Happy Halloween! There’s a lot to be scared about, but nothing spookier than #HIVStigma. 🎃💀👻 #EndStigma #happyhalloween2018🎃👻
Showing 30 posts tagged HIV Awareness
AlecZander, Ohio
I #WontBeErased. As an 18 year old, non-binary, queer person of color, I REFUSE to be told that in order to avoid harassment, I should conform to the sex stereotypes of America today. I refuse to be told that in order for my government to acknowledge my existence, I must be a cisgender, straight, white american. I will not erase my own identity by conforming. We will not erase our identities by conforming. The transgender community is over 1.4 million people strong and we will not simply disappear just because the Trump Administration wants to define us out of existence.
The Trump Administration’s proposal for redefining ‘gender’ is blatantly transphobic. The proposed definition of gender results in the erasure of transgender and gender-nonconforming people in Title IX’s anti-discriminatory law. This definition would define sex as unchangeable. This proposition would require that the gender of a person be determined by the genitals that a person is born with. If this proposed definition is adopted, it allows the federal government to ignore all issues relating to transgender discrimination under Title IX. When questioned about cases in which transgender students faced discrimination in school, the Education Department’s office for Civil Rights stated that they will continue to investigate cases as “unwelcome conduct based on a student’s sex” or “harassing conduct based on a student’s failure to conform to sex stereotypes.” rather than simply investigating them as what they are, transgender discrimination cases. This proves to the transgender community that our government not only wants to erase our existence, but expects us to conform to stereotypes that our society has placed on us.
Today we recognize National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD), a day dedicated to raising awareness about the disproportionate impact of HIV in Latinx communities in the United States, Puerto Rico and territories.
When LGBTQ Latinx youth are shamed or denied care, they seek out other providers or stop pursuing care. Healthcare providers can adopt LGBTQ inclusive trainings, policies, and practices so youth obtain welcoming care.
For National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Leo discuss why he advocates for eliminating HIV stigma and promoting HIV awareness. National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day highlights the work of youth activists and educators around HIV and what’s still needed to better serve young people today.
For more stories, visit mystoryoutloud.org
On March 22nd, Erick hosted a webinar on PrEP 101 to talk about how it prevents the transmission of HIV, how to access it and it’s importance for young people, especially for him.
“I was hospitalized when I was 16 for syphilis. After my experience in the hospital, I vowed to myself that I would not let a 16 year old or anyone go without knowing about STIs or HIV prevention because I didn’t want them to be in the same predicament I was in. Luckily, syphilis is curable but at the same time, I didn’t know about it, my mom didn’t know about it.
For more information about PrEP visit https://prepisforyouth.org/
[To] any positive girl or woman in the world, I would say own whatever experience you’re having. You hold space too, you are important too. No one else can write this outline of your life better than you.
-
Tiffany, Florida
Message to all women and girls living with HIV for National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
When my brother fell
I picked up his weapons
and never once questioned
whether I could carry
the weight and grief,
the responsibility he shouldered.
I never questioned
whether I could aim
or be as precise as he.
He had fallen,
and the passing ceremonies
marking his death
did not stop the war.
Standing at the front lines
flanked by able brothers
who miss his eloquent courage,
his insistent voice
urging us to rebel,
urging us to not fear embracing
for more than sex,
for more than kisses
and notches in our belts.
Our loss is greater
than all the space
we fill with prayers
and praise.
He burned out
his pure life force
to bring us a chance
to love ourselves
with commitment.
He knew the simple
spilling of seed
would not be enough
to bind us.
It is difficult
to stop marching, Joseph,
impossible to stop our assault.
The tributes and testimonies
in your honor
flare up like torches.
Every night
a light blazes for you
in one of our hearts.
There was no one lonelier
than you, Joseph.
Perhaps you wanted love
so desperately and pleaded
with God for the only mercy
that could be spared.
Perhaps God knew
you couldn’t be given
more than public love
in this lifetime.
When I stand
on the front lines, now
cussing the lack of truth,
the absence of willful change
and strategic coalitions,
I realize sewing quilts
will not bring you back
nor save us.
It’s too soon
to make monuments
for all we are losing,
for the lack of truth
as to why we are dying,
who wants us dead,
what purpose does it serve?
When my brother fell
I picked up his weapons.
I didn’t question
whether I could aim
or be as precise as he.
A needle and thread
were not among
his things
I found.
- Essex Hemphill, Ceremonies
YouthResource activists share the articles of the NYHAAD Bill of Rights and what they mean to us and our peers.
It is important to remember the voices and experiences of young people in the HIV movement and our right to education, access to medically accurate and culturally responsive health services, and to live free of oppression and stigma.
