awareness days

National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

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National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day is an annual observance that takes place on April 10. The first ever National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day took place on April 10, 2015.

Today’s young people are the first generation who have never known a world without HIV and AIDS. In the United States, one in four new HIV infections is among youth ages 13 to 24. Every month 1,000 young people are infected with HIV and over 76,400 young people are currently living with HIV across the country. While there has been much talk about an AIDS-Free Generation, we know that is not possible without our nation’s youth. Young people and their allies are determined to end this epidemic once and for all and this day is a way to acknowledge the great work young people are already engaging in to do so.

National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day will be celebrated all across the country. There will be events hosted by various organizations and individuals in high schools, colleges, churches, community centers and more! There also will be opportunities for online participation.

Find out more at www.youthaidsday.org

 

 

 

International Family Equality Day

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On May 3, 2015, LGBTQ family organizations from around the world will join forces, for the fourth time, to increase the international visibility of LGBTQ families.

Regardless of different legal, political and social circumstances around the world, the dramatic increase in the numbers of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) people choosing to raise children is a global phenomenon.

International Family Equality Day will take place every year on the first Sunday in May.  Find out more at www.internationalfamilyequalityday.org.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

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National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

HIV affects all people, but some communities have been particularly hard hit. Of the more than 1.1 million Americans living with HIV today, half are Black. Black Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV relative to their share of the U.S. population, accounting for 44% of all new infections in the U.S. while representing just 12% of the population. The epidemic has touched many lives. According to a national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, three in five Black Americans now know someone living with HIV or who has died of AIDS.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) is an HIV testing and treatment community mobilization initiative for Blacks in the United States and across the Diaspora.

There are four specific focal points: Get Educated, Get Tested, Get Involved, and Get Treated. Find out more at: www.nationalblackaidsday.org.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

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Transgender Day of Remembrance

The Transgender Day of Remembrance takes place every year on November 20th.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved.

Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender — that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant — each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people.
We live in times more sensitive than ever to hatred based violence, especially since the events of September 11th. Yet even now, the deaths of those based on anti-transgender hatred or prejudice are largely ignored. Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives. This trend shows no sign of abating.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn’t perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred. Day of Remembrance reminds non-transgender people that we are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers. Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and stand in vigil, memorializing those of us who’ve died by anti-transgender violence.

Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

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National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Every year National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is observed on May 19th.  The event is sponsored by The Banyan Tree Project, a national campaign to end the silence and shame surrounding HIV/AIDS in Asian and Pacific Islander communities—is the lead for this day. National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is one of several HIV/AIDS Awareness Days recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.