Bus Benches Carry AIDS Warning

The first installment of a campaign to instill the fear of AIDS into customers of prostitutes was unveiled Monday in the San Fernando Valley.

City officials displayed the first of an expected 50 bus bench signs, all warning of the possible consequences of prostitution, that will be posted along Sepulveda Boulevard in Sepulveda and Van Nuys, a stretch of road where residents and merchants have long complained of streetwalkers.

“The cost of prostitution has just gone up,” reads the bench sign, which also features a picture of a tombstone with AIDS marked across its face and the words “LAPD Undercover Vice.”

Several billboards in the area will carry similar messages as part of the campaign for which the Los Angeles City Council has set aside $12,000. Area businesses have donated the sign space and artwork.

Sgt. Paul Haberman noted that, although acquired immune deficiency syndrome is spread primarily through intravenous drug use and male homosexual contact, recent studies indicate that many prostitutes are carriers of the AIDS virus.

“We are trying to break the chain between the prostitutes and the buyers so we can help preclude an increase of AIDS virus carriers in the heterosexual population,” Haberman said. “If we put up enough signs, maybe the buyers will think twice and go home and have a beer and watch TV instead.”

Officials said they expect to take the campaign to other areas of the city where prostitution is considered a problem.