patrol can create conditions that are conducive to the diminution of individual prejudice, and how individual attitudes may affect structural stigma.

The context of sexual stigma

Pacific cultures are many and varied and encompass a range of definitions and performance of gender and expressions of sexuality and sexual identity. Culturally defined transgender roles for men are found in Fiji Islands, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Marshall Islands and Tonga, but sexual activities also occur between men who do not identify as transgender or as ‘homosexual’, and who identify as heterosexual and have sex with women (United Nations, 1996). Despite this diversity extensive inequality exists with respect to expressions of non-normative sexuality and gender (Jenkins, 2006, 2007). Homosexuality is far from being accepted or even tolerated in much of the Pacific and largely remains taboo. Within Polynesian societies there exists a degree of acceptance of gender non-conformity with reference to transgender61 identities, yet this remains a site of considerable conflict and contestation, and does not encompass acceptance of sexual expression by these individuals (Besnier, 1994, 2004; James, 1994) and a recent greater ambivalence in attitudes has been noted (Schmidt, 2010). The sexual prejudice expressed towards contemporary non-normative gender identities is a product of complex social processes and circumstances. In many countries, increasing exposure to globalised discourses of homosexuality has coincided with HIV awareness and accompanying moral panic, which when coupled with strong Christian conservative morality has led to distinct disapproval of anything that might be interpreted as homosexuality (Schmidt, 2003, 2010; St Christian, 2002). As argued by Herek (2004) sexual prejudice is closely linked to beliefs about gender but ultimately it is sexual orientation that shapes contemporary sexual prejudice (p. 18) and this appears to be true in the Pacific context.

61 This term is used here for ease for reference, however it does not align well with indigenous expressions of gender and sexuality, locally referred to as fa’afafine in Samoa, fakaleiti in Tonga, akavaine in Cook Islands, pinapenaaine in Tuvalu and vakasalewalewa in Fiji. 247

While it is the case that in many parts of the region, sexual activities between men have been documented as ritual practices (Herdt, 1993, 1997) or in the cultural practice of gender liminality62 (Besnier, 1994) and although not explicitly acknowledged, there is a degree of tolerance towards sexual experimentation between young adolescent men (Besnier, 1994; Schmidt, 2003); it is also the case that communities across the Pacific have generally responded critically to those who choose to articulate homosexuality as a sexual identity (George, 2008 p. 164). The apparent simultaneous acceptance and marginalisation represents an odd paradox and means that engaging with the nature of sexual stigma in the Pacific is not a simple task. There appear to be multiple reasons for prejudicial attitudes towards homosexuality in most Pacific societies. These are not consistent across countries and cultures and include conservative Christianity, the intersection of traditional social norms of silence on matters of sex coupled with more recent understandings and enactments of sexuality.

Whereas homosexual behaviours may have existed in many societies, the idea that individuals are defined in terms of their sexual orientation is relatively recent (Herek, 2007). An important distinction is that customary same-sex sexual behaviour does not necessarily equate to the Western concept of ‘homosexuality’; same-sex relations as practised through initiation ceremonies in some Melanesian societies were not continued as part of day-to-day life, thus cultural categories for men who engaged in homosexual relationships did not exist (Herdt, 1993; Knauft, 2003; Morin, 2008). Across the Pacific it seems that it is the association with homosexuality that attracts condemnation. The adoption of identity based on sexuality is met with significant social disapproval and sanctions (Jowitt, 2005; Schmidt, 2010). Thus, homosexuality has been, and largely remains taboo and denied in Melanesia. A frequent reason for such denial relates to a narrative that holds that homosexuality is ‘Western’ in origin that it did not previously exist in Melanesia. While traditional same-sex practices did not have implications for personal or community identity, neither did they have any associated stigma (Jenkins, 2006). What seems likely is that sexual stigma itself is an import, with traditional values now frequently exploited to justify it (Plummer, 2001).

62 Described by Besnier (1994) as the “adoption by certain individuals of attributes associated with gender other than their own”. He contends that this is an activity “deeply embedded in the dynamics of Polynesian cultures and societies” (p. 285). 248

Like other forms of stigma, sexual stigma manifests itself both in the institutions of society and individuals (Herek, 2007). Within Melanesian institutions such as religion and law the inferior status of sexual minorities is legitimised. The traditional teachings of the Christian church that homosexuality and other forms of sexual diversity are sinful have played a significant part in shaping the attitudes and actions of society towards MSM and transgenders (Farran & Su’a, 2005; Jenkins, 2006). The increasingly conservative nature of Christianity taking a stronghold in the Pacific is contended as one of the factors driving the social marginalisation of non-normative masculinities (George, 2008; Schmidt, 2003). Representatives from many Pacific Christian churches voice strong opposition to tolerance of homosexuality, as evidenced by the Methodist Church in Fiji which organised anti-homosexual marches and called for homosexuals to be stoned to death (Pacific Magazine, October 2005). Conservative Methodist Church leaders, and political leaders via their influence, have been a source of much homophobic rhetoric in Fiji, deploying ideals of Christian morality to ‘delegitimise’ homosexuality and subordinate gay men (George, 2008 p. 164)63. However, there are leaders within Pacific churches who are now taking a more positive approach, advocating tolerance and acceptance; however, currently their voices are in the minority.

Discriminatory laws also feed the stigma against homosexuality in Melanesia. Almost all Pacific Island countries have laws that criminalise consensual sexual activity among persons of the same sex64. This has negative repercussions for HIV prevention. Where sex between men is condemned such practices are driven underground which considerably heightens HIV vulnerability (Stewart, 2006). Laws make it difficult to develop and implement effective long-term prevention, including the provision of condoms and lubricants, STI treatment and other harm-reduction measures (Ogden, Howson, Bockh & Tureski, 2011). The illegal status and social stigma of homosexual activity makes it difficult for men to disclose their sexual activity, and also deters them from accessing information on risk reduction or condoms, thus limiting their ability to

63 Thus although Fiji’s constitution recognises the rights of sexual minorities, this by no means translates into a supportive social and political environment for MSM and transgenders. 64 A recent exception is Fiji, where in early 2010, a law decriminalising consensual homosexuality was passed through the Fiji National Crimes Decree. With this legislation Fiji became the first Pacific Island nation with colonial-era sodomy laws to formally decriminalise sex between men. How this will be applied in practice and what impact it will have on reducing stigma and discrimination within Fiji is yet to be seen, however. 249

practise safe sex (Caceres et al., 2008). Social, cultural and legal barriers to the acceptance of MSM have created enormous problems for HIV prevention (Jenkins, 2006), yet despite this situation few initiatives have addressed sexual stigma and prejudice in Melanesia. Consequently, the introduction of an MSM character into Love Patrol is significant and presents an important opportunity to challenge the repression and denial of homosexual activity. And despite the anti-sodomy laws the show, inclusive of its MSM character, has thrived.

In addition to culture and religion, patriarchy is another key factor in stigma and prejudice as experienced by Melanesian MSM. Research indicates a close association between sexual prejudice and aggressive forms of masculinity, with a number of authors claiming homophobia65 as driven by authoritarian, patriarchal values (Davies, 2004; Jenkins, 2006; Kite & Whitley, 1996). The construct of traditional or ‘macho’ masculinity, a formation of masculinity that is aggressive and violent, is increasingly seen to be a feature of Pacific cultures (Meleisea, 2009) and very strong gender roles result in those males who are seen to be effeminate experiencing more violence and harassment (Jenkins, 2006). The actor who plays the role of ‘Andy’ in Love Patrol identifies as gay and is one of very few MSM who is ‘out’ in the Vanuatu community. The scriptwriter for the show describes the abuse she witnessed of this actor as they were preparing for the series where he would debut as a gay character on screen:

[The actor who plays Andy] is very obviously gay and he had endless abuse before the show went on. I went costume shopping with him and people swear at him in the street and just really… honestly it was horrible. (Love Patrol scriptwriter)

This actor is visibly feminine in appearance and action, and this does not conform to local mores of gender roles. MSM have always faced high levels of stigma and discrimination from the community in Melanesia, especially if they are ‘feminine’ men (Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health [APCOM], 2007). Hegemonic masculinities in Melanesia exert pressure on men to behave in particular socially and culturally sanctioned ways (Eves, 2010, p. 51). These notions ensure that men who do

65 Defined as the hatred and fear of sexual diversity in general and homosexuals or transgenders in particular (Herdt, 2001, p. 143). 250

not subscribe to dominant norms are seen as effeminate and deviant and abuse and violence can result (Mane & Aggleton, 2001). This reaction to the actor alerted the producers to the enormous barriers they would need to overcome in portraying homosexual identity in Love Patrol.

The first obstacle proved to be internal. As with other forms of stigma, sexual stigma creates roles and expectations that are widely shared by members of society (Herek, 2007), including actors. As Wan Smolbag Theatre actors are also members of the broader community the prevailing sexual stigma also influences their attitudes towards homosexuality. This presented challenges when the organisation embarked on introducing a gay character on the show and the involvement of the actor who was to play ‘Andy’ in the group was initially met with some resistance:

When [actor who plays Andy] first arrived on the scene there was some suspicion and worry on the part of some of the other actors. We do have an MSM project at Smolbag so we have a number of gay people around, but homosexuality is not accepted in Vanuatu…But the actors who were suspicious soon came round and it was not long before I saw [actor who plays Andy] lying on a mat surrounded by male actors lying down with him checking their lines. (Love Patrol crew member)

When [actor who plays Andy], joined Love Patrol in series three it was the first time for many of us to work alongside someone whose sexuality was so obviously different and I think probably several of us had to face the prejudice we felt towards gay people. Now his character, Andy, is a permanent feature of Love Patrol and he is very much part of the team. (Love Patrol Actor)

In the process of confronting prevalent norms through their work, the actors also confront their own prejudices. An important correlate of heterosexuals’ attitudes is the extent of their personal contact with sexual minority individuals (Herek, 2007) and many of the group members previously may have had little direct contact in any meaningful way with someone who is gay-identified. The actor’s beliefs about MSM

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have been modified by his sustained personal contact; working alongside the actor who plays ‘Andy’ provided an opportunity for the development of a strong, positive emotional bond and a respectful relationship based on inclusion ensued. This supports the notion of ‘contact’ or involvement with marginalised populations positively affecting attitude change (Rothbart & John, 1985; Schiappa et al., 2005, 2006) discussed in Chapter 2.

The decision by the Love Patrol producers to incorporate a gay-identifying character was bold: confronting culture, the state and powerful church positions on homosexuality, at the same time ‘airing’ this controversial subject for the consumption of Melanesian viewers. The centrality of culture and religion in the Pacific dictates that issues such as MSM need to be addressed in a culturally sensitive manner within this very conservative context. Despite tackling an extremely controversial subject, Wan Smolbag seem to have found a way to make notions of homosexuality ‘palatable’ for Melanesian audiences.

With the inclusion of a gay character like Andy I think that’s really powerful, brings in a totally new perspective to Love Patrol. And for me as a gay Fijian as well I like it and as an advocate for MSM, transgender issues, the focus is not really “in your face”… it’s very subtle into the whole issue, which is good considering the Pacific culture and the religious environment eh? But that is a good entry point, in terms of starting to talk about a gay in a Pacific TV series. (Local UN staff member, Fiji)

In the Pacific, religious institutions and their leaders hold significant influence in defining moral norms and values, and in many instances occupy both direct and indirect positions of power in government which includes control of the media. Countries such as Tonga and Samoa, for example, have broadcasting commission boards for their television stations, whose membership includes the church, which in effect work as a censorship board. This means any material deemed ‘culturally inappropriate’ or too sensitive will not be aired. Love Patrol seems to have managed to tread this careful line; raising extremely sensitive issues yet managing to remain culturally acceptable,

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thereby avoiding being silenced by government censorship through refusal to air. This is a critical point, as official censorship and pressure from conservative groups (including the Catholic Church) has played a key role in silencing the representation of sexual minority characters in soap operas to television viewers in other countries. In Brazil content is controlled by the influence of conservative figures that protest against any inclusion of characters deemed to be pernicious to society, such as homosexuals, unless they are caricatured representations; conservative groups ignore these as they are seen to help present an image of homosexuality as something undesirable (La Pastina, 2002, p. 88). Love Patrol’s Andy is by no means a caricature, although he does seem to bring a lot of humour to the show, and the scriptwriter believes she often gives him the best lines. Raising the issue of homosexuality in a way that does not threaten or offend and engendering acceptance of this contentious character in the show without attracting widespread criticism is a testament to the producers’ ability to ‘read’ its audience and, as argued in Chapter 4, Love Patrol’s attunement to the cultural context and local sensitivities. The show challenges a number of socio-cultural norms yet appears to provide a culturally acceptable way to build community discourse on issues such as sexual diversity.

Putting sexual stigma on the agenda

Culture and religion are key drivers in keeping same-sex identities invisible and feed the stigma of homosexuality. Condemnation of same-sex relations by the state, traditional culture and churches results in most sex between men in Melanesia being hidden, illegal and denied (Eves & Butt, 2008; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). The silences surrounding the issue of sexual minorities are pervasive and can be understood as ‘cultural censorship’, a socially shared silence that plays a critical yet often invisible role in shaping the social and political landscape (Sheriff, 2000). One of the central features of cultural silence is that it tends to be simultaneously recognised and concealed; this appears to be the case in the Pacific with respect to expressions of non- normative sexuality and gender.

