With this outcry demanding justice, we want to call on the different sectors of society and governments to fight against unfair criminal policies and laws directed against people living with HIV.
“Criminal laws that target key population groups and people living with HIV violate their human rights, heighten the stigma they face, and put them at risk by creating barriers to the support and services they need to protect their health”, says a UNAIDS publication.
Although there has been some progress, UNAIDS highlights that the international call made by the Global Commission on HIV and the Law to repeal laws, policies, and practices that violate the human rights of people living with HIV has not been fully followed by many countries.
The data is disturbing:
- 134 countries explicitly criminalize or otherwise prosecute the exposure, concealment, or transmission of HIV
- 20 penalize or persecute transgender people
- 153 penalize at least one aspect of sex work
- 67 that currently criminalize same-sex sexual relations.
- 48 countries continue to impose entry restrictions on people living with HIV
- 53 report that they require HIV testing to, for example, obtain marriage certificates or to practice certain professions.
- 106 countries state that parental consent is required for adolescents to access HIV tests.
“Criminalization drives discrimination and structural inequities. It robs people of the hope of enjoying a healthy and fulfilling life and delays the end of AIDS. We must end the penalty to save lives”. This is how UNAIDS concludes its statement, aimed at raising awareness that discrimination, rejection, and criminal prosecution against people living with HIV weaken social unity and affect the development of communities.
Zero Discrimination Day was established in 2013 by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. This day celebrates “the right of all people to live a full and productive life with dignity”.
Every March 1st, the UN invites all people to become informed and promote inclusion, compassion, peace, and, above all, a movement for change: “…to help create a global movement of solidarity to end any form of discrimination.”
Source: UNAIDS