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To: Sadiq Khan, London Mayor

Ask the Mayor to support a UK HIV/AIDS Memorial in London

8/2/17 - We Won!

Great news this morning, the London Assembly unanimously voted to support us to establish a UK AIDS Memorial in London. A long way to go but this is a very important first step forwards.

"Thanks to some lovely moving speeches from Assembly Members every single one was won over and it was voted for unanimously. A brilliant result and shows the campaign has real support here!" said Sian Berry.

Thanks so much to everyone who signed the petition and especially to Sian Berry (Greens), Caroline Pidgeon (Liberal Democrats), Stephen Twigg (Labour), GMFA and 38 Degrees who paved the way for this to get this far.

This is long over due, we must remember those 21,0000 British citizens who lost their lives, as well as all those worldwide. AIDS is not over. Many live with HIV and new infections are found each day. We must fight on together.

London can one day stand proud with so many other cities worldwide, who already have built AIDS memorials.

Please continue to follow us on social media: #AidsMemorialUK

Support us in the creation of a UK HIV/AIDS Memorial.

London, the chosen city, was hardest hit by the pandemic in the UK. It is from there where many of the National HIV/AIDS services were established.

Why is this important?

We the undersigned call on the Mayor of London to support us in the creation of a UK HIV/AIDS Memorial.

HIV/AIDS disproportionally affected gay men but also new African communities; people with haemophilia; prisoners and injecting drug users. It influenced the whole nation by forcing us to confront deep rooted prejudices and ask questions about equality, difference, religion, morality and identity which hit at the very core of our values as a people and as a nation.

There is currently no memorial to those who died in London in contrast to most other major cities affected including Amsterdam, Auckland, Barcelona, Berlin, Brighton, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Dublin, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kiev, LA, Madrid, Manchester, Melbourne, Montreal, Moscow, Munich, NYC, Paris, San Francisco, San Salvador, Sydney, Toronto, Vienna and Zurich.

We want the Mayor of London to support our campaign for a national memorial in the city, by meeting with campaigners and helping in practical ways to find a location, funding and wider support.

Why Now?

1) 2017 is the 50th Anniversary of the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 which partly decriminalised sexual acts between two men in private and aged over 21.

2) 2016 is the 20th anniversary since the widespread use of the life-saving anti-retroviral therapy that arrested the number of deaths and literally, allowed for a new awakening.

3) New communities are examining and documenting their unique histories for future generations to make more sense of their own lives and to make secure as well as more grounded, their identities and narratives.

The National AIDS Memorial in London aims:

• To pay tribute to the men, women and children who died in the UK
• To remember the struggles of those living with HIV as well as those who took on the challenge to treat, support and campaign for those who were affected by AIDS.
• To acknowledge an almost forgotten period in British history
• To form a linear historical path between the past, the present and the future for all the communities in the UK who bore the brunt of the epidemic.
• To remember those worldwide who perished and who continue to live with HIV, the majority of whom still cannot access treatment

This campaign is being led by GMFA (Gay Men Fighting AIDS), in conjunction with the UK HIV sector.

@AidsMemoryUK; #AidsMemoryUK

How it will be delivered

Update: This petition was delivered by Sian Berry, Member of the London Assembly for the Green Party (London-wide) last December. On 8th February 2017 members of the London Assembly will present a Motion asking the Mayor to petition Parliament on our behalf as this is a National Memorial. We already have support from some MPs and Lords.

London

Maps © Stamen; Data © OSM and contributors, ODbL

Links

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Updates

2018-05-29 16:19:43 +0100

Petition is successful with 3,346 signatures

2017-02-08 14:41:59 +0000

Petition is successful with 3,306 signatures

2016-11-14 20:27:13 +0000

1,000 signatures reached

2016-11-04 16:12:45 +0000

500 signatures reached

2016-11-03 09:38:14 +0000

100 signatures reached

2016-11-03 08:12:39 +0000

50 signatures reached

2016-11-03 07:07:39 +0000

25 signatures reached

2016-11-03 00:53:39 +0000

10 signatures reached