HIV is a virus, not a crime! Criminalise Hate not HIV!

Street Action
>Galatasaray Square-Taksim Square<-Istanbul, 1 December 2010
HIV interests all of us!

Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is all about raising awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education and help stop the spread of HIV. The World AIDS Day theme for 2010 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. World AIDS Day is important for reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

On World AIDS Day the human rights activists, women rights activists, artists, lawyers, doctors, HIV+ people and their relatives gathered in Galatasaray Square/Istanbul at 11:00. After the opening speeches and the press release, the street action went on with shows and march along Istiklal Street till Republic Monument.

Creative Street Artists and Sambistanbul Percussion Group performed in Galatasaray Square and down on Istiklal Street. The action finished with a human red ribbon made by activists in Taksim Republic Monument.

The president of Positive Living Association, Nejat Unlu, underlined "the need for common action in order to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS" in his speech. He reminded once again that "we should look Positive to the reality of HIV and people living with HIV!".

UNFPA-Turkey coordinator, Gokhan Yildirimkaya, emphasized on the fact that HIV is no more a lethal disease, but the discrimination and stigmatisation against HIV+ people is the main problem.

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.3 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2009 some 2.6 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 1.8 million people died from AIDS. The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower- and middle-income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

World AIDS Day Istanbul street action and other activities around Turkey are organised by Positive Living Association in cooperation with UNAIDS, Gilead, Jannsen and MAC AIDS Fund.

Young Society Initiative members and supporters took part in the street action on World AIDS Day.

Young Society Initiative supports the cause of Positive Living Association.

Rock-A Festival

ROCK-A
Rock Against Discrimination!
26-28 June 2009, Ozdere - Izmir

Rock-A screams out for the third time we meet for the dreams of the free life and the equal world.

Rock-A volunteers again have the same joy and enthusiasm to devote their efforts and time for better gathering...

from the manifest of Rock-A; "Capitalism is in crisis and everyday more people are struggling in poverty... The companies are only in the greed sense of the profit... and ambition of our lives are continuing to be exploited... The world of profit and money greed continue to kill thousands of people... There is still a way to solve the problems... Let's Rock!"

We are singing our songs for freedom and peace!

We sing our songs to stand against all discriminations ...

Young Society Initiative participates Rock-A Festival this weekend.

"Stop Violence Against Women!" Campaign

Stop Violence Against Women!

Violence against women is the most widespread human rights abuse. Every day, thousands of women and girls are abused and murdered by their families, raped in armed conflicts and attacked for defending women's rights.

Running with the theme 'women as agents of change', Amnesty sections across the globe this International Women's Day (8 March) took action in support of the work of women activists in nine countries - Afghanistan, Greece, Haiti, Iraq, Iran, Liberia, Nepal, South Africa and Venezuela.

Every day, women who defend human rights, including sexuality-related rights, continue to pay a heavy toll for their work in protecting and promoting the rights of others, and face specific types of violations because of their gender. As the main defenders of women’s rights in countries where these rights are denied on cultural, social or religious grounds, these women defenders are generally on the frontline.

YOUNG SOCIETY INITIATIVE supports the campaign "Stop Violence Against Women" of Amnesty International.

Why 8th March?

On 8 March 1857, women garment workers in New York City, USA, marched and picketed, demanding improved working conditions, a 10-hour day and equal rights to men. Their ranks were broken by the police.

Fifty-one years later, on 8 March 1908, 15,000 New York women garment workers marched again, this time demanding the vote and an end to sweatshops and child labour.

International Women's Day is marked on this date by women's groups around the world. It is commemorated at the UN and is designated in many countries as a national holiday.

The landscape for women's rights has changed dramatically over the past century. In many countries, women are active participants in the political process and have made significant strides towards economic equality. Globally, there are legally binding agreements to protect and promote women’s rights.

While women make history, they do so in circumstances they have neither chosen nor created. Women face heightened levels of sexual violence in times of conflict, insecurity and in the context of poverty.

Women bringing change
Although we live in a world in which social insecurity is liable to manifest itself in violence against women, it is also a world where women, individually and collectively have overcome enormous obstacles and improved their societies.

Pressured into silence
In many situations, women are working to change their societies but their voices are not being heard. Either people are not listening, or the state or community are actively trying to silence women.

Women must be heard
Women of imagination, courage and determination in every country are working to build a better world. Their voices must be heard. Their contributions must be recognized and encouraged. Human rights abuses cannot be stopped without the active participation of those affected, which in so many cases are women and girls.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/feature-stories/women-make-history-20090306