Women in Action on World AIDS Day

23 Nov 2006 – 15:12 (modified on 30 Nov 2006 – 17:20)

by Tom

© Melissa Engel/EAA

March for Women and Girls, International AIDS Conference

Many World AIDS Day activities focus on women, particularly the connection between violence and HIV and AIDS.

Many World AIDS Day activities focus on women, particularly the connection between violence and HIV and AIDS.

16 Days against Gender violence is an annual observance now in its 16th year. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world will take part in actions raising the visibility of violence against women as a human rights violation. The observance starts on 25 November (International Day Against Violence Against Women), and runs to 10 December (International Human Rights Day), encompassing World AIDS Day on 1 December.The Global AIDS Alliance (www.globalaidsalliance.org) has prepared a toolkit for World AIDS Day showing the critical links between violence against women and HIV and AIDS.

In Guatemala, numerous activities will focus on violence against women, including a concert, march and radio messages.

In Washington, D.C., the UNAIDS-led Global Coalition on Women and AIDS is organizing an afternoon of dialogue and discussion among prominent religious and civil society leaders, women living with HIV, and government representatives focused around how the faith-based community can continue and expand its leadership role, helping to promote and support effective strategies to stop violence and fight AIDS worldwide.

In Finland, the government and civil society are cooperating on a World AIDS Day Seminar on “How to keep the promise? HIV and Young Women”

More World AIDS Day events focusing on women are among the many listed on our WAD events Calendar

What Will You Do? Get Involved!

• Increase awareness in your country or region about HIV and AIDS and the impact on women and girls.
• Write to your national leaders encouraging them to keep their promise to Universal Access to prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010. Ask how civil society – especially women – are being involved in setting targets and scaling up the response.
• Sign the compact to end HIV/AIDS With Women Worldwide: http://www.withwomenworldwide.org
• Commit yourself, along with the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, to working for a world where all HIV positive women:
• Have a respected and meaningful involvement at all political levels, local, national, regional, and international, where decisions that affect our lives are being made;
• Have full access to care and treatment; and
• Enjoy full rights, particularly sexual, reproductive, legal, financial and general health rights; Irrespective of our culture, age, religion, sexuality, social or economic status/class and race.

Important Links

16 Days Against Gender Violence: www.cwgl.rutgers.edu/16days/home.html

FEIM - Fundación para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer: http://www.feim.org.ar/

Global Coalition on Women and AIDS: http://womenandaids.unaids.org/

Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS: http://www.gapa.org.za/ (Just one of a number of Grandmothers organizations in African countries)

International Women’s Health Coalition: http://www.iwhc.org

International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS: http://www.icw.org

UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund For Women): http://www.genderandaids.org/

World YWCA: http://www.worldywca.info

To download the Women in Action on World AIDS Day one-pager, please click below