God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

UNAIDS strategy goal by 2015:

• Countries with punitive laws and practices around HIV transmission, sex work, drug use or homosexuality that block effective responses reduced by half.

Punitive laws, polices, practices, stigma and discrimination can block effective responses to HIV by driving people away from HIV services. They can reduce an individual’s ability to avoid HIV as well as impact people living with HIV. In 2010, 71% of countries have laws prohibiting discrimination against people living with HIV. Also 2010, 67% of countries reported policies or laws that impede access to HIV services by certain populations, including minors. Problematic laws—and law enforcement—include those that restrict women’s equal access to education, employment, property, credit or divorce; law enforcement that can drive sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who use drugs underground and away from HIV services; and overly broad laws on the criminalization of HIV transmission. UNAIDS calls for protective laws and measures to ensure that all people benefit from HIV programmes and have access to justice, regardless of health status, gender, sexual orientation, drug use or sex work. Significant expansion of programmes that empower civil society to know and demand their rights is needed. These include programmes to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination, provide legal aid and legal literacy, reform laws, train police on non-discrimination, reach out to vulnerable populations, address violence against women and train health-care workers on non-discrimination, informed consent and confidentiality.

more info: www.unaids.org