(Updated 13 December 2013)
Past terminology | Preferred terminology |
|---|---|
| Age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education | Comprehensive sexuality education |
| AIDS patient | Patient with HIV-related illness. Use the term ‘patient' only when referring to a clinical setting. |
| AIDS-carrier; AIDS patient; AIDS-sufferer; AIDS-infected | Person living with HIV |
| Bisexual | Men who have sex with both men and women, or women who have sex with both women and men. |
| Drug abuser, drug addict, drug user | Person who injects drugs. A broader term that may apply in some situations is person who uses drugs.(IDU Injecting Drug User) |
| Fight against AIDS | Response to AIDS or AIDS response |
| Gay | Men who have sex with men |
| HIV/AIDS | HIV and AIDS- Use the term that is most specific and appropriate in the context to avoid confusion between HIV (a virus) and AIDS (a clinical syndrome). Examples include ‘people living with HIV', ‘HIV prevalence', ‘HIV prevention', ‘HIV testing and counselling', ‘HIV-related disease', ‘AIDS diagnosis', ‘children orphaned by ‘AIDS', ‘AIDS response', ‘national AIDS programme', ‘AIDS service organisation'. Both ‘HIV epidemic' and ‘AIDS epidemic' are acceptable, but ‘HIV epidemic' is a more inclusive term. |
| High-risk group/vulnerable group | Key populations at higher risk |
| Lesbian | Women who have sex with women |
| Pandemic | National, regional or global epidemic |
| Population control | Rights-based family planning or contraceptive services |
| Prostitute/prostitution | Sex work, sex worker / Commercial sex, the sale of sexual services. When children are involved, refer to commercial sexual exploitation of children. |
| Risk of AIDS | Risk of HIV infection or Risk of exposure to HIV |
| Safe sex | Safer sex |
| STD sexually transmitted Disease | STI Sexually Transmitted Infection |
| Spousal transmission | Intimate partner transmission |
