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07.29.2016
Resources

February 2010 iYAN Newsletter

February iYAN

Advocates’ International Youth Activist Network (iYAN) consists of youth activists and adult allies from low and middle-income countries who are working to influence policies and programs in their countries and internationally to support improved youth reproductive and sexual health. Members of the iYAN connect to share information about their work; are provided information about scholarships and networking opportunities; get up-to-date information on downloadable advocacy materials and tool kits; and receive a monthly newsletter with information on advocacy, youth activism, and mobilization on important issues like sex education, access to contraception, and prevention of adolescent maternal mortality and HIV.

Sharing Our Passion

ICPD2015: What next?
By Rochelle, Jamaica

On Friday, January 8, 2010, Hillary Clinton finally presented her stirring speech for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) (If you missed it, you can watch or read it at http://www.icpd2015.org/)

As I re-read her speech, my mind went back to an article I read commenting on relief efforts for those affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Many organizations stated that they were making the women and children priority in the distribution of the relief supplies:

-‘Women “are central actors in family and community life,” says Enarson [Elaine Enarson, cofounder of the Gender and Disaster Network], and are more likely to know “who in the neighborhood most needs help — where the single mothers, women with disabilities, widows and the poorest of the poor live.”

Diana Duarte, a spokesperson for MADRE, an international women’s rights organization that has joined the relief effort, put
it this way: “Women are often more integrated and more aware of the vulnerabilities of their communities.”’-

Children may be the future, but for the most part, women are the present. The ones who make the ‘now’ happen and prosper. Many have refuted that claim, and with good reason. Men also play their part, but they have to admit: Life would be much harder without the input women make. The situation is, when women’s rights are marginalized, many aspects of our general life are stagnated, as the liberation of women also frees and increases the flow of potential in any nation.
ICPD has five more years to fulfill its original objectives: to “…make access to reproductive healthcare and family planning services a basic right…” to “…dramatically reduce infant, child, and maternal mortality and to “…open the doors of education to all citizens, but especially to girls and women.”

Various governments and administrations have been playing their parts to make this a reality, but the world is still far from total success. Individual countries can do so much and no more on their own. Yes, Advocates’ youth networks serve youth activists within the United States and from more than 60 countries to advance young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, but to what use are we putting the networks? How much are we really supporting each other in our endeavors to achieve the ICPD 2015 plan? What more can we do?

Hilary Clinton gave a magnificent speech on the situation at hand, and the importance of achieving the ICPD objectives, she did not leave us with any directions, or guidance in how exactly to go from here. One attendee stated that we can wait for the details of President Obama’s Global Health Initiative, which will possibly tell the course of action for the next 5 years, but why wait? This can be the challenge for us to take on globally. In Jamaica, we can re-assess the situation and make a SMART plan–one that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Trackable for our region and one that is in keeping with the ICPD goals. We can work on it. This is our chance to help change the world, and we should take it.

Recently on Amplify…

Young people from all over the world have joined Amplify, www.amplifyyourvoice.org, to share their stories, experiences, passion and work towards ensuring young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. Amplify is a website and safe space for young people to express themselves and show the world who they are!

Here are some featured blogs from young people. Who knows? It can be you too! All you have to do is check out the website, join, and post your blogs! It’s that easy!

“The challenges of Wonago,” as it relates to the environment and reproductive health,
by Ephrem, from Ethiopia
Check out here: http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/Ephrem/2009/11/20/The-challenges-of-Wonago

“What would you call this: Sexual Behavior vs. Sexual Harassment,”
by Kiki, from Nigeria
Check out here: http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/kiki/2010/1/5/What-would-you-call-this-SEXUAL-BEHAVIOUR-VS-SEXUAL-HARASSMENT

Check out blogs from Rasher and Orain in Jamaica on the World AIDS Day theme, in Jamaica, “Yes, I can support someone living with HIV/AIDS.”

Rasher’s blog from Jamaica here: http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/rash/2009/12/8/Yes-i-can-support-someone-living-with-aids

Orain’s blog from Jamaica here:
http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/jhay/2009/12/4/yes-i-can-support-someone-living-with-HIVAIDS

For any questions and comments, email mimi@advocatesforyouth.org

Coming Up

International Women’s Day: March 8

Putting women and women’s rights to equality on the global agenda is the moving force behind International Women’s Day. The 2010 theme for International Women’s Day is: Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all.

In our work on reproductive and sexual health and rights, ensuring that women, particularly young women, have universal access to information and services that empower them to make responsible decisions about their health is incredibly important.

