According to the Times, supporters of the campaign—which uses the tag line "Own It. End It." on billboards and in magazines—say the focus on women and other vulnerable groups in the fight against HIV/AIDS has left many men who have sex with men (MSM) with a false sense of protection from the disease, even though they still account for the majority people living with the virus in the U.S. and Europe.

“It is indisputable that in Los Angeles HIV has a hugely disproportionate affect upon gay and bisexual men of all races and ethnicities,” Lorri Jean, chief executive of the Gay and Lesbian Center, wrote in a statement published on the "Own It. End It." Website. “While men of color represent the largest group of people living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County, it is rarely noted that the vast majority of them are gay and bisexual men.”

According to the Jean's statement, about 75% of HIV cases in Los Angeles County occur among MSM, which is "somewhat at odds with data from other parts of the country," where HIV cases are increasing among women and injection drug users. Data from the Center for Disease Control show that MSM account from 45–50 percent of recent HIV cases nationwide.

Jean told the Times that the aim of the campaign is to prompt a dialogue and reinvigorate advocacy among the MSM community rather than detract from efforts to reach vulnerable people outside the community.

However, the Times reports that some AIDS advocates have expressed concern that the campaign will fuel stigma surrounding the disease and make women and heterosexual men reluctant to seek testing and treatment.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein criticized the campaign, told the Times that worldwide, heterosexuals are most at risk of HIV transmission.

"It is a disease of the immune system," he told the Times.

Until next time!