I must say it’s a big, big challenge [playing Andy] but I’m pretty sure people are ready … like homosexual activities take place but people will be so discrete about it, like they don’t talk about it because it’s against the

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culture and religion and blah blah blah, but it’s happening under the table…people have to accept that these things are happening already. (Actor who plays ‘Andy’)

Silence on same-sex sexual activities is a consciously maintained social practice. While same-sex behaviour is known to exist, it is not spoken of publicly. The subject of homosexuality is circumscribed by historically rooted customary silences; the effect of cultural censorship discourages or even precludes open discussion. The way in which the issue is strenuously avoided in public discourses is evidenced in how my informants variously referred to same-sex relations as happening ‘under the table’ or ‘under the mat’. Cultural silencing also occurs in the production of social memory through what is hidden or misremembered (Sheriff, 2000). In Vanuatu for example, the National Council of Chiefs66 maintains that same-sex sexual behaviour did not exist in the past (Jowitt, 2005), despite the evidence to the contrary (Allen, 1984; Simpson, 1955). Cultural censorship is at play in the dismissing of traditional same-sex sexual practices, a convenient collective ‘forgetting’ or re-writing of history. This position is used as a platform for claiming that homosexuality contradicts Melanesian traditional beliefs and custom values, thus is a threat to local culture (Jowitt, 2005). While silence is maintained MSM remain invisible and sexual prejudice goes unexamined. The portrayal of homosexuality on Love Patrol can be seen as an act of transgressing this cultural silence.

As a consequence of sexual stigma, the devaluing of non-heterosexuals and problematising of homosexuality, sexual minorities often remain invisible, exiled from the mainstream of cultural representation (Brookey & Westerfelhaus, 2001; Herek, 2007). This is where Love Patrol may play a critical role; the inclusion of the character of Andy makes the invisible visible within the public sphere.

Evening Function At a function Andy is talking to a Minister’s wife. MINISTER’S WIFE: I’ve seen you somewhere before… ANDY: Outside the AIDS office, I do some work there. Only part time… but it’s fun... MINISTER’S WIFE: You’re gay aren’t you?

66 A formal advisory body of chiefs recognised by Vanuatu’s constitution. The Council plays a significant role in advising the government on all matters concerning ni-Vanuatu culture. 254

ANDY: What do you think? MINISTER’S WIFE: Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. ANDY: It’s the way I am. What can I do? MINISTER’S WIFE: Do you want to do something about it? ANDY: It’s not much fun sometimes... I nearly got beaten to a pulp today. And I wish I liked women. They’re so much better company than men… but … you know! MINISTER’S WIFE: I do know! I feel exactly the same!

(Love Patrol Series 3, Episode 5)

Andy gives public visibility to non-normative sexuality. In the context of the concealment and marginalisation of MSM in Melanesia, the introduction of an MSM character into the sole local television series transgresses dominant norms. This overt proclamation of identity on the show represents a watershed moment on Pacific television.

For us in Melanesian society … getting to see it acted out it has impacts on people, I mean having to see Andy on it [Love Patrol] is really good because us Melanesians, especially in PNG with the kind of people we are… we don’t talk about it, we get to brush it under the mat and not talk about it… but here it’s on the screen, the whole nation is viewing it! (MSM peer educator, Goroka, PNG)

Love Patrol is breaking the silence on same-sex attraction and bringing it out from ‘under the mat’ (or the closet). In making MSM identity visible Andy challenges the social invisibility of MSM, advocating for those whose presence has long been repressed. In contrast to the state of shame, silence and secrecy that has long characterised the lives of Melanesian MSM they are now represented in one of the region’s most popular shows. For some viewers the inclusion of an obviously gay character in a local television series is a surprise:

There’s no other series where this gay actor coming into scenes openly like this, they do work in restaurants, waitress, like that, not open like this. (Woman, 35 years, receptionist, Fiji)

I was surprised … this was the first guy that I’ve seen a black, a black actor as a gay in a film and I did not expect that this guy to be in the show 255

[laughs] but it really coloured this Love Patrol show, it was really interesting. (Man, 21 years, student, Port Moresby, PNG)

Melanesian societies participate in a pretence that homosexuality does not exist hence, although there are MSM within the community, they are rarely acknowledged. MSM themselves participate in this by keeping their identity hidden. This is a function of denial, whereby “those who are at the bottom of the various power hierarchies will be kept in their place in part through their relative invisibility” (Hart, 2000, p. 60). Consequently a symbolic message is sent to the broader community about the societal value of MSM and their powerless, marginalised status is maintained. In light of this it is hardly surprising that Andy’s appearance in Love Patrol evokes strong responses in audiences. In representing non-normative identity, Andy has provoked a mixed response in viewers; although nominated as a favourite character by many, he is also a source of challenge to prevailing attitudes and norms. One way to deal with such a challenge is to hold tight to continued denial.

I was very surprised [to see Andy in Love Patrol] because in the Pacific we don’t have these, so when he’s acting gay in the film it’s like kind of… I kind of feel like a bit embarrassed or something, it’s the first of its kind and this guy is acting gay… Interviewer: Do you have people like Andy in the community? We have it, we have those kinds of people but um… we don’t socialise with them because if we go and socialise with such people then others will think that we are one of them and then they will make fun of us because of our cultures. (Man, 22 years, student, Port Moresby, PNG)

Denial is a function of cultural silencing. An initial response of some viewers, particularly in PNG, is to deny local MSM, although further questioning leads to acknowledgement of their existence. Such attempts at denial highlight the lack of social status given to those who do not conform to local mores; the social invisibility of MSM is underscored by denying their existence. In featuring a key character that represents a sexual minority Love Patrol confronts viewers. Sexual stigma also drives the shunning or avoiding of MSM. In order to avoid stigma by association or ‘courtesy stigma’

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(Goffman, 1963) this interviewee acknowledges the practice of social distancing. Stigma is enacted to perpetuate exclusion of those who are presumed to be gay.

Interviewer: How do you feel about the character ‘Andy’? …It really made the film, I really enjoyed that … but you know in our culture we really hate gays so they [the other boys he was watching with] were teasing, even though he’s [Andy’s] in television they said something as if he’s here … they really hated him but they love watching that because it was interesting with this guy, this gay character in this film Interviewer: Do you have people like Andy in the community? Yes so many people around here [Port Moresby], we have so many, but those people in the coast here they don’t mind but we people up there in the highlands we really hate this kind of people … we don’t have any gay people in the highlands. Interviewer: None? Just one in the province or something… very few, but here you can see there’s so many. (Man, 21 years, student, Port Moresby, PNG)

While this interviewee admits his enjoyment of the character, he quickly qualifies this with an expression of sexual prejudice. Here denial takes another form; an acknowledgement is made that people like Andy do exist locally but not in ‘my’ community, MSM are purported to be in the coastal region of PNG but not in the highlands, where this interviewee is from. This may also reflect a common urban/rural divide wherein it is easier to express alternate sexualities in a big city, thus MSM may in fact be more visible in Port Moresby than the more insular highlands region. Viewers such as this young man are torn between stigmatising responses they have been socialised to express towards MSM in accordance with dominant norms, and in contrast their enjoyment of and involvement with the character of Andy in the show. The struggle in confronting entrenched attitudes is revealed through such resistance, as is the potential for change. The inclusion of Andy’s character in the show and his continuation in future series, may allow for the resistance to continue to be addressed amongst community members (Singhal et al., 2006).

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A key factor in the perpetuation of sexual stigma and prejudice is a lack of recognition of stigmatising attitudes and behaviour. Creating recognition about how stigma is manifested in attitudes, language, behaviour and actions is critically important in order to tackle it (Nyblade et al., 2003). The portrayal of Andy’s character in Love Patrol provides a window into the lives of MSM, revealing the harassment and abuse they experience as sexual stigma is enacted.

Settlement road Andy is walking along the side of the road; two young men are coming the opposite way. YOUNG MAN 1: Hello darling! ANDY: Go hang yourself! YOUNG MAN 2: Whoa whoa whoa, not so fast… wait and talk. He moves to stand in front of Andy. ANDY: Get out of my way Andy tries to walk past the pair. YOUNG MAN 2: Let’s have a feel… ANDY: Grow up! Get out of my way. YOUNG MAN 1: No way baby… we want some fun. ANDY: Get out of my way just get out of my way One of the young men snatches Andy’s bag and won’t give it back. Tony and Kalo are passing by and notice what is going on and stop to intervene. TONY: Enough! What are you doing? YOUNG MAN 2: Your boyfriend is he? KALO: Leave him alone. YOUNG MAN 2: Want to fight? KALO: I said give him back the bag… what’s wrong with that? One of the boys pushes Kalo who falls on the ground. Andy turns to a group of women who have gathered. ANDY: Phone the police! One woman pulls out her phone and starts to dial. The second boy goes to punch Andy. Andy catches his hand and knees the boy in the groin and the boy crumples. (Love Patrol series 3, Episode 3)

In Melanesia stigma and discrimination against MSM operate through the law, culture and everyday interactions. The targeting, detaining and verbal abuse of MSM that may progress to physical abuse is common (Bavinton et al., 2011; PSDN, 2009). This is a function of sexual stigma whereby their ‘deviant’ status as MSM serves to legitimate hostility, discrimination, and even aggression against them (Herek et al., 2007). The harassment perpetuated by the two young men in this scene is an exercise of power and control and an expression of hegemonic masculinity. In many local cultures that value specific behaviours as indicators of appropriate masculinity, men who are either

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homosexual in their orientation or perceived as effeminate in their behaviour are pressured to conform by strong cultural mores and customs including punishment, exclusion or expulsion from society (Morin, 2008). The ‘policing’ of masculinity is also reflected in this storyline. Hegemonic masculinities enforce the roles of men and play a key role in policing the boundaries of heterosexuality (Mane & Aggleton, 2001, p. 29). When the characters of Tony and Kalo attempt to stand up for Andy against a homophobic attack their masculinity is questioned. They are stigmatised by association (Link & Phelan, 2001) and threatened with marginalisation and social exclusion for their support of Andy, an individual of non-normative sexuality. In representing enacted stigma through scenes such as this, Love Patrol may draw attention to that experienced by MSM within local communities.

These are some of the things we face in communities and mostly at the public places, like it should take about five minutes for me to go and catch a bus here but I have to take a longer route so I avoid the type of situation that Andy got in. (MSM support group member, Port Moresby, PNG)

MSM audience members are able to identify with Andy’s experience of abuse and harassment. The above scene represents the manner in which community-level stigma is enacted and public spaces used to humiliate, denigrate and shun MSM. These are often places that are part of the daily routine of MSM and difficult to avoid. Such forms of enacted stigma are not unique to Melanesia, with research in Jamaica showing public spaces such as the roadside to be a common environment for its perpetration, with such spaces used to express negative opinions about MSM as well as physical discrimination and harassment by pedestrians and motorists as well as police officers (Bourne et al., 2012). In depicting this in Love Patrol, the reality of Melanesian MSMs’ experience is given credence, and viewers are exposed to the ways in which harassment shapes the daily lives of sexual minorities.

While sexual minorities and enacted stigma against them remain invisible, individuals are unlikely to critically examine their own sexual prejudice and its underlying assumptions (Herek, 2007). Consequently, Love Patrol scenes may assist in the

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recognition of sexual stigma and encourage critical reflection amongst audience members.

That part where these two boys wanted to steal… or they wanted to fight him… that's very true in Vanuatu, like these kind of people [gay], people look down on them they don’t treat them like human beings, if I can say that. I watched that part and I really feel that it is one message that the people of Vanuatu should understand. All of us are human beings so we should treat everyone the same. (Man, Teacher, Port Vila, Vanuatu)

In depicting instances of overt discrimination towards MSM, the social stigma prevalent in Melanesian communities towards sexual minorities is exposed. As research has shown that people are often unaware of their stigmatising actions (Nyblade, et al., 2003) a first step is facilitating recognition, which the show appears to do. Viewers are able to articulate the instances of enacted stigma portrayed within the show; Andy’s harassment on the roadside highlights how he is seen as different and of lower status than other members of the community, making him an easy target for harassment and abuse. In reflecting on this scene, this interviewee related it to negative attitudes shown towards MSM in his own community. With viewer recognition of the reality of these attitudes and actions in their own communities, something they see regularly but do not question, can come a realisation of the inherent inequity.

Everybody’s got rights, people discriminate saying “he’s a gay uh” we do that, but we shouldn’t ….We were standing at [shopping centre], we see three gays like Andy moving around, buying tickets, it’s their life, they’re human beings, why should we laugh at them? (Woman, 35 years, receptionist, Suva, Fiji)

The recognition of verbally dismissive comments and laughing at MSM individuals as a form of discrimination is an important one. The portrayal of Andy’s experiences seems to encourage some viewers to critically examine their own sexual prejudice, possibly for the first time. The show conveys what it means to be a Melanesian MSM and the treatment they receive which may lead viewers to advocate the adoption of more

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positive attitudes and behaviours towards this marginalised population. Just as some of the Wan Smolbag actors confronted their own prejudices towards MSM through contact with Andy, so may audience members through their mediated interaction.

The characters of Tony and Kalo in the above scene intervene in the targeted harassment of Andy rather than just standing by and allowing it to happen. As there is a general tendency for community members to acquiesce or passively observe occurrences of enacted stigma perpetrated against MSM (Bourne et al., 2012; Ogden et al., 2011), this portrayal provides an alternative paradigm. The scene of Andy being attacked on the road draws attention to how community members can speak out where they see instances of enacted stigma.

The characters in the series like, we are also the silent minority… and to be on, like people will remember us as the characters in the movie so you know, when they see scenes like people coming out to stop it ‘no you don’t hurt him’ [Tony & Kalo helping Andy] they would sort of do the same in our own communities here, and with calling the police, they would be scared ‘oh they’re going to go report to the police so we mustn’t do this to them’. (MSM peer educator, Port Moresby, PNG)

Love Patrol may provide a model and a stimulus to community members to intervene in harassment of MSM within local communities. Where a pervasive social norm of attitudinal acceptance and behavioural practice of stigmatisation exists, there is a need to address the various environments that perpetuate this (Bourne et al., 2012). In highlighting the role of the young men in intervening, Love Patrol advocates for a more supportive community response to actively challenge stigma enacted towards MSM. Edutainment productions have positively influenced change in this regard in other settings; an Indian street theatre performed by MSM had the effect of motivating local villagers to intervene in the teasing and harassment of MSM and transgenders (Stangl et al., 2010). In opening up stigma to closer examination, it may become less tolerated and possibly an object of active social intervention (Herdt, 2001). Love Patrol provides a mechanism for this examination. “Andy, he has his rights ah! We have to respect them. We don’t have to gossip about them or stigmatise them. They have got rights and that

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we have to respect them and let them live as human beings” (Woman, 24 years, unemployed, Madang, PNG). In reflecting on the discrimination MSM or feminine men face within their own community, a dialogue on rights may begin to emerge amongst audience members.