Each year, 15 million young women ages 15 to 19 give birth, of which 13 million are in developing countries.
Pregnancy-related complications are the leading cause of death for young women ages 15 through 19.
At the same time, almost half of all new HIV infections worldwide occur among young people ages 15 to 24.
Young women are more vulnerable to HIV infection than men—62 percent of infected youth are female.

Although much remains to be done to achieve full equality, the voices of women are being heard. March 8th provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of women and to highlight the needs, concerns and recommendations by women within national, regional and global agendas.

To find out more, click here: www.internationalwomensday.com

Doing something cool for International Women’s Day and want to share it with the world?

Advocates for Youth is hosting our FIRST ever…

International Women’s Day Week-Long Blog-a-thon!

Come to blog about the challenges that women, particularly young women, face in your country, your passion for women’s rights, your experiences as a youth activist working to address the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young women, and MUCH MORE.

The blog-a-thon will be held on Amplify at www.amplifyyourvoice.org from:

March 7-14, 2010.

All you have to do is sign up and post as many blogs or videos related to International Women’s Day during that week!

See you on Amplify!

What’s Going on at Advocates for Youth?

Jamaican Youth Activists Meet with Advocates for Youth to Launch the 2010 Advocacy Campaign!

On January 5th and 6th, Advocates for Youth partnered with the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) to conduct a refresher training for their youth council, Jamaicans Safely Tackling Adolescent Reproductive health, also known as JSTAR. Through the International Youth Speak Out project, Advocates and JYAN work together to support the council’s advocacy efforts to improve national and international policies regarding young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

The goal of the training was to build the capacity of JSTAR council members to achieve their policy objectives of: 1) Ensure an appropriate budgetary allocation and spending for youth-specific reproductive and sexual health programs; 2) Institutionalize youth participation in policy decision-making processes, particularly regarding policies and programs on reproductive and sexual health; and 3) Continue to monitor implementation of the Family Life Health Education (FLHE) program to provide comprehensive sex education in all schools across Jamaica.

The objectives of the training were to define advocacy and cultural competency; define challenges facing the GLBTQ community in Jamaica and internationally; identify global actions that will build solidarity with the youth sexual and reproductive health and rights movement; build knowledge on messaging, public expenditures and budget tracking; identify U.S. foreign policies where council members play a significant role; finalize a policy brief; map out activities and responsibilities for the year of 2010; videotape council members talking about, “Why I’m An Activist;” blog on Amplify about ICPD+15; and prepare for doing more videographies about young people.

Following the training, the council members spent the day filming young people talking about issues that affect their lives, particularly regarding dating/relationships, gender, access to information and services regarding SRHR, sex education, religion, parent-child communication, family issues, stigma and discrimination regarding people living with HIV/AIDS, and homophobia.

The videos from the filming will be posted on the Jamaican campaign page on Amplify in the next couple months.

Keep your eyes open for the post here: www.amplifyyourvoice.org/Jamaica.

Advocates for Youth Joins Partners in Vienna Youth Force-International AIDS Conference 2010

The Vienna YouthForce is a coalition of ten international organizations, including: Advocates for Youth, CHIOCE for youth and sexuality, Community Forum Austria, Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA), International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), the World AIDS Campaign, Youth Coalition on Sexual and Reproductive Rights, YouAct, Y-PEER, and Youth R.I.S.E. These organizations will be working in collaboration with the Conferences’ Youth Programme to ensure meaningful youth participation and to infuse youth issues into the IAC in Vienna July 18-23, 2010.

Objectives of the AIDS 2010 Youth Program are:

· Encourage consistent and effective participation of young people at the International AIDS Conference and throughout the conference planning processes;
· Promote the participation of young people and the inclusion of youth issues in the main conference program, in media coverage generated at the conference and in AIDS programs and policies in general;
· Work to ensure young people have the resources to access decision-makers with effective advocacy to protect the rights of all young people, especially the rights of vulnerable groups such as young people who use drugs, young sex workers, young men who have sex with men, young migrants, youth in prisons and young people living with HIV;
· Support peer-to-peer capacity-building among young people in order to provide them with necessary advocacy skills and technical knowledge, support, and resources for meaningful participation during the conference and beyond;
· Demonstrate to conference participants, especially decision-makers and donors, that the participation of young people is beneficial, and advocate for the creation of youth-adult partnerships and greater investment in young people’s initiatives; and,
· Remind individuals of their commitments to promote youth leadership to mitigate the impact of HIV on young people. The Youth Program will also provide opportunities to generate new commitments to youth.

