UpdateBot at 03:35, 26 November 2021

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'''AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan''' ('''ABVA'''; English: AIDS Anti-Discrimination Movement)<ref>[http://aidsbhedbhavvirodhiandolan.blogspot.com/ Aids Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan]</ref><ref name=humjinsi>{{cite book|editor1-last=Fernandez|editor1-first=Bina|title=Humjinsi: A Resource Book on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Rights in India|date=1999|publisher=India Centre for Human Rights and Law|location=Mumbai|page=35}}</ref> was the first [[HIV/AIDS]] activist movement in [[India]],<ref>{{cite web|author1=Siddhartha Gautam Film Festival |title=Siddhartha Gautam Film Festival Flyer |url=http://www.saathii.org/gensex/calcutta/sgff05brochure.doc |accessdate=21 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726120900/http://www.saathii.org/gensex/calcutta/sgff05brochure.doc |archivedate=26 July 2014 }}</ref> founded in 1988 in [[New Delhi]].<ref name=humjinsi /> The group received popular recognition with the publication of its pioneering report "Less than Gay" in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vanitha|first1=Ruth|title=Homosexuality in India: Past and Present|url=http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/29/IIASNL29_10_Vanita.pdf|website=iias.nl|accessdate=19 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710075341/http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/29/IIASNL29_10_Vanita.pdf|archive-date=10 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Through this report, ABVA advocated for civil rights of [[LGBT]]Q people to include [[same sex marriage]], [[LGBT parenting]], and the [[decriminalization]] of homosexuality through the repeal of [[Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kole|first1=Subir|title=Globalizing queer? AIDS, homophobia and the politics of sexual identity in India|journal=Globalization and Health|date=2007|volume=3|issue=8|page=8|doi=10.1186/1744-8603-3-8|pmid=17623106|pmc=2018684}}</ref> In 1994, ABVA filed the first petition challenging the [[constitutionality]] of Section 377 in the [[Delhi High Court]], in order to challenge prison authorities' ban on [[Prevention of HIV|condom distribution]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dave|first1=Naisargi|title=Queer Activism in India: A Story in the Anthropology of Ethics|date=2012|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0822353195|page=173}}</ref>

==Brief Background==
ABVA got involved in AIDS activism in 1989 on hearing from women in the red-light area that doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had forcibly tested them for [[HIV]], with the help of the police. ABVA protested this action, asking that good quality condoms, humane treatment and rehabilitation schemes for HIV positive people be made a prerequisite for any government screening for HIV.<ref name=lessthangay>{{cite web|last1=ABVA|title=Less Than Gay|url=https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwDlipuQ0I6ZMXVmNWk0ajdqWEU/|publisher=ABVA}}</ref> In addition, it began running a free dispensary for [[sex workers]] in Delhi's GB Road District.<ref>{{Cite web|title=AIDS Bhed Bhav Virodhi Andolan (ABVA)|url=http://www.sacw.net/aii/abva.html|access-date=2020-12-16|website=www.sacw.net}}</ref>

Between February 1990 and August 1991, the ABVA organised several demonstrations in New Delhi to protest against the prevailing discriminatory attitude of authorities against HIV/AIDS victims.<ref name=lessthangay />

The 1994, ABVA petition was filed in the Delhi high court in response to the then IG (Prisons) [[Kiran Bedi]] blocking access to condoms at [[Tihar Jail]], India's largest prison. Reacting to claims that two-thirds of all inmates at Tihar had engaged in homosexual behaviour, Bedi said consensual homosexual behaviour was virtually unknown at Tihar and that usage of condoms would promote homosexuality.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Friese|first1=Kai|title=Safe Custody?|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/tihar-jail-bans-condoms/1/293411.html|agency=India Today|publisher=India Today}}</ref>

==Less Than Gay==
In late 1991, ABVA came out with a report titled "Less Than Gay: A Citizens' Report on the Status of Homosexuality in India" which was the first document to publicly demand queer rights in India.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://vidyarogya.com/images/pdf/16-03-2011/decriminalising_homosexuality_india.PDF |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729002314/http://vidyarogya.com/images/pdf/16-03-2011/decriminalising_homosexuality_india.PDF |archive-date=2014-07-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The report is an interesting breakthrough and should be regarded with respect as it provided the first resource on homosexuality in India.

==Activities==
ABVA's activities included:
* Public advocacy; one success included stalling the AIDS Prevention Bill in 1989 through numerous petitions to Indian parliament.
* Organizing public meetings, protest actions and public demonstrations as part of AIDS activism in India.
* Networking with AIDS activists and activist organizations in India and abroad.
* Grass-root work in Delhi slums and with gay people, with other NGO's involvement.
* Research and publication of citizen reports.
* Campaigning for the decriminalization of sodomy in India through efforts to repeal all discriminatory legislation.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{LGBT in India}}
{{Asia topic|LGBT rights in}}
{{LGBT in India}}
{{Asia topic|LGBT rights in}}

[[Category:HIV/AIDS activism]]
[[Category:LGBT culture in India]]

AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan - Revision history

UpdateBot at 03:35, 26 November 2021