Zero Discrimination Day

March 1 is Zero Discrimination Day, an annual worldwide event that promotes diversity and recognises that everyone counts.
This year, UNAIDS shines a light on the persistent discrimination faced by people living with and at risk of HIV, discrimination that undermines access to health services, violates rights, and holds back progress toward ending AIDS by 2030.
This year’s Zero Discrimination Day highlights the need to put people first.
HIV related stigma and discrimination put lives at risk. According to the People Living with HIV Stigma Index 2.0 Global Report, nearly one in four reports being stigmatised by others, including in healthcare settings, where discrimination undermines trust and access to life saving services.
In addition, 85 per cent of people living with HIV feel internalised stigma, and many change their behaviour – hiding their HIV status or interrupting HIV treatment – because of fear of rejection and judgement. These findings confirm that HIV related stigma is not a side issue; it is a barrier to ending AIDS by 2030.
While many countries have laws against discrimination, it’s still a problem in all layers of society in every country in the world. Many countries have and still use discrimination as a way of governing.
The UN first celebrated Zero Discrimination Day after UNAIDS, a UN programme on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), launched its Zero Discrimination Campaign on World AIDS Day in December 2013.
The UN has recognised that discrimination remains widespread – gender, nationality, age, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or religion can all unfortunately be the basis for some form of discrimination.
The international body has noted that in only four out of 10 countries worldwide do equal numbers of girls and boys attend secondary school, and 75 countries have laws that criminalise same-sex sexual relations.
Discrimination in healthcare settings also continues to be widely reported, the UN noted, and it has stressed that healthcare settings should be considered as safe and caring environments; however, such cases are happening too frequently throughout the world.
Any obstacles that inhibit access to healthcare facilities, including testing, treatment and care services, must be removed. Access to health must be open to everyone. Discrimination has many forms, from racial or religious discrimination to discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation or age, and to bullying at school or at work.
In only three out of 10 countries worldwide do equal numbers of girls and boys attend upper secondary school, and people living with disabilities are nearly three times more likely to be denied health care than other people. UNAIDS has also emphasised that everyone has the right to be treated with respect and to live free from discrimination, coercion and abuse.
Zero discrimination is an integral part of UNAIDS’ vision and has highlighted too that the right to health is a fundamental human right that includes access to affordable, timely and quality health-care services for all, yet discrimination remains widespread in health-care settings, creating a serious barrier to access to HIV services.
Based on data from more than 30,000 persons living with HIV across 25 countries, stigma and discrimination remain pervasive barriers to health access, dignity, and human rights.
Around 60 per cent of European Union/European Economic Area countries report that stigma and discrimination among healthcare professionals remain a barrier to the provision of adequate HIV prevention services for men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs.
UNAIDS has called on everyone to make some noise for #zerodiscrimination. Zero Discrimination Day is an opportunity to highlight how everyone can be part of the transformation and take a stand for a fair and just society. Everyone will have experienced discrimination of some kind during their lives; however, non-discrimination is a human right. Equally, states and individuals have a legal obligation not to discriminate.
The symbol for Zero Discrimination Day is the butterfly, widely used by people to share their stories and photos as a way to end discrimination and work towards positive transformation.