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"The epidemic of imperfect laws" hampers the fight against HIV / AIDS
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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An independent high-level UN commission came to the conclusion that the use of "imperfect laws", punitive legislation and human rights violations make it difficult to implement measures to counteract HIV / AIDS. To date, in 78 countries around the world, same-sex sexual relations are punishable under criminal law. In Iran and Yemen, a sexual act between men is punishable by death.
The Commission's report provides evidence that the use of punitive legislation, including against drug addicts, sexual minorities and women, impedes the effective implementation of HIV responses and leads to inefficient use of resources. Such laws cost lives to many people.
"Imperfect laws should not stand in the way of implementing effective measures to counteract HIV," said the Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Helen Clark. She added that by adopting the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS in 2011, the UN member states committed themselves to reviewing laws and policies that impede the effective implementation of HIV responses. One of the key tasks of the Commission was to bring this process to a new level in some countries and to activate it in others.
In its report, the Global Commission on HIV and Legislation, which includes former heads of state, as well as leading experts in the field of legislation, human rights and health, relied on a large-scale study and personal testimonies from more than 1,000 people from 140 countries. The Commission worked under the auspices of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS). She came to the conclusion that punitive laws and discriminatory practices exist in many countries of the world.
For example, in a number of countries there are laws and customs that do not protect women and girls from violence, exacerbate gender inequalities and increase their vulnerability to HIV. Prosperous legislation also criminalizes the most at risk of HIV infection in the group, including men who have sex with men, sex workers and injecting drug users. Such normative acts drive people underground, where they do not have access to prevention and treatment programs. In a number of countries, there are laws that criminalize the behavior of people who keep their HIV status in secret and put others at risk.
So, in more than 60 countries of the world, HIV-infected persons are subject to criminal liability who put others at risk of infection. In more than 24 countries, including the United States, more than 600 HIV-positive people have been convicted of such crimes. These laws and practices cause people's reluctance to be tested for HIV and to disclose their HIV status.
In 78 countries, same-sex sexual relations are criminalized. In Iran and Yemen, a sexual act between men is punishable by death. In Jamaica and Malaysia, same-sex relationships are punishable by prolonged deprivation of liberty.
"The epidemic of imperfect laws" hampers the fight against HIV / AIDS. In some countries, including Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Malaysia and the Philippines, legislation criminalizes proven harm reduction measures for injecting drug users. For comparison, countries that have legalized harm reduction measures, for example, Switzerland and Austria, have almost completely eliminated new infections among injecting drug users.
In more than 100 countries, some aspects of sex work are criminalized, which leads to the economic and social isolation of prostitutes. Legislation also prevents access to essential health services and HIV prevention for them.
Over the past three decades, scientific discoveries and investments, estimated in billions of dollars, have significantly increased the availability of HIV prevention and treatment tools, which has helped a large number of people, families and communities. Nevertheless, the Commission concluded in its report that many countries are wasting resources in vain, enforcing laws that offset the results of these critical investments.
"Too many countries are wasting vital resources to ensure compliance with archaic laws that ignore scientific knowledge and stigmatize," said Commission chairman, former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.