Channel 5 has been heavily criticised for the title of a new TV special, with people claiming it ‘perpetuates negative stereotypes’ about those living with HIV.
On Monday night (May 20), the channel airs a special programme on the Infected Blood Scandal, to mark the long-awaited publication of the final report by the Infected Blood Inquiry.
The film sees Channel 5 speak to families and victims ‘about the devastating impact of the scandal over the past 40 years.’
A trailer for the special shows its title as Bad Blood, which many have slammed as inappropriate.
‘Calling it Bad Blood perpetuates negative stereotypes about people living with HIV’, wrote X user Brey112.
‘This is a terrible name. Hugely stigmatising’, added Donna__McLean.
JasonReidUK said the name was ‘very disappointing’ from Channel 5.
He ranted: ‘Calling this programme Bad Blood perpetuates negative stereotypes about people living with HIV and we desperately need to work together to ensure that the language and actions we use is breaking down stigma not encouraging it.’
‘Not just negative stereotypes, but inflammatory language like this is harmful to people living with HIV, please consider changing the title’, he added.
LondonLadAnt also called the title ‘shameful’, while Donna__McLean said: ‘This is like the 80s all over again.’
In the trailer for the documentary, snippets of various interviews are shown.
One woman discusses how a loved one was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1985, while a second recalled the devastating moment she ‘waited for [her husband’s] heart to stop’.
Interviewees went on to say the scandal has ‘destroyed families’ and that those who are ‘still together’ are now ‘traumatised’ and ‘damaged’.
‘Governments of all colours have dismissed us, hoping we would go away, and we strongly believe that they were hoping we would all die,’ stated one advocate.
‘We’re still alive and kicking, and knocking on doors to make sure we get the answers and the justice we need,’ declared another.
The infected blood scandal is known as the biggest treatment disaster in the NHS.
More than 30,000 people were infected with deadly viruses while they were receiving NHS care between the 1970s and 1990s.
Today, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issued a ‘wholehearted and unequivocal’ apology to its victims, vowing that ‘comprehensive’ compensation will be delivered ‘whatever it costs’.
The PM said it was ‘a day of shame for the British state’ after the Infected Blood Inquiry identified a ‘catalogue of systemic, collective and individual failures’ that amounted to a ‘calamity’.
‘At every level, the people and institutions in which we place our trust failed in the most harrowing and devastating way,’ Sunak said in a statement to the House of Commons.
‘Layer and layer upon hurt, endured across decades, this is an apology from the State to every single person impacted by the scandal.
‘It did not have to be this way. It should never have been this way.’
‘And on behalf of this and every government stretching back to the 1970s, I am truly sorry.’
He promised to pay ‘comprehensive compensation’ to those affected and infected by the scandal.
‘Whatever it costs to deliver this scheme, we will pay it,’ he added, saying details would be set out on Tuesday.
Ministers have earmarked around £10billion for a compensation package.
Channel 5 has been contacted for comment.
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