To support these objectives, the ViennaYouthForce has created 5 sub-committees to help with specific tasks for the youth activities, and they are: Pre-Conference, Youth Pavilion, Media & Communications, Advocacy, and the Main Conference. Selections for all sub-committees have been made, and Advocates for Youth will continue to keep iYAN members posted on updates and ways for you to be involved in IAC!

Download the Official AIDS 2010 Youth newsletter in:

Edition 2 – Dec 09
English | Russian | German | Spanish

Edition 1 – Nov 09
English | Russian | German | Spanish

To subscribe to the Youth AIDS 2010 newsletter, please send an email to youthaids2010-subscribe@groups.takingitglobal.org

To join the Youth Programme Facebook group, please go to
www.facebook.com/aids2010youth

Great American Condom Campaign Stands Strong

The Great American Condom Campaign (GACC) is a youth-led grassroots movement to reduce unintended pregnancies and the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections by engaging and educating Americans about critical public and personal health issues related to condom use in the United States. To do this, students at colleges and universities from across the United States apply to become SafeSites, or individual condom distribution points. Once selected, SafeSites receive a box of five hundred Trojan condoms to distribute to their peers. As SafeSites, students inform their peers about safer sex, but also advocate for the sexual and reproductive health rights of their peers.

During this round of applications, over 2,000 young people from all over the United States applied!

Here is a blog about one student’s experience of receiving condoms from GACC:

http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/uncstudent88/2009/11/23/Getting-Lucky

Youth Provide Moving Testimony on Prevention First Legislation in Ohio

Supporters of the Ohio Prevention First Act provided testimony before the House Health committee on November 18th 2009 to make the case on why this bill is so important to the citizens of Ohio. The Ohio Prevention First Act is designed to provide a variety of services and programs to the citizens of Ohio such as programs for teen pregnancy prevention, comprehensive sex-education, emergency contraception education as well as increased funding for family planning programs and requirements that insurance companies provide equal coverage for prescription contraceptives.

A wide range of people testified—from pastors to doctors, mental health professionals, high school students and sexual assault survivors, including several members of Ohio Advocates, the Youth Leadership Council in Ohio supported by Advocates for Youth. All of the testimony was amazing and demonstrated to the committee that there is broad support for this legislation and that action needs to happen immediately to pass the bill.

Danny, a high school youth and council member stated as part of his testimony, “I am here because a lack of sexual health education continues to plague my friends, my school and my community. Rather than teach age-appropriate and medically accurate information, my school district invites Operation Keepsake, an abstinence-only-until-marriage provider, into our six high school and middle schools.”
He concluded by saying, “I am fortunate to stand out from the masses at my High School… who are vulnerable to the happenings of unsafe sex. But I should not be standing out. Access to information should not be a privilege—it is a right as the youth to know how to protect ourselves, and I therefore support and so desperately hope for the passage of the Ohio Prevention First Act.”
To check out a photo of Danny, a state activist in Ohio, providing testimony, click here.
You can also check out the Ohio group photo on Amplify!

Read All About It

Condom Distribution and Legalization of Sex Work: Brazilian Strategies that Work

The Brazilian Ministry of Health promotes condoms as the pillar of their HIV prevention strategy. Recently, the government bought 1.2 billion condoms out of the 15 billion that’s produced worldwide, according to Dr. Simao, Head of the National AIDS Campaign. The government has even built a condom factory in the Amazon to supplement global purchases. At the same time, sex work is legal in Brazil and the government continues to work with the community to promote safer sexual practices.

“We think that we should help with information and that teenagers have to make their choices. Because they make their choices, whether parents like it or not. They decide when they’re going to have their first sexual relation, and whether they are going to use a condom or not. And we want their decision to be informed,” said Dr. Simao.

To read more, click here:
http://www.pri.org/health/global-health/brazil-s-effective-hiv-prevention-strategies1826.html

Homophobia at Home Forces gay Muslims to Flee in London

Suni, a twenty-year old London student from Pakistan shares his story of when he refused forced marriage back home and was subjected to imprisonment in his family’s ancestral home and subjected to regular beatings and abuse as he had brought “shame” to his strict, Muslim family. Suni managed to escape and return to the UK, penniless and homeless. Annie Southerst, a worker at the Albert Kennedy Trust in London, which supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans homeless young people in crisis, said that in the past six months, there has been an increase in the number of Muslims coming for help.

