To End AIDS, We Need to End Punitive Laws Perpetuating the Pandemic

A man is tested for HIV at a health centre in Odienné, Côte d’Ivoire. Credit: UNICEF/Frank DejonghBy Suki BeaversMONTREAL, Aug 2 2022 (IPS) This week, the global HIV response community is gathering in Montreal to address the crisis of stalling progress that is putting millions of people in danger. Delegates here are clear on two things: first, the world is not on track to end AIDS, second, the world can still get on track and end AIDS as a public health crisis by 2030, but only if leaders are bold. This includes removing laws which are perpetuating the pandemic. Punitive and criminalizing approaches to law have been catastrophic for the AIDS response. They need urgently to be repealed. When people are targeted by punitive laws, they fear the government, and many hide from it. And this lack of trust spills quickly over into responding to a pandemic: a government that proposes to lock a person up one day is unlikely to be trusted when it sends them to an HIV test the next. When people fear public shaming, many try not to be seen. Too often, this means people miss out on HIV prevention, treatment, and care. The evidence is clear: punitive laws that push people into the shadows are continuing to drive HIV. In countries that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, the evidence is clear that the risk of acquiring HIV is higher, access to HIV testing is lower and populations remain hidden, underground. We know that men who have sex with men living in countries wher...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Aid COVID-19 Development & Aid Featured Gender Global Headlines Health TerraViva United Nations Women's Health IPS UN Bureau Source Type: news