I think he [Andy] might be a good character from my point of view because this is where gender equality comes in, that everyone should be treated the same… coz nowadays mostly in Fiji, they push gay people aside so I think he will be a good character to show the people that they also need to be heard. (Young man, 18 years, student, Suva, Fiji)

The portrayal of Andy’s experience of harassment, that so closely reflects reality, puts sexual stigma on the agenda. Topics portrayed frequently and prominently in the media, become topics that audiences think are important (Brown, 2002), hence the salience of highlighting prejudice and discrimination against sexual minorities in Love Patrol provides a stimulus for consideration of a previously unacknowledged issue. In addition, as argued in Chapter 4, interpersonal dialogue with family, friends and colleagues characterises viewer behaviour, hence an increase in community dialogue on stigma is a potential result of audiences following Andy’s story.

I was watching [Love Patrol] with the cousins and mother and the children and we were able to identify various issues that are really prevalent in our community, it captures some of the stigma and typical perceptions that some people have about gays, it keeps reminding us of what we should be doing eh? (Woman, 54 years, Catholic Women’s League, Suva, Fiji)

Placement of sexual diversity on the public agenda provides an opportunity for challenging pre-existing attitudes amongst community members. Although sexual prejudice represents internalised sexual stigma this does not mean that people are mere passive receptacles for cultural beliefs and norms concerning stigmatised groups such as MSM (Herek, 2009). Individuals play an active role in embracing or rejecting society’s prescriptions for prejudice. In the social construction of stigma, meanings are attached to group memberships not only by received tradition but also through ongoing social

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interaction (Herek, 2009, p. 80) therefore providing opportunities for positive interaction with MSM is paramount. As discussed in Chapter 2, a televised portrayal provides parasocial contact with a group that audience members may have had little firsthand contact with in any meaningful way previously. Viewers form beliefs about people they know through television, regardless of whether such people are fictional characters or real people, thus ‘Andy’ provides the heterosexual majority an opportunity to have ‘personal’ contact with an openly gay individual. This contact can increase viewers’ knowledge about MSM, foster a capacity for greater empathy for them, and reduce anxieties about interacting with them, all of which have potential for decreasing prejudice (Herek, 2009; Pettigrew, 1998; Stephan & Finlay, 1999; Stephan & Stephan, 1985). In this way audiences are exposed to new information that may call into question the tenets of sexual stigma (Herek, 2009). In providing social interaction with MSM through Andy, Love Patrol provides an opportunity for audience members to reconsider and possibly reject sexual prejudice towards MSM.

The gay character [Andy] that’s where I had a bit of an issue with portraying that…but they’re here, we just have to accept, tolerate and just educate ourselves that these are people that are there amongst us, they’re part of us, they could be part of your family, and you just have to learn to accept and ah, you know we have the typical way… of kind of looking down at people, we still need to educate ourselves. (Woman, 54 years, Catholic Women’s League, Suva, Fiji)

I quite like him [Andy] being in the film so that the community can accept that there are different types of people in the society, it doesn’t matter whether they’re gay, whether they’re old or young, they’re still part of the society… there are different types of people, they may not come by choice, it’s how they are. (Woman, 60 years, bank worker, Vanuatu)

The positive portrayal of MSM identity through the character of Andy in Love Patrol encourages viewers to think about MSM in new ways that extend beyond sexuality, as members of families, as co-workers, and as contributors to society. Consequently viewers may become newly aware of the presence of MSM in many sectors of the

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community, supporting the recognition of sexual minorities. Rather than being ‘other’, MSM are members of families and local communities and as such deserving of respect. Viewer articulation of acceptance of difference and recognition of the innate nature of one’s sexuality reinforces the notion that media representations of homosexuality may help cultivate viewers’ own attitudes about homosexuality (Calzo & Ward, 2009a).

Social contact, whether mediated or actual, is posited to be effective in reducing prejudice when people are exposed repeatedly to likeable representatives of marginalised groups (Pettigrew, 1998; Simon, 1998; Schiappa et al., 2006) and Andy is an extremely likeable and popular character; Wan Smolbag staff told me of continual viewer requests for news of Andy “Is he in the episode this week? What’s he doing?” This was also reinforced by my observations of Love Patrol viewing; although a common reaction to Andy appearing on-screen was a significant amount of giggling amongst audiences, post-airing discussions indicated keen interest in this character and his actions. His frequency as a topic of conversation seemed to indicate viewer fascination with him, leading me to believe that was he was generally a very popular character.

Support for the inclusion of an MSM character in the show was not universal, however:

… I think he [Andy] shouldn’t be on the show (Why?) maybe he might make the show more funny, but some viewers they want to watch some movies where it portrays something realistic eh, and for these people like him to go and be part of the movie, some viewers they will not feel interested…they didn’t want to watch if he is in the movie (Man, 23 years, unemployed, Goroka, PNG)

This young man believes that Andy’s inclusion in Love Patrol is off-putting to some viewers. He equates this to a lack of reality in portraying an effeminate man in the Melanesian context. Denial and the social invisibility of MSM discussed earlier in this chapter inhere in this perspective. Although he acknowledges that some audience members will find this portrayal funny, he does not approve, preferring that those such as Andy remain unacknowledged.

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The overall positive response of audiences to the Andy character has led to his inclusion as a permanent cast member, with increasing airtime given to his storyline. This is both purposeful on the part of the producers but also driven by his popularity and the community feedback received on the character. With research on the genre-specific effect of soap operas indicating that frequent exposure will be associated with holding more accepting attitudes towards homosexuality (Calzo & Ward, 2009a), over a period of time, as Andy’s relationship with audiences deepens, Love Patrol may contribute to a shift in greater community acceptance of Melanesian MSM.

The personal consequences of representation

Although aware that the introduction of a gay character on Love Patrol was a significant step, the producers did not anticipate the strong reaction that Andy’s appearance would trigger, how it would impact on the actor or on the broader MSM community. Representing homosexual identity on Love Patrol has had a number of consequences at the personal level for the actor who plays Andy. These changes have ranged from more positive responses from local community to him as an individual, through to the facilitation of personal and professional development as an advocate for MSM issues in the region.

From abuse to autographs

Following his debut in Love Patrol, the actor has noticed a change in how people within the community respond to him. According to the actor, the show has helped to decrease enacted stigma.

I still get some discrimination and stigma from people but not as bad as before [Love Patrol]. Like before, I’d walk down the street and people would be throwing stones at me or calling a dog to chase me and stuff like that, but nowadays… I just walk down the street and everyone will just say hi and they’ll just greet me and then probably start giggling behind my back but not as bad as before. (Actor who plays ‘Andy’)

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Where previously he had experienced a great deal of verbal and physical abuse as an MSM within Vanuatu, following his role as Andy, the actor indicated a reduction in discriminatory attitudes and actions in his personal life. With improvements noted since his appearance on-screen, he believes that the show has affected community responses to him. He describes a drop in harassment in public spaces such as the market or on buses, as well as a new willingness by community members to engage in normal daily social interactions with him. This is supported by comments from a number of interviewees in Vanuatu who describe getting to know the actor who plays Andy better from his on-screen role and feeling more comfortable with him.

Love Patrol is improving the attitude of the community, it’s changing slowly, yes, but [MSM actor]… people come to realise, know him, accept him, this is part of us. The more we mix together, the better … the more he comes in, he becomes part of the community. (Church leader, Port Vila, Vanuatu)

This church leader believes familiarity with the character of ‘Andy’ has affected community attitudes towards the actor as an individual. Love Patrol offers opportunities for community members to ‘know him’ through on-screen interaction, a parasocial relationship which enhances their empathy and identification. Although mediated, the interaction with Andy is successful in generating an affective tie with the character and thus the actor (Schiappa et al., 2006). The sense of intimacy that is developed is an important ingredient for contact to reduce prejudice (Batson et al., 1997; Pettigrew, 1997). On-screen/off-screen boundaries are blurred in small communities such as Port Vila as this relationship spills over into real life with the sense of ‘knowing’ Andy affecting community attitudes and behaviour towards the actor who plays him. In fact this actor has become something of a local celebrity in Port Vila, where viewers seek his autograph.

About two weeks ago, this guy … in town, I was walking past and he just called ‘Hey Andy’ and I was thinking ‘oh shit, am I going to get beaten up?’ and I turned around and he said “can you sign my shirt?” [laughs] he said “you’ve done a very good job”. (Actor who plays ‘Andy’)

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The context of hegemonic masculinity and the actor’s previous experience of stigma led to an expectation of violence, yet this has been completely reversed. ‘Andy’ now has status within his community and this is reflected in community attitudes and the way people respond to him: “Before it was not too good [the community attitude] but at the current level it’s like [MSM actor] is out there, walking around, going out all dressed up. He’s cool now, yeah!” (Peer educator, Wan Smolbag). As his fame has overtaken the stigma, his confidence has also increased. Although the actor was previously ‘out’ in Port Vila, following his Love Patrol role he is now showing increased confidence in his public profile and his identity. With a sense of community acceptance, the actor is expressing his identity in more obvious ways, dressing up and embracing his femininity. His role as Andy and the positive community response appear to provide endorsement for the expression of his non-normative identity.

From actor to activist

Real-life experience of the damaging consequences of sexual prejudice is a powerful motivator for using Love Patrol as a vehicle to bring public attention to sexual stigma. The actor who plays Andy draws on his own experiences within the local community in playing the role of the first Pacific gay-identifying character on television.

I’m actually playing my real story in the [Love Patrol] series, what I go through or experiences in the streets of Port Vila or anywhere in Vanuatu…For me, it’s about showing the kind of prejudice that gay people come up against and trying to say ‘look we’re just people like you and there’s nothing to be afraid of’. (Actor who plays ‘Andy’)

For the actor, representing and contesting stigma and discrimination is a key motivating factor for his portrayal. He views the role of Andy as an extension of himself, which gives a powerful sense of reality to the show’s depictions. The scriptwriter also researches storylines with the local MSM support network, Solidarity, incorporating their experiences into the script. Consequently, rather than a fictional narrative, Andy’s story is deeply grounded in lived experience. This is important to the power of Andy’s story. Research and participation of local MSM in story development has been found to be effective in achieving an entertaining, informative and persuasive drama (Stangl et

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al., 2010).

[Andy] his character was like himself, he was real, a gay person acting it and showing his true emotions and everything so I think we should have more scenes about that and maybe the show should go on more often, like we have all these cultural norms in our country and by looking at this movie it sort of gives some thoughts, sensitise the general population, so I think it’s good. (MSM support group member, Port Moresby, PNG)

Andy’s experience appears to resonate strongly with other MSM in Melanesia and this is of the utmost importance; people whose life experiences are most congruent with televised stories will be most affected by the messages contained within (Shrum & Bischak, 2001). This facet of Love Patrol’s development is key to the show’s impact and the portrayal of such real-life experiences has raised the profile of MSM in Vanuatu and beyond.

Involvement in Love Patrol and the experience of positive reactions from the community has been empowering for the actor who plays Andy and increased his role in advocacy. His break-through role as Andy has mobilised him to act as a spokesperson for the regional MSM community and facilitated his individual capacity development. He has gone from actor to activist. Countries and agencies are now specifically requesting him to participate in launches of new series of Love Patrol across the region, representing both Wan Smolbag and also regional MSM issues. The actor has embraced his role as a recognised spokesperson:

I am definitely trying to educate people within our society and within the Pacific region that homosexuality is part of life. I’m helping the other gay people within the society to come out from their shell and be themselves and make sure that the community will respect them for who they are. (Actor who plays ‘Andy’)

A number of high-profile and representative commitments have also resulted from his new status. The actor is now the President of Solidarity and his leadership and visibility

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appear to have a strong influence within the community. In early 2013 he played a strong role in responding to derogatory homophobic postings about the Solidarity group made on a popular Vanuatu local website ‘Yumi toktok stret’, effectively responding to comments and invoking support from other community members including a member of Vanuatu parliament. Mobilising public support from such a key opinion leader is particularly important to undermining prejudicial sentiment. In 2011, Solidarity became an affiliate of the Pacific Sexual Diversity Network, a regional network of Pacific MSM and Transgender organisations with the actor a motivating force in developing such transnational networking. He has also been nominated to represent Pacific MSM at regional and global forums, including the International AIDS conference in 2012 in Washington and United Nations-supported MSM consultations in Bangkok and Geneva. These roles have provided powerful opportunities for strengthening his advocacy and leadership skills. Thus participation in Love Patrol has played a key role in developing the capacity of this actor and MSM spokesperson and allowed for the progression of Melanesian MSM issues in the region and beyond. Although significant, the impact of ‘Andy’ is beyond the individual level of the actor, with broader impacts being felt at the MSM community level.

Harnessing the power of resistance

He is a breaking character …He’s sort of breaking it for us here in PNG, yeah. (MSM support group member, Port Moresby, PNG)

In the Pacific, gender and sexuality is fluid and identities blurred (Bavinton et al., 2011; Worth, 2001). To date, few communities within Melanesia exist whereby individuals might claim non-normative identities; however, new ‘globalised’ sexual and gender identities are emerging alongside the local or traditional sexual/gender identities (Altman, 1996) and there are growing populations who self-identify using the imported term ‘gay’. New forms of sexual identity are being realized, with people slowly coming together and identifying on this basis, however “such new behaviours are mostly concealed in Melanesia but they are a growing trend nevertheless” (Eves & Butt, 2008 p. 16). The character of Andy is thus representative of emergent communities of non-

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normative identities, and gives voice to those in Melanesian culture who have not had one in such a way previously.

