Terminology
This website is primarily a historic archive and the contents have been organised under audience definitions and subject headings that were commonly in use when the materials were produced in the 80s, 90s and 00s. The intention is to make it easier to navigate and compare visual material, as opposed to presenting one linear chronological timeline (which can be found on other websites such as https://www.avert.org/avert-timeline).
Certain audience groups are under-represented, either because there was less information produced to address their needs at the time, or this material is more difficult to locate or has not been preserved. There was little acknowledgement of transgender people in the printed matter and terms such as 'gender fluid' and 'non-binary' were not in general use. Information for men was mainly aimed at 'gay and bisexual men' before the term 'men who have sex with men' became more widely used in the 90s. Similarly, the use of 'ethnic minorities' as a term for non-white communities. This terminology also reflects that used in the health promotion sector, research, and written reports of the time, so has been retained in order to help make those references clear for researchers.
Because of the ephemeral nature of the material, some items are also difficult to date or credit accurately.
Any contributions to the collection that help to diversify the content or add to the information about specific items are appreciated.