"Love life" campaign will not be stopped
The Federal Administrative Court has decided not to halt the «Love Life» HIV prevention campaign for the time being. It appears questionable that the campaign poses a risk to children and adolescents. The decision is an interim ruling; the final judgment is pending.
The Federal Administrative Court first had to decide whether the campaign should be stopped as a precautionary measure until the court proceedings had been concluded. 35 children and young people aged between 4 and 17, or their legal representatives, requested the Federal Office of Public Health to stop the campaign. The authority did not respond to the request, which is why the complainants have appealed to the Federal Administrative Court.
The group is supported by the Christian-oriented Stiftung Zukunft Schweiz. It bases its demand on the fact that the images and films of sexual acts disseminated as part of the campaign are "highly likely" to "endanger and impair the development of children and young people".
The Federal Administrative Court discussed the complainants' arguments in its ruling, stating that there was "generally no significant public interest in the representations, as the prevention message was not recognizable to the public and was therefore not suitable for promoting the relevant interests of health protection".
Scoring permitted
The Federal Administrative Court does not share this view. Rather, the court finds it questionable whether the sexual images could endanger or harm children and young people. However, it is up to the viewer to "judge the images as offensive or distasteful".
According to the court, the purpose of the images can also be "comprehensibly explained by the parents who are obliged to care for the children and young people".
Following this decision, the Federal Administrative Court must now make a final decision on the precautionary measures.
Lack of understanding at the foundation
The Swiss Future Foundation finds the Federal Administrative Court's ruling "incomprehensible", as it writes in a press release. With the deletion of the Lovelife.ch website, "no achievements will be lost". It is incomprehensible how the portal, "which obviously serves more to promote an uninhibited lifestyle than HIV prevention, should be of public interest".
The foundation is now hoping for a definitive decision from the Federal Administrative Court. It has also lodged a supervisory complaint with the Federal Department of Home Affairs regarding the Lovelife campaign. (SDA)