Popular culture and society articulate ‘identity’ (Castells, 2010; Hall, 1997c) and in introducing Andy, Love Patrol articulates an alternate identity model for those men who are same-sex attracted. In overtly proclaiming his identity on the show, Andy gives voice to identity that has not previously had signification within the strictures of the local socio-cultural context. As representation signifies social existence, Andy may assist in shifting MSM from the fringes to the centre of culture, allowing MSM to connect with a mainstream program in a way that has not been available to them previously (Farrier, 2000).

Andy’s character is a positive representation of gay identity. He garners acceptance and respect in the workplace as a peer educator, knowledgeable about condoms and HIV/STIs. Andy is also courageous, playing a key role in a police investigation by rescuing Lorraine from a man who is holding her against her will.

At Lorraine’s flat Lorraine is being held in her flat against her will by a man, Andy arrives at the flat knocking on the door and calling to her. ANDY: Lorraine! Andy hears the sound of a something falling and a cry. Inside the apartment Lorraine is lying on the floor. A table is overturned and a man is standing above her breathing fast. Andy rattles the door handle. ANDY: What’s happening in there? He pushes his way in the door.

Some minutes later, the police arrive at the flat and are about to break the door down, when Andy opens the door from the inside; the man is unconscious on the floor. DETECTIVE: What did you do to him? Andy demonstrates a karate chop. ANDY: Just here... He indicates his neck. ANDY: It cuts off the blood flow and causes unconsciousness. DETECTIVE: Thank you…you’ve been very brave. He puts out his hand. Andy shakes it.

(Love Patrol series 3, episode 10)

Rather than the police ‘saving the day’ it is the gay character that is the hero of this scene. It seems clear that the crafting of Andy’s character, a brave friend and respected

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peer, has been undertaken to evoke a ‘preferred reading’67 (Hall, 1980). In an attempt to enhance the status of Andy (and perhaps that of all MSM) amongst audiences, he becomes Lorraine’s saviour, earning recognition and respect. Although in many ways Love Patrol disrupts what dominant social groups in Melanesia have defined as ‘normal’, it also continues to reflect current ideals of what is masculine. In this sense Andy’s portrayal here succumbs to notions of a ‘real man’, couched in hetero-normative constructions of gender (Poole, 2013). In framing the character in this way, the show is in fact re-inscribing certain norms of masculinity such as the importance of being tough enough to physically protect oneself (and women). In an attempt to combat MSM marginalisation, one cannot help but wonder if the scriptwriter is co-opting characteristics that may earn Andy ‘acceptance’ within dominant spaces (Poole, 2013; Sears, 1997). In creating a gay character and gender performance that blends or segues into a ‘palatable’ configuration for the Melanesian populace, this may be a strategy of ‘normalising’ (Warner, 1999) the gay subject but with a Melanesian sensibility in mind. However, I would argue that careful negotiation is required to ensure that in portraying new possibilities for Melanesian masculinities these do not conform to hetero- normative, patriarchal structures (Sear, 1997).

Regardless, or possibly because of, the residue of traditional gender roles in Andy’s portrayal his capacity is recognised by MSM fans of the show:

Andy has actually played a very important role of saving the girl and this shows multi-skilled character, I think Andy has displayed that he’s a multi- skilled and all sistas68 are multi-skilled, we can be needed anywhere and we can do any types of job. (Indo-Fijian ‘sista’, Fiji)

Andy’s character offers an identity to which young MSM could aspire. His characterisation as an individual with agency rather than one who is vulnerable or a ‘victim’ is empowering to other MSM and promotes self-efficacy. Previous research has documented the important role of positive media visibility in normalising same-sex

67 Hall (1980) understood that dominant ideology/ies are typically manifest in a text’s ‘preferred reading’, however this ‘preferred’ reading is not always adopted by readers. 68 Slang term used locally amongst peers to refer to any men who are feminine in appearance, action or identity. It may refer to anyone who is either MSM or transgender. 271

attraction. Research undertaken in Australia found that media images of homosexual men have a strong impact and important role in increasing self-esteem in young gay men, providing information, promoting acceptance and providing characters with which young gay men can identify (McKee, 2000). The relationship between media representation and identity formation is an integral part of how a young person constructs his/her sense of self (Davis, 2004). This is due to the fact that the media is a central location for not only reflecting social and cultural phenomena but also for defining who and how we can be (Poole, 2013, p.1). In many Western countries the popular media has increasingly provided positive role models for gay and lesbian characters which assist in normalising same-sex sexuality. True Blood, Glee, The Block, Modern Family and Ellen are examples of programs that portray gay, lesbian and bisexual characters as part of the normal range of healthy sexual identities. Of these programs only Glee is currently aired in Melanesia through local television channels (Fiji One in Fiji and EMTV in PNG) and according to network statistics it is extremely popular. Having western images of MSM available on television is one thing, but it lacks cultural proximity, unlike a local gay character. As I have discussed in Chapter 2, cultural proximity is a powerful factor in the amount of influence characters have (Straubhaar, 2003). Additionally, if the only visible gay identities on screen are from outside the region, it also tends to support the idea that ‘gayness’ is a Western import. Arguably, Love Patrol has brought ‘gay’ into Melanesian households in a manner unknown previously.

Love Patrol also appears to be inspiring other indigenous productions to include MSM characters. In Fiji, a recent theatre drama, Lakovi, examined contemporary issues within Fijian society and included a gay character. The drama was performed live in the capital and then subsequently recorded and televised on Fiji television. The success of Love Patrol and Andy’s popularity as a character seems to affirm the inclusion of sexual minority characters in the public domain.

An MSM character in a popular local production may enable dialogue on sexual diversity within families, critically important in the Pacific context.

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With Andy’s character in Love Patrol it’s kind of opened up things, now even my little nieces and nephews, they know what gay is. It’s opened up … it’s given that opportunity to talk about it in the family. I haven’t come out to my family yet, I feel like I need to … but it’s just easier that they see ‘Andy’ there [in Love Patrol]. (Solidarity group member, Vanuatu)

Given the important status that family has across Pacific societies and its central role in providing support and care throughout a person’s life, discrimination or rejection from the family can have a significant impact on someone’s health and wellbeing (Rule & Liriope, 2013). The need for greater support from families towards their MSM or transgender members has been recognised (Pacific Sexual Diversity Network, 2009). The storytelling nature of the soap opera format puts the issue of sexual diversity in the open and creates a space for discussion (Stangl et al., 2010), a ‘safe’ way to talk about it within the Melanesian context. Love Patrol provides a unique space to address the sensitive topic of homosexuality, possibly enabling discussion across generations. In doing so, it may also support parents and siblings in accepting sexual minority family members. Although for this interviewee Andy’s appearance has not enabled him to come out to his family as yet, the recognition of gay identity and its existence in the local community amongst his family members is an important first step.

The pervasiveness of sexual stigma in Melanesia means that many MSM are fearful of their identity becoming known within families and communities; stigma and consequent harm constitutes the state of being vulnerable to abuse (Herdt 2001). This reduces their opportunities for social support from other MSM.

Us, MSMs in our group they appreciate it a lot as they saw [MSM actor] in Love Patrol which opened it up for us…Before they hid and they were frightened that people would say bad things to them… we never went around together. When we go to a [Solidarity] meeting, at the end of the meeting, we could not go out together as a group because we did not want people to see us. But at the end of the year… there was a big change because every night when we finish our meeting we would walk around

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together, not like before when we were frightened. (Solidarity group member, Vanuatu)

In a societal context of sexual stigma fear plays a significant role in shaping the daily lives of MSM, consequently opportunities to socialise as openly gay are extremely limited. The emotion of fear is a common response to the anticipation of enacted stigma (Scambler & Hopkins, 1986). This is also referred to as ‘felt’ stigma; an individual’s expectancies about the probability that stigma will be enacted in different situations and under various circumstances (Herek, 2009), hence Solidarity group members’ anticipation of name-calling and anti-gay comments. Felt stigma often motivates people to modify their behaviour in order to avoid enacted stigma (Scambler and Hopkins, 1986) resulting in MSM not wanting to be seen together. For those in the Solidarity group fear of association and of repercussions previously prevented socialisation as a group, thereby inhibiting the development of a sense of community. However, Andy’s portrayal appears to have impacted on felt stigma in Vanuatu. Where previously this support network would meet secretly in a private home, after several months of Andy appearing on-screen the group now hosts their monthly meeting at a popular, highly visible café in town, normalising MSM identity in Vanuatu through this shift. The Solidarity group is thus building “trenches of resistance and survival” (Castells, 2010, p. 8) against dominant discourses and power relations that marginalise them and Andy appears to be a central mobilising force. This is strengthened by the manner in which Andy is seen to deal with prejudice within the show. Andy is not a passive victim of enacted stigma; he resists it and he fights back. This is clearly depicted in the way he responds to the two young men who target him for harassment on the road in the scene described on page 258. “Before they [MSM] were frightened to walk around by themselves because of attacks but now they know what to tell them [attackers]. So they know how to face it like how Andy faced it” (MSM peer educator, Vanuatu). An unanticipated consequence of the on-screen portrayal of homophobic attacks is the provision of Andy as role model in dealing with such situations and the negative comments and harassment that many MSM face every day. As part of the community- building effect of the show, Andy is ‘sharing’ his experience with other MSM so that they are able to learn from him.

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In providing a platform for group mobilisation and resistance, Andy is emerging as a ‘resistance identity’ (Castells, 2010); those who are in devalued positions and/or stigmatised by dominant institutions generate resistance identities (Castells, 1997; 2010). In developing the ability of MSM viewers to think critically about their negative social representation and a sense of confidence and capacity to challenge it, Love Patrol contributes to facilitating collective resistance against oppression (Campbell, Nair, Maimane & Nicholson, 2007; Castells, 1997). Such mobilisation, arising out of a sense of alienation and resentment against unfair social exclusion, has community-building effects as MSM gather around a common meaning. It may also increase interest in MSM community involvement.

Last night I went out and I saw one [an MSM] at the kava bar and he asked for my phone number and I asked him “What for?” and he said “the meeting” he said now, this year he is willing to come down, because before he wanted to come but the people might see him meeting [Solidarity group] and know, but now after Andy he is not frightened anymore. (MSM peer educator, Vanuatu)

Andy’s appearance on-screen appears to increase willingness for some MSM to become involved with the Solidarity group. Due to marginalisation and their sexual minority status, many Melanesian MSM may not have social support networks. Fear of being identified as homosexual by family, friends and community prevents individuals from becoming involved in support networks (Ramirez-Valles, 2002). For the young man described by this interviewee, Love Patrol’s incorporation of a gay character appears to have reduced his fear of association with the group. Inclusion of the Andy character appears to promote feelings of community amongst MSM, precisely the kind of feelings that many in Melanesia are lacking. As noted by a number of researchers into the lives of gay men, a dominant feeling in young gay men tends to be isolation (McKee, 2000; Troiden, 1989) and there is no evidence to suggest that this is at odds with the lived experience of MSM in the Pacific, particularly in the context of extreme stigma and denial in which many of them live. Increasing numbers of supportive peers in the social networks of previously isolated young MSM strengthens their social interconnectedness. Media researchers have confirmed that soap operas and other

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fictional television forms allow viewers to form a sense of the community in which they live and their place in it (Cantor & Pingree, 1983). Andy functions as a resistance identity, enabling the forming of communities around this resistance (Castells, 2010).

For the Vanuatu group, having such a recognisable figurehead as ‘Andy’ can work both ways, however:

A few pulled out [of Solidarity meetings] simply because they did not want people to see them around with [MSM actor] or they felt that he acted or dressed up too much making people identify them. Some told me last year that they did not want their families, friends to see them close to [MSM actor]. (Peer educator, Solidarity group, Vanuatu)

For ‘hidden’ MSM, impression management is of the utmost importance and involves passing as ‘normal’ to avoid the discredited social status of being homosexual (Herdt, 2001), thus the actor who plays Andy, may be too ‘obvious’ a representative of the stigmatised minority. As a coping strategy for their marginalised status, many same-sex attracted men carefully manage information about themselves to prevent knowledge about their sexual orientation becoming public (Herek, 2007, 2009). Fear of stigma, hiding and ‘passing’ to avoid spoiled identities has been well documented as central to how young MSM conduct their social relations (Herdt & Boxer, 1993). Within the context of Melanesia, concerns about family and community are of particular importance, and MSM may pass to protect their families or friends from discrimination, consequently association with such a recognisable character as ‘Andy’ presents too great a risk within the local community and may actually deter some from attending the Solidarity group.

One of the challenges in meeting the needs of marginalised populations such as MSM is that stigma and discrimination tend to inhibit their health-seeking behaviour and health service use, ultimately missing opportunities for prevention (Huebner et al., 2002; Stangl et al., 2010). Emergent support networks can be capitalised on to create opportunities and spaces for men to talk about HIV prevention and empower them to protect themselves (Ogden et al., 2011). This is of course reliant on MSM being able to

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associate with other MSM, extremely challenging in a context of invisibility and denial, hence the importance of Andy. In Vanuatu there is a sense that his appearance on- screen has facilitated a more positive and supportive environment within Port Vila, which in turn appears to be influencing overall participation in the Solidarity group meetings with the numbers steadily increasing since Love Patrol series three went to air (Vanuatu National AIDS Committee, 2013). Thus, a potential positive outcome from the inclusion of an MSM character may be in local MSM seeking health and support services.

Through giving voice to Melanesian MSM Love Patrol affords them status and appears to play a role in advocating their legitimacy as community members.

