Reducing Risks

Since the early2000s, HIV prevention among gay men has become a controversial issue. Confronted by an increase in risky sexual behavior, HIV/AIDS associations have become divided over what public health messages to send to gay men. In particular, the concept of “sexual risk reduction” caused a major rift between AIDES and Act Up-Paris, the two main HIV/AIDS associations in France. This article retraces the development of this debate, offering particular insight into its context. This work also illustrates the transformation staking place in the field of public health around the notion of responsibility and in doing so, offers a sociological reading of the reconfiguration of the notion of risk.