Scrutinize Campaign Murals

These murals ares part of the Scrutinize campaign in South Africa. The campaign is aimed at asking people to “scrutinize” or look carefully at their own behaviors that put them at risk for HIV infection. To create the murals, a team of painters along with Scrutinize educators painted neighborhood walls with images of the central Scrutinize character, Victor, and the other Scrutinize characters. This captured the attention of the community, raising HIV-related questions and issues which the educators were on hand to answer. The impact of this innovation is long-lasting as murals will regularly be checked and follow-up events and education programs held with these murals forming the backdrop. The conversation around the Scrutinize murals is transforming communities to talk about HIV more openly. Scrutinize is on the top of many people’s minds, and stores and community locations are now referred to as the “Scrutinize Spaza”. This web page shows 40 images of murals and activities around the mural showings.

The South Africa National Communication Survey 2012 Preliminary Results revealed that Scrutinize reached about 70% of the intended population, promoted self-efficacy and positive attitudes toward condom use. Regarding HIV, the survey also revealed that self-efficacy to request partner testing and discussion with sex partners about getting tested together has a positive net effect.

Source: Johns Hopkins Health and Education South Africa (JHHESA)

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019