I like the way he [Andy] acts and how he tries to sensitise people and his peers here in PNG, so that his character really helps them to feel that they have rights to be what they are, as normal people … so with Andy’s character we really have help for our gay men in PNG … to have the confidence. (MSM peer educator, Port Moresby, PNG)

They [Solidarity members] are really happy that [MSM actor] acted in the movie to make the community see that they too have a part in the community so that the community does not reject them, it helps them think strongly that yes the community will accept them. (Peer educator, Solidarity group, Vanuatu)

The Andy persona seems to have enabled MSM viewers to gain a sense of their legitimacy and rights as community members, and consequently a belief in their community acceptance. I am unable to determine in this thesis whether there has in fact been a change in community attitudes towards MSM in Melanesian countries; however, MSM community members seem to attach particular meaning to Love Patrol’s inclusion of a gay-identifying character, one that builds a sense of empowerment. In this sense, the show supports a rights-based response, empowering those who are marginalised with knowledge and resources to understand, claim and realise their rights (UNAIDS, 2007c). MSM audience members described how important the character of

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Andy in Love Patrol was for them in recognising that they were not alone, that there were others like them. Consequently the increased visibility afforded by Andy may be facilitating a more public presence of support groups. His screen presence may also be playing a role in motivating and supporting the start up of new groups, such as Kapul Champions69 in Papua New Guinea. The creation of social networks and developing a sense of community is important to reduce alienation and vulnerability (Ramirez-Valles, 2002; Singhal & Rogers, 2003); an environment in which those who are otherwise marginalised and socially excluded can feel valued and supported.

For the last few months towards the end of the year after Love Patrol went on, they [Solidarity group members] are talking differently… many of them asked how they could do things different…. Many have approached me to ask how they can come out and we have had some sessions with a guest speaker to talk about some things like human rights and what to do, and after the episodes many came and said they want to stand up to their families, Christianity…In my view it has made a big change in the group, they are very, very happy. (Peer education coordinator, Wan Smolbag)

With a building sense of empowerment amongst MSM viewers in Vanuatu there are signs of collective efficacy emerging amongst members of the Solidarity group. Collective efficacies emerge when people share ideas about the social problems facing their community and discuss ways of confronting resistance to their plans for social change (Singhal, Sharma, Papa & Witte, 2004, p. 370). Exposure to the show appears to have stimulated interpersonal dialogue within the group about human rights issues and created demand for support in coming out. Promoting dialogue and debate within marginalised groups is important to “develop critical understandings of the social roots of damaging attitudes or behaviours, enhancing their awareness of the obstacles to change they will have to overcome and, ideally, leading to collective action to challenge such obstacles” (Campbell et al., 2005a, p. 808). The Solidarity group seems to be drawing on Andy’s representation of gay identity to critique and challenge stigmatising and marginalising practices (Howarth, 2006b). As well as now meeting publicly and going out together as a group, members of the MSM community are also engaging in

69 Papua New Guinea's first national MSM and transgender (TG) organisation launched late 2012. 278

broader activities as a group, in 2012 forming a netball team to take part in the Port Vila Netball tournament. As a collective they have become active agents, building capacity and applying for funding grants to further their activities based on their own needs and priorities. As empowerment is a process by which people gain control over their lives, this resource mobilisation occurring amongst members of Solidarity indicates an increased sense of control and capacity and this seems to be related to a greater sense of social legitimacy.

Conclusion

An important element in securing a change in global attitudes to sexual orientation and gender identity has been the operation and outreach of media. No longer can the actualities of sexual variation be kept a secret…The inclusion of characters in popular television programs, both of documentaries and soap operas, has helped to change human perceptions of this issue. (Kirby, 2010, p. 20)

The ultimate expression of independence for a minority audience struggling to free itself from the dominant culture’s hegemony is to become the creators and not merely the consumers of media images. (Gross, 2001, p. 418-9)

Until very recently, MSM have been conspicuously absent from HIV prevention responses in Melanesia (Aggleton et al., 2011; UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009; UNAIDS, 2007). There is a lack of recognition that sex between men occurs and this has been reflected in a lack of real commitment by National AIDS Councils to MSM programming and coordination (Dowsett, 2009; Lowe, 2009), insufficient funding for programs addressing MSM vulnerability (Godwin, 2010) and inadequate coverage of MSM in prevention initiatives (Aggleton et al., 2011). The high levels of stigma and prejudice against MSM that prevail in the region present enormous challenges for prevention programs. Social marginalisation, stigmatisation, oppression, and social exclusion deny MSM the resources and opportunities they need to protect against HIV infection (Caceres et al., 2008). Love Patrol is a creative approach to challenge sexual 279

stigma in Melanesia and the social and cultural factors that underpin it. It reaches a large and diverse audience across the region that includes members of MSM communities, key gatekeepers and opinion leaders and the general community. The show propagates alternative values and dialogue with regards to sexual diversity in the waters of Melanesia’s mainstream. It also offers an example of how communities may challenge and transform the operation of stigmatising representations. This presents opportunities for MSM communities to be part of HIV responses.

The need to mobilise the media to address social norms of MSM stigma and discrimination and encourage interpersonal and community dialogue to promote change has been recognised (Bourne et al., 2012; Godwin, 2010). I have argued that Love Patrol does this; the show communicates the importance of human rights, tolerance and respect for individual differences as well as stimulating positive dialogue for change. Moreover, it manages to achieve this in a context of conservative television stations and censorship boards; the show’s continued success in gaining permission to air is a testament to its attunement to cultural context and local sensitivities. This is critical to bring about social change as cultivation theory reinforces the need for frequent, regular media consumption to cultivate viewer beliefs about homosexuality that coincide with those portrayed in the media (Bonds-Raacke et al., 2007; Calzo & Ward, 2009a; Schiappa et al., 2005). With increased media attention on issues of MSM, homophobia and stigma, Love Patrol appears to be contributing to greater discourse, challenging discriminatory community attitudes. Media items appearing in Fiji during the airing period of series three include discussion of the damaging attitudes of prejudice, and the need for acceptance and support. A letter to the editor printed in the Fiji Sun newspaper focused on homophobic attitudes: “For too long, sexual minorities in Fiji have been forced to struggle with their identities because of people and their attitudes” (Fiji Sun, 25/11/2010). An article in the following weeks in the same newspaper stated: “where homosexuality is not tolerated, men often hide themselves and their same-sex relations from their friends and families” (‘MenFiji70 joins fight’ Fiji Sun newspaper, 10/12/2010). This is notable, as the news media, particularly in Fiji, has had a fairly negative bias to reporting on these issues. Fiji also became the first Pacific Island country to mark ‘International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia’ on May 17,

70 Fiji support network for MSM. 280

2011, an event covered by both print and news media. These incidences reflect an unprecedented debate about attitudes towards MSM in Melanesia. There is no way of knowing if the on-screen portrayal of an MSM character in a local television series has stimulated the increased media attention on issues of homophobia, prejudice and stigma, which may reflect broader social trends of gay rights movements; however, Love Patrol contributes to this meta discourse.

There is some question about whether increased media visibility of marginalised populations leads to increased acceptance, in other words, real-world effects. Although important to acknowledge that visibility does not necessarily confer social legitimacy or cultural acceptance of MSM (Brookey & Westerfelhaus, 2001; Dow, 2001; Gross, 2001; Meyer, 2013; Shugart, 2003), my findings support the proposition that the media can be used in a pro-social manner to change attitudes towards homosexuality. Love Patrol appears to be playing a role in influencing social norms and contributing to greater acceptance of MSM in Melanesia. Increasing personal contact with openly gay individuals can lead to reductions in sexual prejudice at the individual level (Herek, 2009) and I have argued that Love Patrol’s Andy increases audience contact with Melanesian MSM. Furthermore, via identification and empathy development through parasocial interaction with the character, Love Patrol challenges stigma towards MSM and stimulates reflection on homophobia. Through their on-screen relationship with Andy, audiences are provided with a more nuanced, individuated and humanised way of perceiving MSM, which may play an important role in reducing prejudice against them (Herek & Capitanio, 1997; Levine, Nardi, & Gagnon, 1997). It is unknown if overall attitudes towards MSM amongst communities have changed; however, strong support from media and public opinion may create an environment where prejudice will be less tolerated. The rise of gay media characters and identities in other countries has been documented to influence the beliefs associated with members of marginalised groups and decrease the stigma associated with homosexuality (Hart, 2000; Mackie et al., 1996). There is little existing data on this from a developing country perspective. Though much research had been done on the power of edutainment to facilitate attitude change, to date there has been little attention to this with respect to sexual minorities. Consequently, in providing insights into the effect of Andy’s character on audience

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attitudes within Melanesia, this thesis contributes to this small but growing pool of knowledge.

On its own, a media production such as Love Patrol may not be able to transform community attitudes, but it can play a role in eroding people’s prejudices and thus contribute to social change (Gauntlett, 2008). In a region where the state and churches are invested in quelling sexual rights through anti-sodomy laws and church doctrine, Love Patrol is a form of advocacy media. The show offers a challenge to state policies through its images of sexual identity and the discussion it proliferates. The introduction of an MSM character has been met with support from workers in the field and advocates who are using it as an educational tool in training and sensitisation workshops. As church leaders, traditional leaders and politicians perpetuate sexual stigma this work is of vital importance to stimulate public dialogue on homophobia and affect change in institutional attitudes and behaviours (UNAIDS, 2007a), and changes in sexual prejudice can lead to changes in attitudes to policies affecting sexual minorities (Herek, 2009). Regardless of evidence suggesting Love Patrol can abate sexual prejudice, its capacity to impact on sexual stigma at the structural level remains limited; this will require legislative review and other structural interventions, much of which is beyond the capacity of a media production.

What Love Patrol can do is mobilise stigmatised communities for action. The most powerful responses to HIV have occurred precisely when affected communities have mobilised themselves to fight back against stigmatisation and oppression in relation to their lives (Parker & Aggleton, 2003). I have argued that the inclusion of the character of Andy legitimises MSM, builds community and mobilises groups such as Solidarity in Vanuatu. This chapter has also highlighted the need for leaders to emerge from within the community. In providing prominence and social status to sexual minorities, Love Patrol is supporting Melanesian MSM to build trenches of mobilisation and resistance against repression of their rights and identities (Castells, 2010). Andy is a powerful resistance identity against the dominance of the hegemonic paradigm and is helping to build a stronger, more unified voice for Melanesian MSM. It may create new opportunities for MSM to organise politically and form coalitions with other groups, continuing to capitalise on support from transnational gay-rights advocacy networks.

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As such it is a useful resource for MSM activists as they challenge laws, policies and popular attitudes that perpetuate oppression. The ability of a community to defend itself, mobilise public opinion and challenge the effects of stigma has a great influence on the outcome (Herdt, 2001). The evidence within the Melanesian context on this breakthrough character is that there are indeed real community-building and mobilising effects attributable to the transformative power of Andy. Time will tell what this will mean to the lives of Melanesian MSM and ultimately to effective HIV responses.

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CHAPTER 9

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

This thesis has argued that Love Patrol harnesses important social issues around HIV, sexuality and violence in ways that engage communities, enables dialogue about these sensitive issues and challenges socio-cultural norms to reduce stigma and promote sexual rights. The centrality of culture, engagement at the social and community level, challenging and reshaping social norms, visibility and voice, and audience reflection, dialogue and debate are the themes that drive my thesis. To conclude, I will show how this thesis contributes to the body of knowledge on how culture can be harnessed in the work of HIV prevention. I explicate how findings from this thesis indicate that a shift in focus from the individual level to the social level in Pacific HIV responses is imperative. Further, I give an account of how Love Patrol supports an agenda of advocacy and community mobilisation and I demonstrate my contribution in strengthening understandings of stigma reduction and social change processes. Finally, I examine the implications of this knowledge for the practice of HIV prevention initiatives in the Pacific.

Culturally embedded HIV prevention

My thesis has highlighted the centrality of culture in HIV prevention approaches. It concludes that people need to identify culturally and socially with HIV prevention messages. Within Melanesia many current prevention communication programs have been designed or copied from outside the region and by non-Pacific Islanders and these programs often employ messages and communication channels that fail to speak to the cultural experiences of Melanesian communities. Love Patrol is distinctly different. It focuses on the Melanesian cultural context and responds to the cultural experiences of communities, including economic, political, social and personal realities. I have found that Love Patrol is a ‘culturally compelling’ (Panter-Brick et al., 2006) approach that addresses local priorities and which communities feel they own. It is a highly proximate cultural product based on indigenous oral traditions that harnesses cultural strengths for HIV prevention. Theory and research reinforce the importance of HIV prevention approaches being grounded in and linked to social and cultural narratives

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(Airhihenbuwa & Obregon, 2000; Galavotti et al., 2001; Wight et al., 2012; Wilson & Miller, 2003). Love Patrol is just such a narrative, embedded in Melanesian culture, it speaks to the values, beliefs and practices of local communities and works with culture in order to undertake HIV prevention. I have found that it engages viewers in Fiji, PNG and Vanuatu emotionally, morally and socially in powerful ways. The focus Love Patrol has given to the local context appears to have heightened the ability of Melanesian audiences to connect with HIV-related issues and enabled them to become more proximate. In this way, audiences are then able to identify strategies for addressing these issues relevant to their own contexts and needs.

National responses to HIV in Melanesia have generally disregarded local culture (Aggleton et al., 2007; Eves, 2012), sidelining it as irrelevant in implementing prevention initiatives. I have argued that culture is incredibly relevant to HIV prevention. My thesis finds that Love Patrol identifies and harnesses attributes of Melanesian cultures that are positive for the conduct of HIV prevention, supporting the notion that culture can be mobilised as an asset and cultural norms reinvented and restructured to assist in HIV interventions (Taylor, 2007). I contend that custom and culture can be used to adapt to change in keeping with the creative agency of Melanesian communities that have long utilised it to “reconcile the old, the new, the traditional and the exogenous to achieve creative synthesis” (Keesing, 1996, p. 168). I have shown how Love Patrol employs traits of Melanesian culture as a vehicle for HIV education, providing information about HIV-related issues whilst simultaneously confronting attitudes and actions that go against collective cultural values and contribute to vulnerability. Culture is a force that needs to be harnessed in locally appropriate ways using intimate local knowledge. I contend that this can only be achieved by a local organisation, which is grounded in and part of, local culture.

