"Do You have the right to...?" -campaign against homophobia

"Do You have the right to...?" -campaign is a means to wake up the people to think why non-heterosexual people don't nearly always have the right to the same things that the heterosexual people have.

"Do You have the right to...?"

be and live as an accepted non-hetero?
People from the sexual minorities have to face intolerance in schools, work, flat-hunting, and many social situations. This is the reason why many hide inside the closet - and in some cases, deny their true orientation.
live your life not being automatically presumed to be a hetero?
Go to your GP, for example, and you'll almost always be presumed to be a heterosexual man / woman. If the sexual orientation becomes an issue for some reason, the whole situation can turn awkward even though there wouldn't be a problem. Heterosexual person doesn't have to declare their sexuality - gays have to. Every social situation might be a forced outing for them, unless they want to hide through their life.
love another, if they are of the same sex as you?
Gay relationships are considered to be inferior to heterosexual ones. This is reflected in the attitudes of the people and in the law.
show your affections to the person you love in public?
Two women or two men kissing causes more name-calling than man and woman kissing does.
live your life outside the closet?
Majority of the people who are of the sexual minorities choose to live their life inside the closet. They hide their sexuality and their relationships as they fear the social pressure.
be yourself?
When the people can be what they are, without the fear of discrimination, their life and self-esteem rise. The society does better when it is more equal and less negative towards part of it. Understanding diversity as an enriching asset helps the society to harness the power within.

The Campaign

In 2006 ranneliike ry started to raise money to fund the "Do You have the right to...?" campaign. We raised 1533,68 euros with our campaign. Using this money we go as far as we can and the rest will be managed by volunteer work and with the help of the possible co-working companies and organizations. There are two dimensions in this campaign; the information package and the visibility to public.

Step one: the Information Package

www.homofobia.fi website - In 17th of May 2007 ranneliike ry revealed the website www.homofobia.fi as the flagship and information bank for the campaign. It already contains information about homosexuality, homophobia, and the basic idea of the IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia). In the future more content, like "Are you homophobic" test will be added.

Step two: Raising the Awareness

This is by far the hardest step. It is meant to be the phase to make people wake up and realize that there is homophobia in the everyday life. People are informed about the www.homofobia.fi website and the accurate information it contains, presented in the terms that ordinary people understand and can relate to. People are made to ponder what they could do to lessen the homophobia around them.