To read more, click here:
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8446458.stm?ad=1

Uganda’s President Weighs in on Anti-Homosexuality Law
While Mr. Museveni has been silent on the controversy since an Anti-Homosexuality Law was proposed in Uganda in October, he recently made his first public comments on the issue at a meeting of ruling party members. He said that their handling of the bill “must take into account our foreign policy interests.” The bill has caused a storm of criticism across the world and Sweden has threatened to cut aid while other countries have contacted Mr Museveni directly to express their objections. As it stands, homosexual acts are already punishable by up to 14 years in jail in Uganda.
To read more, click here:
Uganda leader warning on gay bill

To read a blog post by Nikki from Advocates for Youth, click here:
http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/AFY_Nikki/2010/1/14/YES-Tammy-Baldwin-to-Speak-Out-Against-Ugandas-AntiHomosexuality-Bill-in-Congressional-Hearing

Check out the latest news on this deadly bill in Uganda:

Hate Begets Hate
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/opinion/05tue2.html

Gay in Uganda, and Feeling Hunted
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa/04gay.html

Americans’ Role Seen in Uganda Anti-Gay Push
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa/04uganda.html

Interactive feature: Four Ugandans, Four Points of View
Four Ugandans, Four Points of View
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/03/world/africa/20100103_UGANDAGAY_FEATURE.html

South Korea Confronts Abortion Publicly

In South Korea, a country where abortion is widespread and with few exceptions, against the law, the first serious public discussion on the ethics of the procedure took place in November. Since then, doctors have been called to court to testify whether they have performed illegal abortions. Halm In-hee, a professor of family sociology at Ewha Womans University in Seoul said, “The society considers it a family issue, and there is a strong taboo against discussing a family matter in public.”

To read more, click here:
South Korea Confronts Open Secret of Abortion

My Voice Counts!

What’s Your Country’s PEPFAR Partnership Plan with the United States? Find out and Let Us Know!

For years, Advocates has been working to influence U.S. Foreign Policy on HIV/AIDS as it relates to young people. Since the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was first authorized in 2003, Advocates has continued to push for policy that supports comprehensive HIV prevention education for young people, integration of HIV and reproductive health services, including access to condoms, and flexibility for in-country implementers to better respond to their epidemic.

Now, with the reauthorization of PEPFAR, there is a greater emphasis on the need for “in-country decision making,” and “flexibility according to local epidemiology.” Recipient countries, or “partners,” are now being called upon to design their own plans on how to use PEPFAR funding, called “Partnership Frameworks.”

Issued in September 2009, the Partnership Framework Guidance helps countries receiving PEPFAR funds to draft their partnership frameworks. In this document, they must state their goals, provide a comprehensive epidemiological evaluation of the country, map out the international and local partners in the response to the epidemic in-country, and identify how the country will be working with OGAC to build its capacity to eventually reach a point where it can manage and finance its own response to HIV and AIDS.

The completed partnership frameworks of Angola, Ghana, Malawi, Swaziland and Lesotho are available on the PEPFAR website. For most countries and regions, Partnership Frameworks are in development, and THIS is where YOU come in.

For a fuller list of important guidance documents, check out this page on the PEPFAR site: http://www.pepfar.gov/guidance/index.htm.

While the design of these frameworks is to be spearheaded by recipient governments, you have an opportunity and a role to play to make sure that that young people’s needs with respect to HIV/AIDS are included and prioritized. Furthermore, you might want to watch out for the following three areas of concern with respect to the current strategy that Advocates has identified to date:

The absence of the term “comprehensive sex /sexuality education,” which leaves flexibility for less comprehensive programs to be implemented as part of HIV prevention efforts.
The omission/lack of recognition of young people living with HIV and AIDS (YLPWHA) and how to respond to their needs for HIV prevention and reproductive health services. YLPWHA face a uniquely challenging experience of transitioning from childhood sero-positivity during which they were considered innocent by society, to adolescence, during which they are suddenly subject to shame and disapproval due their HIV status and emerging sexual desire that is characteristic of adolescent development.
The need for additional focus on integration of family planning and HIV programs as it relates to young people. The Five Year Strategy includes a provision that emphasizes linking family planning and HIV programs, but this may not translate into actual delivery of integrated services for youth, including YPLWHA.

Advocates for Youth would really appreciate you investigating what your country or region is drafting with OGAC. The Ministry of Health is usually the coordinating institution to draft the document, so that’s a good place to start.