I have found that Love Patrol is a culturally proximate production that leads to strong character identification and narrative involvement by audiences. My interview participants found Love Patrol to be extremely close to their own cultural experience. They were attracted to the characters and identified with them, perceiving them to be homophilous; they found the settings to be familiar, similar to the communities and contexts in which they live. As I have argued, strong parasocial relationships are

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developed with characters, and viewers exhibit a great deal of behavioural involvement with the show. Such cultural proximity is achieved through production by a local organisation, based on local stories informed by research and engagement with local communities. The series also meets a crucial need for culturally relevant texts. As the first local television series there was no other competition for the attention and admiration of Melanesian audiences. These findings reinforce the necessity of creating culturally sensitive narratives with which audiences can easily relate.

My thesis has demonstrated the important role cultural proximity and the resultant character identification plays in viewer receptivity to messages and influences contained within an edutainment production. This facilitates audiences being able to translate these into the local context. I found that Love Patrol characters share their experiences and viewers value the mediated advice, seeing them as peers. As such they are trusted and credible sources of advice on how to respond to homophobic harassment, how to handle relationships as a young person, or the need to attend clinic services. There is some evidence these characters have motivated action, including joining support groups and seeking HIV/STI testing. I argue that fictional characters, which audience members believe are authentic and perceive as real people, increase identification and facilitate engagement and learning (Busselle & Bilandzic, 2008; Singhal, Sharma, Papa & Witte, 2004). Furthermore, the development of affinity and empathy with characters appears to play a key role in facilitating translation into real-life contexts.

I have argued that one of the major successes of Love Patrol is its ability to actually engage cultural leaders. Due to the cultural/social nature of behaviour and norms, engagement with, and support of, cultural authorities are essential to the successes of any behaviour change interventions in the Pacific; integration within the core structures of family, community and church relationships is critical to success (UNAIDS Pacific Region, 2009). Working with, rather than against dominant social structures is also important to effective stigma reduction strategies (Scambler, 2006). I have shown that Love Patrol works with the central social structures in Melanesian societies: culture, family, community and church. As efforts to address HIV and sexual health issues are sometimes hampered by traditional views and resistance in local communities, the engagement of traditional cultural leaders is of critical importance. Opinion leaders and

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change agents are particularly important in influencing the adoption of new ideas, and the need to influence opinion leaders to have an effect on social norms, community attitudes and behaviours has been well documented (Rogers, 2003; Sherry, 2002). This is also key to fostering a receptive or enabling social environment where the powerful are willing to listen to the voices of those less powerful (Campbell, Cornish, Gibbs & Scott, 2010). Representatives of traditional and governmental authorities have publicly supported Love Patrol and the inclusion of characters representing marginalised populations. The success of Love Patrol’s portrayal of sensitive and controversial issues and engagement of audiences, authorities and communities with these issues underlines its success. This thesis finds that cultural resonance ensures the show’s content can be engaged with rather than rejected as ‘other’ or culturally inappropriate. I suggest that Wan Smolbag’s status as a well-known and respected local organisation is a significant contributing factor to its success in engaging such authorities. This carries with it its own authority as an indigenous organisation and as such respected for its local knowledge.

Significantly, my thesis has shown how culture can be drawn on to challenge stigma and social exclusion. Addressing stigma requires engagement with culture, norms and shared beliefs. I have argued that Love Patrol, as a culturally embedded production that focuses on socio-cultural norms, engages with the social processes of stigmatisation and by doing so is able to influence audience responses to marginalised populations. By exploiting collectivist cultural values of community and care, Love Patrol creatively confronts the stigma and isolation of marginalised populations as being against Melanesian culture. I have argued that values of family and community support are drawn on in Love Patrol to contest enacted stigma towards PLHIV and women who sell sex. Stigmatising actions and social exclusion are thereby contested by strategically positioning them as being against Melanesian culture, a highly innovative approach to addressing stigma. Scholars have called for ways of responding to stigma and discrimination that engage societies, communities and those who suffer stigmatisation and discrimination (Parker & Aggleton, 2003). My findings indicate that Love Patrol does this. It provides a strong cultural connection, viewers are emotionally and critically involved, PLHIV, sex workers and MSM are positively represented and empowered by the representation, and individuals and communities reflect on this

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representation, and dialogue ensues on how they need to take action in their local communities.

Shifting focus from the individual to the social level

My thesis highlights the importance of engagement with the Melanesian socio-cultural context and finds that Love Patrol is an approach that engages at the social level in direct contrast with the prevalent awareness-raising approaches. Love Patrol addresses people not only as individuals but also as connected members of groups, networks and collectives. As highlighted in my introduction, there is little indication that current approaches to HIV prevention are having any success in the region. The unique Pacific cultural, social and economic background indicate the need for much more culturally nuanced approaches, based on local social and cultural values, in contrast with predominant approaches. As discussed in Chapter 2, prevention models based on individual behaviour are of little efficacy in developing countries as part of HIV responses (Airhihenbuwa et al., 2000) as they isolate individual behaviour from the influence of political, cultural, and socio-economic factors that increase vulnerability to infection. Individual behavioural approaches that utilise generic population-based awareness activities are culturally inappropriate and ineffective in the Melanesian context, yet despite clear evidence of this, governments and international donors continue to fund such programs in the region. There is an urgent need to shift focus to social and structural approaches to HIV prevention.

The dominant communication model used in the region is characterised by a vertical, top-down approach whereby communication remains overly focused on information dissemination to ‘sensitise’ people about HIV. This thesis contends that Love Patrol, with its focus on interpersonal communication and community-level change is a definitive shift away from this model, and an approach that promotes social change. Social change occurs through dialogue and debate, attempting to change social norms, public policy, and even culture (Panos Institute, 2003; Stackpool-Moore, 2006a, 2006b). I have shown how Love Patrol’s approach of reflecting dimensions of viewers’ own social reality and experience illuminates the social processes and practices that create HIV vulnerability (Kippax, 2012). I argue that Love Patrol transcends the traditional focus on individual behaviour change, and has combined a focus on individual

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behaviour change with the need to address the larger social, political, economic and media environments the individual is situated within. As I have shown, Love Patrol raises a range of social issues including exclusion from education and employment, difficult family relationships, sexual abuse, gender-based violence and substance abuse, all of which are demonstrably associated with increased vulnerability to HIV (Campbell, 2003; Jenkins, 2007; Parker et al., 2000). These social and structural influences on HIV vulnerability are referred to in the Pacific Regional Strategy on HIV and other STIs 2009 – 2013 (SPC, 2009c), but are inadequately addressed by actual prevention programs in the Pacific. Love Patrol enables the consideration of issues of gender, power and control, oppression and empowerment, participation and dialogue, all of which are important to the process of social change (Lacayo, Obregon & Singhal, 2008; Papa, Singhal & Papa, 2006). While Love Patrol cannot address structural and institutional barriers to HIV prevention, which require policy change, legislative review and other structural interventions which is beyond the capacity of a media production, I suggest that it does operate beyond the individual level and contributes to the building of an enabling social environment for prevention. This is achieved through its work on shifting harmful social norms such as sexual prejudice, confronting stigma and discrimination, promoting dialogue and advocacy, and contributing to the empowerment of marginalised communities. Thus Love Patrol influences the audience’s external environment to help create the necessary conditions for social change at the system level

(Lacayo & Singhal, 2008; Papa & Singhal, 2009; Singhal & Rogers 2002; Singhal,

Sharma, Papa & Witte, 2004).

Within this thesis I have shown how Love Patrol has overcome social, cultural and religious taboos to enable community dialogue and HIV prevention education. Where previously cultural norms had inhibited discussion of particular sensitive or controversial issues, Love Patrol has introduced a range of topics including young people’s sexuality, sexual diversity, and the social context of sex work to the public agenda in Melanesian countries, providing a mechanism for dialogue and debate. I have argued that the nature of communal viewing is particularly conducive to ongoing constructive discussion of key social issues in local communication networks. Conversations stimulated amongst families and communities create important opportunities for social learning as people collectively consider new ideas and

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approaches. The consumption and processing of Love Patrol is an activity undertaken between people thus a direct contrast to the hierarchical nature of the traditional HIV awareness session. The process of developing critical thinking or ‘conscientization’ (Freire, 1973) is not achieved through hierarchical approaches to learning but through social processes characterised by dialogical and participatory relationships (Campbell & Jovchelovitch, 2000). Rather than being a ‘top down’ approach to communication, Love Patrol takes a horizontal approach that stimulates the sharing of information between people in a dialogic relationship, communicating for social change (Figueroa et al., 2002; Freire, 1995; Krenn & Limaye, 2009).

My thesis sheds light on the process whereby a culturally embedded production, consumed within a collectivist cultural setting, enables translation into people’s lives. In close resonance with Freire’s concept of ‘naming the world’ (1973), Love Patrol presents ideas, behaviours and social practices that constitute Melanesian societies. Identification draws viewers into the lives and perspectives of characters and they are invited to engage with the problems, doubts and troubles of Love Patrol characters, which mirror their own. I suggest that by following the characters as they face problems, critically examine and reflect on them, and adopt one or more strategies towards their solution, the audience participates in the process of reasoning and consciousness-raising that the character undergoes. My thesis has shown how this fosters audience critical reflection and social critique and I argue that this creates meaningful spaces for exploring community relations and practice. Through a process of dialogue which occurs in the group setting, people are able to make information relevant to their own lives by processing it in ways that are compatible with their own pre-existing frames of reference, vocabularies and social practices (Campbell, Nair & Maimane, 2007). This allows for the possibility of integration of new knowledge and norms in the social and cultural practices of everyday life. For new norms such as educating young people on issues of sexual health to be introduced and confirmed, there is a need for such collective dialogue and social endorsement.

I have found that Love Patrol viewing and dialogue facilitates recognition and ownership of HIV-related issues within communities, concentrating attention on community responsibility. In turn this may mobilise support for community level

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approaches to HIV prevention that focus on social and structural constraints. For communities to progress beyond dialogue, debate and critical reflection however, support is required which is beyond the capacity of an edutainment initiative. Borrowing from the notion that “the path from information to attitude to practice does not run straight” (Waisbord, 2005, p. 83), I suggest that the path from talking to doing is not only complex, it is dependent on the broader social and structural context. Consequently, addressing the broad range of community and structural factors that impact on HIV vulnerability is beyond the capacity of any one initiative.

Community mobilisation

Significantly, Love Patrol characters provide ‘voice’ to marginalised populations and are consequently a source of resistance and community mobilisation. It provides visibility to enacted stigma experienced by people with HIV, MSM and sex workers, potentially strengthening the capacity of these groups to speak out openly and advocate for their rights. The media, if locally relevant and engaged with by a wide range of audiences can be a powerful and effective means of generating informed and critical public debate, and amplifying the voices of people most affected (Stackpoole-Moore, 2006a, 2006b). As I have shown, Love Patrol has been successful in framing issues such as sex work and sexuality in nuanced and empowering ways. In this way, I contend that Love Patrol has enormous opportunity to influence responses to HIV in a manner that promotes positive social change and inclusion rather than perpetuating the stigmatisation and exclusion of those most affected by HIV.

Indigenous media can work to challenge social and political representations of particular groups (Thomas, 2011). The media has power in constructing social reality and the representation of a social world that includes members of marginalised groups in positive ways, providing a form of symbolic capital (Bourdieu, 1990; Couldry, 2003). In placing the stories of people with HIV, MSM and sex workers into the public sphere Love Patrol gives visibility and voice to groups traditionally silenced within Melanesia and facilitates recognition of their legitimacy. As well as being instruments of knowledge, symbolic systems such as the media serve political functions and can be instruments of domination but equally can be harnessed to challenge oppression (Bourdieu, 1986). As suggested by Bourdieu (1986), one can transform the world by

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transforming its representation. My thesis highlights the centrality of social representations in shaping the social realities of marginalised populations in Melanesia.

I have shown that the positive representation of people with HIV, sex workers and MSM in Love Patrol is playing a role in reducing the sense of powerlessness amongst these populations, and for some, affecting their perceived collective efficacy. The character of Andy has emerged as a powerful resistance identity (Castells, 2010) and a mobilising force and rallying point for Melanesian MSM communities. In particular, the Solidarity group in Vanuatu has experienced community-building effects and has mobilised for collective action. Love Patrol’s capacity to engage and mobilise marginalised communities in such a way is important as HIV interventions have seldom achieved reductions in HIV infections unless accompanied by strengthened, local level community mobilisation (Parker, 2009). Less clear are other aspects of community- level change that may have occurred as a result of Love Patrol and this is due in part to the limitations of the research design.

I contend that Love Patrol is playing a role in combating previous negative representations and advocating the rights of sex workers and MSM in Melanesia. This is important for HIV responses but has limitations within the constraints of structural violence inherent in discriminatory laws and policies operating in the region. As a media production Love Patrol is unable to address the legal constraints that structure their vulnerability. Laws that criminalise sex work and same-sex sexual activity constitute structural barriers to effective HIV prevention and should be repealed. However, the human rights dialogue stimulated by Love Patrol is extremely timely for the region where action on decriminalisation of same-sex activity is starting to occur (Fiji), and sex worker groups are mobilising for human rights (in PNG and Fiji) and some countries are discussing the decriminalisation of sex work (such as PNG). Love Patrol narratives that focus attention on the rights of sex workers and MSM support an agenda of mobilisation and advocacy.

