May 17 - International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia
On 17 May 1990, the World Health Organisation (WHO) General Assembly removed homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses. In honour of this, the International Day against Homophobia was created. Later on, the fights against transphobia (in 2009) and biphobia (in 2015) were added to this annual event.
The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is an important reminder of the millions of people around the world who continue to face prejudice and injustice based on who they are and who they love.
The main mission of May 17th is to draw attention to the violation of LBGTQ+ rights, and to combat stigma and discrimination around the world.
Life4me.plus stands in solidarity with LGBTQ+ people around the world on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. As an organisation we oppose stigma and discrimination on any grounds.
Together with the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS), we have prepared a short video where we discuss the stigma faced by both the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV. Stigma and discrimination, on any grounds, always have the same rotten roots - rejection. Therefore, they need to be combated together, by any available means. The video is a logical extension of the RespectMyHIV campaign which we launched in October 2021 at the European AIDS Conference in London.
Respect for human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity is key to overcoming stigma and discrimination. They negatively affect people’s quality of of life, and as a result, the health of our society at large.