Find out where your country is in the process of developing their framework and who is involved. Are civil society organizations involved? Are young people involved? Are people living with HIV/AIDS included? How can you get involved? Is comprehensive sex education included? Are the needs of young people living with HIV/AIDS addressed? Will the plan support integrated HIV and family planning services for youth?. As members of civil society and as young people, you have the right to know and the right to influence the language of the framework.

Advocates for Youth welcomes the opportunity to help ensure that young people are prioritized within country partnerships frameworks. If you have information that you would like to share with us, please contact Mimi at mimi@advocatesforyouth.org.

The International Women’s Health Coalition Young Visionaries Contest
There are 1.2 billion people between the ages of 10 and 19 in the world today–the largest generation of adolescents ever. Around the world, strong and dynamic youth movements are gaining momentum—and so are their human rights and social justice agendas. From Nigeria to Peru, young people are securing access to comprehensive sexuality education and reproductive health care, and engaging with policymakers locally, nationally, and internationally.

International Women’s Health Coalition is inspired by the activism of young people and their visions for the future of sexual rights and reproductive health.
Through the Young Visionaries contest, IWHC aims to celebrate, acknowledge, and support the exceptional and ongoing work of young people.

IWHC’s Young Visionaries contest encourages young people to share their visions for young people and the future. Until March 25, 2010 youth between the ages of 18 and 30 can share their visions for a just and healthy life, and get a chance to win a $1000 grant from the International Women’s Health Coalition to fund a project that works toward this vision.
Do you share IWHC’s vision for promoting and protecting the health and rights of women and young people worldwide? Are you actively engaged in shaping a world where women and girls are free from discrimination, sexual coercion, and violence; where they make free and informed choices about sexuality and reproduction; or where health information and services are available to help them lead safer and healthier lives? Do you have an idea for a project that works toward your vision of change?
Nominate yourself today by answering four short questions about your vision. Then, spread the word and encourage people to vote for you! Five nominees will become finalists by popular vote and IWHC staff will select five more nominees after nominations close on March 25, 2010. IWHC’s guest judges will then select our Grand Prize winner, who will be announced in early April. The contest is open to young people between the ages of 18 and 30 (inclusive) from all over the world. Read full contest rules here.

For more information, visit: http://blog.iwhc.org/young-visionaries/

Fifth World Youth Congress to be held in Istanbul, Turkey: July 31-August 13, 2010

The 5th World Youth Congress is to be held in Istanbul, Turkey from July 31 – August 13, 2010, where 1,000 young people from around the world will meet during İstanbul’s year as the European Capital of Culture. You will have the chance learn a lot about Turkish culture, about Turkish people, and the history of one of the oldest civilizations of the world – which is now the second fastest growing modern economy in the world after China.

Registration is open and you can apply here: www.turkiye2010.org

Make new Facebook friends! JOIN the group here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=11541864962&ref=nf



Be one of the first 10 iYAN members to submit an essay and WIN a notebook mailed to you from Advocates for Youth
YOUR voice is an essential part of what makes this newsletter a SUCCESS. Please submit your stories to share with other youth activists from around the world! If you are one of the FIRST 10 iYAN members to submit an essay that follows the guidelines below, you will WIN a blue Advocates for Youth notebook and pen (to write more essays, of course!).
Here are the guidelines for writing an essay:
· Keep your essay to no more than 500 words.
· Use language that is simple and easy for non-native English speakers to read.
· Write about sexual and reproductive issues that you care about and/or what you are doing to make a difference. Share your experiences working on sexual and reproductive health issues and policies—tell your story. What’s going on with access to contraception and family planning services for youth, abortion, gender disparities, maternal mortality, traditional harmful practices, HIV/AIDS, stigma and homophobia, etc.? What are the challenges facing young people in your country? What are the challenges for you as an activist? Why did you get involved in this movement to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights for young people? What is working to improve programs and policies and young people’s sexual and reproductive health?
Also, please note that:
· If you have a photo, would like us to include it with your essay, and can send it via email, please do! It’s okay if you do not have a photo, but we would like to bring a face to your words when we have the chance.
· Advocates for Youth edits all published materials, so we will send you the revised draft for your approval before it is featured in the newsletter. We want to make sure that you are happy with the final product as well!
· When you submit an essay, it may not appear right away in the next issue but we will be sure to include it in the next possible newsletter.
· Even if you submitted an essay, you can still send others for upcoming issues of the newsletter.
· You will receive an email by the next iYAN edition as to whether or not you are one of the first 10 people to submit an essay.
If you have questions on how to submit your essay, please contact Mimi at mimi@advocatesforyouth.org. Do it soon!! You could be one of the first 10!