My thesis has a number of important implications for future practice, especially for approaches to HIV prevention in the Pacific. It affirms the critical importance of initiatives being culturally embedded and addressing the social context, bringing issues

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of social change to the forefront of the Pacific HIV prevention agenda. Social interventions for HIV prevention aim to modify social arrangements and social conditions or both to promote health and reduce risk in specific contexts (Auerbach, 2009). Because they aim to affect environments, such interventions often involve a combination of strategies, and importantly, they are usually about more than just HIV. This is the case with Love Patrol, which is beyond HIV prevention. Wan Smolbag Theatre has succeeded not only in producing the first Pacific television series, but also in putting a broad range of social issues on the agenda for Melanesian communities. It engages with and challenges the values of Melanesian societies, thereby challenging the existing social order without seeking to overthrow it. Love Patrol is a case study for employing locally produced media for social change purposes and my thesis may assist countries in maximising the medium to strengthen their HIV prevention responses in coordination with other interventions. This thesis demonstrates that by working within culture and using culture as strength, communication can be utilised to stimulate dialogue and debate and amplify the voices of people most affected to support change.

There is now a considerable body of research on edutainment but limited information on how it may stimulate social change processes. The critical role of interpersonal communication in processes of social change has been well emphasised in the literature but few studies have fully explored the social interaction aspect of edutainment effects (Kincaid, 2002; Papa, et al., 2000; Sood, 2002). My thesis contributes in this area. Love Patrol has successfully infiltrated Melanesian social networks, diffusing messages far beyond the original audience. As viewers told stories about the show and discussed the characters, the content was collectively processed. I have demonstrated some of the scope, depths and effects of social learning from edutainment within collectivist cultural settings. This thesis contributes to the pool of knowledge on social interaction and community dialogue stimulated by an edutainment program and illuminates the processes whereby locally produced edutainment plays a role in mobilising communities for change.

My thesis has shown how an edutainment initiative may contribute to social change in a way that has not been properly accounted for: in addressing stigma towards marginalised populations. I suggest that edutainment can be effective in engaging with

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and addressing the stigma associated with men who have sex with men and sex workers as well as people with HIV, thus my thesis contributes to the body of knowledge on stigma reduction interventions. Representation within edutainment productions, particularly of marginalised populations beyond PLHIV has had little attention and my thesis also contributes in this area. Love Patrol uses specific strategies such as issue framing and representation to challenge stereotypes and dominant discourses. My thesis contributes to understandings of how edutainment can employ counter-strategies to intervene in the dominant regime of representation (Hall, 1997b), supporting marginalised communities to challenge and transform the operation and effects of stigmatising representations.

Limitations and areas for further work

The research described in this thesis was exploratory in nature and involved a relatively small number of Love Patrol viewers in a limited number of settings in three Melanesian countries. I encountered challenges in undertaking fieldwork in settings with significant security issues (in PNG), which inhibited recruitment and impacted on locations for interviews. Conducting research in locations with limited infrastructure also affected the sample; periods of lack of electricity, or lack of access to television stations in some settings meant some viewers were excluded from participation, as although they may have seen previous series of Love Patrol, they were unable to watch the current series due to these constraints. However, despite these limitations, the research produced a significant amount of data to support the argument that Love Patrol harnesses important social issues around HIV, sexuality and violence in ways that engage communities, enable dialogue about these sensitive issues and challenge socio- cultural norms to reduce stigma and promote sexual rights. Even though I recognise there are considerable differences in cultures, norms and practices between Fiji, PNG and Vanuatu, the audience reaction to Love Patrol was remarkably similar within and across the three countries.

While Love Patrol has engaged communities, enabled dialogue and challenged socio- cultural norms, I cannot determine if it has actually changed HIV-related behaviours or

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reduced stigma within Melanesia. It is important to have realistic expectations about the potential impact of edutainment on behavioural and social change. Love Patrol is a mass-mediated product and by the very nature of being mass mediated, it has its limitations. It is unable to give practical advice for safe sex or to develop skills in communication or condom negotiation or provide real-time support. It cannot replace peer networks or social mobilisation (although it can support it, as I have discussed above). The development of skills and support is best achieved through interpersonal, participatory methods, such as peer education or small group discussions, thus there is a need for Love Patrol to be linked with community-level activities in order to maximise its effects. On its own, if viewed in isolation without social interaction and dialogue, Love Patrol is in danger of remaining in the realm of awareness-raising which, as argued, is an approach already significantly over-represented in Pacific HIV responses.

Edutainment initiatives such as Love Patrol can reach broad audiences with important prevention information on HIV (Ross, Dick & Ferguson, 2006); however, there is a lack of control inherent in the delivery of information using any form of mass media. The limitations of edutainment as a tool to communicate accurate information are brought to the fore when one considers the issue of feedback, considered essential in learning (Askew, 2000). Without a mechanism for checking the possible misunderstanding of material presented, there is no way of knowing if viewers have interpreted information correctly. I am reminded of a conversation I had with one interviewee who recalled a dialogue between two characters on HIV transmission that confused him, in which one character had stated: “HIV is not just spread from man to man”. He was uncertain about the meaning of this; did it mean HIV could not be passed between two men having sex? Our conversation clarified this for him, but for many viewers there may not be such an opportunity for discussion and clarification and the risk of misinterpretation of the Love Patrol narrative remains.

A further issue is the complex nature of social change, which is often not linear and is fraught with barriers and contradictions. Edutainment can lead to increased discussion about social issues, which may then lead to a collective belief that change is possible. However, not all those exposed will adopt socially desirable behaviours and some may even negatively change their behaviours (Papa et al., 2000). Moreover, the changing of

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social norms relies on reaching a ‘tipping point’ within a community. A critical mass is needed before a collective efficacy to create change can be seen, consequently the majority of a community needs to be exposed to messages and engaged in discussions about them before social norms are able to be influenced (Waszak Geary et al., 2005). This supports the idea of utilising Love Patrol with whole communities.

There is a need for empirical studies to further explicate the impact of using Love Patrol in educational settings such as schools, and through HIV prevention programs, where facilitated screenings and discussions are purposely implemented within specific communities and to evaluate its effect on community-level changes. Love Patrol then becomes a resource in a participatory facilitated process. This is the approach of Tingim Laip in PNG, which is combining communal screenings of Love Patrol with facilitated discussions in 20 communities throughout the provinces. It would also be valuable to investigate Love Patrol’s use in combination with dialogical approaches already being utilised with communities in some parts of the Pacific, such as Stepping Stones and Community Conversations. A further area of research would be to focus on Love Patrol’s use by marginalised groups themselves, such as PLHIV networks, and with specific populations such as police or with health workers.

The key challenge in the future is to develop ways in which an innovative communication initiative such as Love Patrol can connect with local-level structures and organisations. Although Love Patrol promotes health services, HIV testing and treatment, it is unable to address structural barriers such the lack of accessible health services, commodity distribution, or the availability of testing and treatment. To do so would require significant support at national level and partnering with local agencies to align the show with supplementary interventions. Apart from Vanuatu where the producers, Wan Smolbag, have services, Love Patrol is not as yet rooted in any strong partnerships with community-based organisations. It would be useful to assess the impact of locally produced media such as Love Patrol when used as part of a combination prevention approach which includes services, commodities and resourcing support networks.

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Conclusion

I will be crying at the last episode of Love Patrol because I want them to continue, I will miss them – trust me, I will miss them on Sundays. (Woman, 35 years, waitress, Vanuatu)

Love Patrol has lived up to its early promise of stimulating dialogue with and within Pacific communities on HIV; it has clearly engaged the attention and dialogical spaces of Melanesian audiences. Love Patrol has overcome social, cultural and religious constraints to enable a distinctly different HIV prevention education in the region. As my thesis has shown, people are talking about Love Patrol, interpreting it, translating and transporting it into the lives of real people and communities in ways that impact on the existing social order. And what of its contribution to HIV responses? This thesis has shown how Love Patrol is challenging and reshaping socio-cultural norms; stimulating private and public dialogue and debate, and mobilising communities in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, confirming the capacity for edutainment to play a role in HIV-related social change in the context of the Pacific. Furthermore, in providing a detailed and contextual analysis of the processes of representation in a Melanesian edutainment production this thesis extends broader understandings of edutainment’s role in stigma reduction and social change processes.

The Love Patrol story does not end here. Series six is about to go to air in Vanuatu, with other countries soon to follow, and Wan Smolbag is currently filming series seven. Simultaneously, other exciting initiatives are also taking place. Inspired by the enormous popularity of Love Patrol, a group at the University of Goroka in the PNG highlands has been working on a pilot of a local television series. A single episode of a drama, Painum Aut, has so far been produced by the Komuniti Tok Piksa project71 of the Centre for Social and Creative Media. It tells the story of Esther, a teenage girl who fears she has contracted HIV from her boyfriend Jimi. Love Patrol has motivated this development, and I trust will motivate many more productions to come. Furthermore, through the process of conducting research for this thesis my contact with the Komuniti

71 A research and production project that investigates the use of visual technologies for HIV awareness with communities in the PNG Highlands (Thomas, Papoutsaki & Eggins, 2010). 297

Tok Piksa project team has facilitated their contact with Wan Smolbag Theatre. Most recently, Komuniti Tok Piksa have informed me that they have been invited to join the production crew for the next series of Love Patrol and they have managed to source funding support for a young team of PNG film-makers to work with Wan Smolbag for an initial production exchange. The promulgation of island-to-island support and cooperation to further develop the pool of local talent experienced in scripting and producing the edutainment genre will undoubtedly have numerous valuable spin-offs that can only strengthen indigenous media production and HIV communication. Love Patrol’s ability to inspire other media productions is testimony to the importance Melanesians place on telling their own stories. It also speaks to the importance of continuing to develop and sustain effective local media which engage with cultural and social narratives. This is the way forward for HIV prevention communication in the Pacific.

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1

Viewer Interviews

Key Questions:

1. Have you watched all of the Love Patrol episodes or just some episodes? 2. Have you also seen earlier seasons of LP? 3. Where do you usually watch Love Patrol? 4. Who do you watch it with? 5. What is Love Patrol about? What happens in it? 6. Why do you watch Love Patrol? Tell me what you like about it? 7. Tell me what you don’t like about Love Patrol? 8. Did you learn anything new from watching Love Patrol (if yes, what?) 9. How is Love Patrol different to other shows on TV? 10. Tell me about the best/your favourite characters 11. Tell me about the characters you don’t like. 12. What do you think about the character Andy? 13. What do you think about the character Lorraine? 14. How did you feel after watching it? 15. Tell me about your favourite parts/ stories? 16. Why do you like those parts/ storylines? 17. Do things like this happen in real life in your community? Tell me about how this is like your community 18. Which characters are like people in your community? 19. If you were a character, who would you be? (why?) 20. Have you talked to anyone about Love Patrol after you watched it? (If so, tell me about who you talked to & what about) 21. Have you talked about issues to do with HIV/STI while Love Patrol has been on TV? 22. Who have you talked to? What things or issues did you talk about?? 23. Have you given anyone advice or support on anything to do with the issues in Love Patrol? (if yes, tell me about the sort of advice or support you have given) 24. Does Love Patrol make you think differently about anything to do with HIV/STI? (if yes, what?) ? 25. Does it make you think about doing anything different? (if yes, what?) 26. Is there anything that might make it difficult to do any of these things? 337

27. Did you try to get any more information on any of the issues in Love Patrol? Or talk to anyone about things? 28. Anything else you would like to say about Love Patrol?

Questions for PLHIV

1. Do you think LP brings out a true picture of issues to do with HIV in the Pacific? And in this community/country?

2. What do you think about the way it portrays the HIV+ characters?

3. Do you think it is playing a role in changing people’s attitudes toward PLHIV in this community/country? (If yes, what role & how?)

4. Are there other issues you think future episodes/series should include?

Questions for MSM

1. Do you think LP brings out a true picture of issues MSM in the Pacific? And in this community/country?

2. What do you think about the way it portrays the MSM character Andy?

3. Do you think it is playing a role in changing people’s attitudes toward MSM in this community/country? (If yes, what role & how?)

4. Are there other issues you think future episodes/series should include?

Questions for sex workers

1. Do you think LP brings out a true picture of issues for sex workers in the Pacific? And in this community/country?

2. What do you think about the way it portrays the sex worker characters?

3. Do you think it is playing a role in changing people’s attitudes toward sex workers in this community/country? (If yes, what role & how?)

4. Are there other issues you think future episodes/series should include?

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Appendix 2

Key informant interviews

Key Questions: 1. Have you watched Love Patrol yourself? (how often, all episodes?) 2. What do you think of it? 3. In relation to Love Patrol – what stands out in your minds as the most important messages? 4. Why are these important? 5. Which characters do you think are important? Why? (prompt for what they think of Lorraine/ Andy) 6. Do you think people could get anything from LP that they could make use of in their own lives? (if yes, what?) 7. Are the issues in Love Patrol relevant to your work? (if so how?) 8. Do you think LP being on TV has had any effect on your work/ community? How? (eg. Usage of material, client numbers, impact on organisational priorities) – examples? 9. Have you heard of LP having an effect on any other group, organisation or service? 10. Anything that you have noticed in interaction with your clients/ beneficiaries/ community that could be related to Love Patrol? 11. Do people in your community (or your clients) talk about LP? 12. Since LP has been on TV, have any of the issues in the series been discussed in your community or by your clients? 13. Do you know of any community action that took place over this time around any of the Love Patrol themes? 14. Have you noticed any extra media coverage around HIV/STI or related issues during the period when LP has been on TV? (eg. Items in newspaper, on radio or TV). And has this impacted on your work? 15. Any other comments you would like to make about LP?

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Appendix 3a

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES School of Public Heath and Community Medicine.