Let’s Work Together for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth Rights

Are you an organization working for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) youth in your country and internationally?

Are you an activist that’s interested in the recognition of sexual diversity and advocacy for the right to all-inclusive comprehensive sex education?

Are you or your organization interested in working with Advocates for Youth on GLBT rights and advocacy?

Let us know!

GLBT youth face tremendous difficulties growing up in societies where heterosexuality is often presented as the only acceptable orientation, and homosexuality, bisexuality and transgender are regarded as deviant. Research suggests that homophobia and heterosexism greatly contribute to higher rates of suicide, violence victimization, risk behavior for HIV infection, and substance abuse among GLBT youth as compared to their heterosexual peers. In recent years, however, a number of promising programs have been established to help GLBT youth gain the skills and support that they need to live healthy lives.

Advocates for Youth is interested in working with you! We are interested in learning more about the challenges GLBT youth face in your country and what we can do, together, to address these challenges!

Contact Mimi Melles, Manager of the International Youth Speak Out project at mimi@advcoatesforyouth.org with questions and comments!

Call for Nominations: 2010 Red Ribbon Award!
As in the past, the Red Ribbon Award honors and recognizes exceptional grassroots leadership in responding to the AIDS epidemic. Nominations are accepted from December 1st, 2009, until February 28th, 2010.

Twenty-five community-based organizations will be selected through a community-led process and invited to attend the XVIIIth International AIDS Conference in Vienna from July18-23, 2010, where they will have an opportunity to showcase their work. All 25 organizations will receive $5,000 each. Five of these will receive special recognition and an additional $15,000.This year the Red Ribbon Award will be given to community groups for outstanding leadership in responding to AIDS in one or more of the following categories:

· Ensure that that people living with HIV receive treatment
· Support HIV prevention, treatment and care programs for people who use drugs
· Remove punitive policies and laws, stigma and discrimination that block effective AIDS responses and marginalize key populations (men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers and prisoners)
· Stop violence against women and girls and promote gender equality
· Enhance social support for those affected by HIV, including orphans and vulnerable children

This year, a special recognition Award will be presented to an organization whose cross-cutting approach jointly addresses AIDS and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the community level.

For more information, please go to: www.redribbonaward.org

Tools You Can Use

New Fact Sheet: The Facts: Gender Inequality and Violence Against Women and Girls Around the World

All over the globe, violence and discrimination against women and girls violates their human rights and severely compromises young people’s sexual and reproductive health. This new fact sheet from Advocates for Youth examines gender bias around the world and the measures being taken to redress it.

Read the fact sheet here

New Fact Sheet — “Towards a Just and Healthy Life for All: Seven Things the World Can Do to End Violence Against Women”
From the World AIDS Campaign, the Women Won’t Wait Campaign, the International AIDS Women’s Caucus, and the International Women’s Health Coalition.

In every country of the world, women across all classes and cultures experience sexual, physical, and emotional violence. Violence against women is a fundamental violation of women’s human rights. One in three women will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Violence aggravates women’s vulnerability to HIV infection, limits women’s access to lifesaving sexual and reproductive health services, and increases stigma discrimination.

This fact sheet provides information about the realities of violence against women and HIV and policy responses that address violence against women and HIV.

The fact sheet is available in English, Spanish and Portugese.
VAW factsheet English.pdf
VAW factsheet Portuguese.pdf
VAW factsheet Spanish.pdf

More are coming soon, just check here: http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/en/Towards-a-Just-and-Healthy-Life-for-All-Seven-Things-the-World-Can-do-to-End-Violence-Against-Women

Fact Sheet on “Why Family Planning and Reproductive Health are Critical to the Well-Being of Youth”
From Population Action International

An unprecedented number of young people are entering their reproductive years, most of whom live in the developing world. This fact sheet makes the case for why U.S. policy makers should assist in effort to ensure that youth worldwide are able to make informed decisions about their sexuality and receive the family planning and reproductive health care that they require.

Click here to read: http://www.populationaction.org/Publications/Fact_Sheets/FS38/youth_2009.pdf

Advocates for Youth has a form to sign-up for the iYAN on our website. Send this link to your friends so they can sign-up too!
www.advocatesforyouth.org\iYAN

Sign up for Updates