Approval No. HREC 10313

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION STATEMENT AND CONSENT FORM

Love Patrol

This research is being undertaken by the School of Public Health and Community Medicine (SPHCM) which is located within the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

Participant selection and purpose of study You are invited to participate in a study exploring the effect the Love Patrol TV series might have on audiences in the Pacific. The study will be undertaken by asking you what impact you believe Love Patrol is having on communities. The study will take place in November 2010.

You have been invited to participate because you are a key informant for your community and we believe that your ideas about Love Patrol and its effects on the community are important, and these ideas will form a key part of our research.

Description of study and risks If you decide to participate, you will be asked to complete an interview which will be carried out by a research assistant working on our project. Each interview will last approximately one hour. Interviews will consist of a series of questions on set topics, but facilitators may ask questions about topics that have not been pre-set in order to better understand each participant’s experiences. The questions you will be asked are about your personal opinion, and some people may find them difficult to answer. You may choose not to answer some of the questions.

We cannot and do not guarantee or promise that you will receive any benefits from this study. However, the results of this project will contribute to understanding about what effect Love Patrol has on audiences in the Pacific, which will inform future series of the show and other mass media HIV prevention initiatives.

Confidentiality and disclosure of information Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that could be identified with you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission, except as required by law. If you give us your permission by signing this document, we plan to disseminate the results of this project through publication in academic journals and through presentations at relevant meetings. As a participant, you will have access to these results in the form of a report which will be sent to the organisation which informed you about this project. The report will be available in 2014. In any publication, information will be provided in such a way to ensure that you cannot be identified. 1 of 3

340

Love Patrol Research Project

Audio-taping of the Interview With your permission the interview will be audio-taped. The interview tape will be transcribed and all details that could identify you will be removed.

Your consent Your decision whether or not to participate will not prejudice your future relations with the University of New South Wales or with any organisation or network that has facilitated our introduction to you. If you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw your consent and to discontinue participation at any time without prejudice.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us. If you have any additional questions later, please contact the project coordinator Robyn Drysdale from the University of New South Wales on [email protected] (Email) who will be happy to answer them. Until November 24th 2010 our contact number in Vanuatu is … INSERT MOBILE NUMBER ….

On occasion, some people find that talking about these matters upsets them. Should this happen to you, or should the interview process raise issues that talking to a professional counsellor could help resolve, a free counselling service is available to you. Kam Pusem Hed can be contacted at tel #……….. or through our interviewers.

Thank you for your assistance with this project.

Any person with concerns or complaints about the conduct of a research study can contact the University of New South Wales Human Research Ethics Committee on +61 2 9385 4234 (Telephone); +61 2 9385 6648 (Facsimile) or [email protected] (Email). We will give you a stamped addressed envelope if you wish to write to the Human Research Ethics Committee.

REVOCATION OF CONSENT “Love Patrol” Research Project

I hereby wish to WITHDRAW my consent to participate in the research proposal described above and understand that such withdrawal WILL NOT jeopardise any treatment or my relationship with The University of New South Wales, or any agency in Vanuatu.

…………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………. Signature Date

…………………………………………………… Please PRINT Name

The section for Revocation of Consent should be forwarded to: Associate Professor Heather Worth School of Public Health and Community Medicine University of New South Wales New South Wales 2052 AUSTRALIA This copy is yours to keep 2 of 3

341

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION STATEMENT AND CONSENT FORM (continued)

Love Patrol

You are making a decision whether or not to participate. Your signature indicates that, having read the information provided above, you have decided to participate.

…………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………. Signature of Research Participant Signature of Witness

…………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………. (Please PRINT name) (Please PRINT name)

…………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………. Date Nature of Witness

3 of 3 342

Appendix 3b

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES School of Public Heath and Community Medicine.

Approval No. HREC 10313

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION STATEMENT AND CONSENT FORM

Love Patrol

This research is being undertaken by the School of Public Health and Community Medicine (SPHCM) which is located within the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

You have been invited to participate because you are a Love Patrol viewer and we believe that your ideas about Love Patrol are important, and these ideas will form a key part of our research.

343

Love Patrol Research Project

Audio-taping of the Interview With your permission the interview will be audio-taped. The interview tape will be transcribed and all details that could identify you will be removed.

Thank you for your assistance with this project.

REVOCATION OF CONSENT “Love Patrol” Research Project

…………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………. Signature Date

…………………………………………………… Please PRINT Name

344

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION STATEMENT AND CONSENT FORM (continued)

Love Patrol

You are making a decision whether or not to participate. Your signature indicates that, having read the information provided above, you have decided to participate.

…………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………. Signature of Research Participant Signature of Witness

…………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………. (Please PRINT name) (Please PRINT name)

…………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………. Date Nature of Witness

3 of 3 345

Appendix 3c

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES School of Public Heath and Community Medicine. Approval No. HREC 10313

PARENTAL (OR GUARDIAN) INFORMATION STATEMENT AND CONSENT FORM

Love Patrol

This research is being undertaken by the School of Public Health and Community Medicine (SPHCM) which is located within the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

Participant selection and purpose of study You are invited to permit your child to participate in a study exploring the effect the Love Patrol TV series might have on audiences in the Pacific. The study will be undertaken by asking your child what they understand Love Patrol is about and how accurate and relevant they think it is. The study will take place in November 2010.

Your child has been invited to participate because they are a Love Patrol viewer and we believe that their ideas about Love Patrol are important, and these ideas will form the basis of our research.

Description of study and risks If you decide to permit your child to participate, they will be asked to complete an interview, in your presence, which will be carried out by a research assistant working on our project. Each interview will last approximately one hour. Interviews will consist of a series of questions on set topics, but facilitators may ask questions about topics that have not been pre-set in order to better understand each participant’s experiences. The questions your child will be asked are about their personal opinion, and some people may find them difficult to answer. They may choose not to answer some of the questions.

We cannot and do not guarantee or promise that your child will receive any benefits from this study. However, the results of this project will contribute to understanding about what effect Love Patrol has on audiences in the Pacific, which will inform future series of the show and other mass media HIV prevention initiatives.

Confidentiality and disclosure of information Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that could be identified with your child will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission, except as required by law. If you give us your permission by signing this document, we plan to disseminate the results of this project through publication in academic journals and through presentations at relevant meetings. As a participant, you will have access to these results in the form of a report which will be sent to the organisation which informed you about this project. The report will be available in 2014. In any publication, information will be provided in such a way to ensure that you or your child cannot be identified.

346

Love Patrol Research Project

Audio-taping of the Interview With your permission the interview will be audio-taped. The interview tape will be transcribed and all details that could identify you and your child will be removed.

Your consent Your decision whether or not to permit your child to participate will not prejudice your future relations with the University of New South Wales or with any organisation or network that has facilitated our introduction to you. If you decide to permit your child to participate, you are free to withdraw your consent and to discontinue participation at any time without prejudice.

On occasion, some people find that talking about these matters upsets them. Should this happen to you or your child, or should the interview process raise issues that talking to a professional counsellor could help resolve, a free counselling service is available to you. Kam Pusem Hed can be contacted at tel #……….. or through our interviewers.

Thank you for your assistance with this project.

REVOCATION OF CONSENT “Love Patrol” Research Project

I hereby wish to WITHDRAW my consent or my child/ward to participate in the research proposal described above and understand that such withdrawal WILL NOT jeopardise any treatment or my relationship with The University of New South Wales, or any agency in Vanuatu.

…………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………. Signature Date

…………………………………………………… Please PRINT Name

The section for Revocation of Consent by the parent/ guardian should be forwarded to: Associate Professor Heather Worth School of Public Health and Community Medicine University of New South Wales New South Wales 2052 AUSTRALIA This copy is yours to keep 2 of 3

347

PARENTAL (OR GUARDIAN) INFORMATION STATEMENT AND CONSENT FORM (continued)

Love Patrol

You are making a decision whether or not to permit your child to participate. Your signature indicates that, having read the information provided above, you have decided to permit your child to participate.

…………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………. Signature of Research Participant Signature of Witness

…………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………. (Please PRINT name) (Please PRINT name)

…………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………. Date Nature of Witness

3 of 3 348

Appendix 4a

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

1 October 201 0

HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS Professor Heather Worth COMMITTEE {HREC) School of Public Health and Community Medicine Samuels Building

Dear Professor Worth

Preventing HIV in the Pacific Islands: What contribution can a television soap opera make to responses to HIV in each country? HREC 10313

Thank you for the email and attachments from Ms Robyn Drysdale to Mrs Annamarie D'Souza dated 24 September 2010.

The executive of the Human Research Ethics Committee considered the above protocol at its meeting held on 28 September 2010 and is pleased to advise it is satisfied that this protocol meets the requirements as set out in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research*.

Having taken into account the advice of the Committee, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) has approved the project to proceed.

Would you please note-:

• approval is valid for five years (from the date of the meeting i.e. 28 September 2010);

• you will be required to provide annual reports on the study's progress to the HREC, as recommended by the National Statement;

• you are required to immediately report to the Ethics Secretariat anything which might warrant review of ethical approval of the protocol (National Statement 3.3.22, 5.5.7) including:

a) serious or unexpected outcomes experienced by research participants (using the Serious Adverse Event proforma on the University website at http://www.gmo.unsw.edu.au/Ethics/HumanEthics/InformationForApplicants!Profonna sTemplates/Cl3 SAE%20Proforma.rt0; b) proposed changes in the protocol; and c) unforeseen events or new information (eg from other studies) that might affect continued ethical acceptability of the project or may indicate the need for amendments to the protocol;

• any modifications to the project must have prior written approval and be ratified by any other relevant Human Research Ethics Committee, as appropriate; .. 1..

UNSW SYDN EY NSW 2052 AUSTRALIA Te l ephone: +61 (2) 9385 4234 Facsimile: +61 (2) 938S 6648 Email: ethics [email protected] du .au Location: Rupert Myers Building C/o Research Office I Ethics, Gate 14, Barker Street Kensington ABN 57 195 873 1 79

349

(HREC 10313 cont'd)

.. 2 ..

• if there are implantable devices, the researcher must establish a system for tracking the participants with implantable devices for the lifetime of the device (with consent) and report any device incidents to the TGA;

if the research project is discontinued before the expected date of completion, the researcher is required to inform the HREC and other relevant institutions (and where possible, research participants), giving reasons. For multi-site research, or where there has been multiple ethical review, the researcher must advise how this will be communicated before the research begins (National Statement 3.3.23 and 5.5.6);

• consent forms are to be retained within the archives of the School and made available to the Committee upon request.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Michael Grimm Presiding Member HREC

*http://www.nhmrc.gov.au

350

Appendix 4b

GOVERNMENT GOVERNEMENT OF THE DELA REPUBLIC OF VANUATU REPUBLIQUE DE VANUATU

MINISTRY OF HEALTH MINISTERE DE LA SANTE

PRIVATE MAIL BAG 9009 SAC POSTAL PRIVE 9009 TEL. 22512- FAX: 25438 TEL. 22512- FAX: 25438

DIRECTORATE OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Ref: DPH 02/2-LT/mhd Date: 19th November 2010

Robyn Drysdale School of Public Health and Community Medicine University of New South Wales Samuels building Sydney NSW 2052 Australia

Dear Ms Drysdale,

Re: Preventing HIV in the Pacific Islands: What contribution can "Love Patrol", a Pacific television series, make to responses to HIV in each countrv?

Thank you for submitting your application for ethics approval for a research study on Love Patrol entitled as above.

The Vanuatu Ministry of Health's Health Research and Ethics Committee (HREC) has reviewed your proposal and hereby grants its permission for the research study to be conducted in Vanuatu, in collaboration with Wan Smol Bag Theatre.

We wish you success in the study.

Cc.: File

351

Appendix 4c

Fiji National Research Ethics Review Committee Phone • (679) 3306177/3221502 FAX • (679) 3318227 Minis1ry of Health P.O. Box 2223, Govt. B1dgs. Suva, Fiji Islands Email • [email protected]

13 Decembe<2010

Ms Robyn Drysdale PhD Candidate School of Public Health and Conununity Medicine UNSW Sydney AUSTRAUA

Dear Ms Drysdale,

Subject: Approval for Research Involving Human Subjects

Thank you for your research proposal application that was re-submitted to the Fiji National Research Ethics Review Conunittee (FNRERC) for ethics review.

On behalf of the Fiji National Research Ethics Review Committee, I am pleased to iofonn you that FNRERC during its meeting oo 24'h Nownnber 2010 has granted ethical and technical approval for your study.

It has beeo given the following FNRERC Ethics Approval Number: 063/2010.

Research Title: Love Patrol- can TV soap opera contribute towards the HIV response in Pacific Islands?

Please note that the following conditions apply only and specifically to this approval:

352

(a) All subsequent records and correspondences related to this study nmst refer to its specific Ethics Approval Nwnber as stated above. (b) AJ1y subsequent variations or modifications to the study must be notified formally to the Chalr in writing for further consideration and approval. If the Chair considers that the proposed changes are significant, the Principal Investigator may be required to submit a new application for approval of the revised study. (c) The Principal Investigator nmst report immediately to the Chalr anything which may affect the ongoing ethical acceptance of the protocol, including adverse effects or unforeseen events. Failure to do so may result in withdrawal or ca:tcellation of this approval. (d) This study may be subject to monitoring at any time by the Fiji National Research Ethics Review Committee (e) It is mandatory that the Principal Investigator provide a written report on the progress and also upon completion ofthe study to the Chalr.

Should you have any further queries on these matters or require any additional information, please contact the Secretariat.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Josaia Samuela (Secretariat) Fiji National Research Ethics Review Committee Level2, Dinem House Ministry ofHealth Dated: 13 December 20 I 0

353

Appendix 4d

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• llltf(.(T: Rn.ll).. Cl24! l'rrundna .HI\ ' " tbt VaciJic:; \\bot (OntribuCivu .-.. , ·L~ · J'ntrol"; A f••ri 0.: 1.:1~ b lou >O.•P .... m&kl' Co ~o n JC'S o Ill\ ln mc:b t'M,.Ir).

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354