HIV Justice Network

The HIV Justice Network (HJN) is the leading community-based NGO building a co-ordinated, effective global response to punitive laws and policies that impact people living with HIV in all our diversities.

Positive Destinations

The new home for the Global Database on HIV-Specific Travel and Residence Restrictions (hivtravel.org), now hosted by the HIV Justice Network. Some countries still restrict entry, stay, or treatment for people with HIV, creating barriers to travel, study, or relocation. ‘Positive Destinations’ helps people living with HIV navigate these challenges with confidence and clarity.

Learning and resources

HIV Justice Academy

The HIV Justice Academy (academy.hivjustice.net) is a brand new global learning and resource hub designed to support people who want to be part of the movement to end HIV criminalisation. It comprises three sections to address three different needs: on-demand Online Learning; practical Action Toolkits; and an extensive Resource Library.

The Global HIV Criminalisation Database

The Global HIV Criminalisation Database consolidates three databases in one: regularly updated information and analysis of HIV criminalisation laws; a regularly updated searchable global database of reported HIV criminalisation cases; and a directory of organisations around the world actively working against HIV criminalisation.

News by the HIV Justice Network

From Courtrooms to Communities:
Funding Advocacy to Sustain HIV Responses

12 November 2025

Humanising the Law: Reflections on Two Decades of Advocacy Against HIV Criminalisation

26 September 2025

Our 2024 Annual Report:
A Year of Progress, Challenge and Purpose

29 August 2025

New global data reveals rising HIV criminalisation amid stalling legal reforms

15 July 2025

HIV Unwrapped: Justice in Every Stitch

14 July 2025

HJN’s Executive Director remarks to the
56th UNAIDS Board (PCB)

26 June 2025

Humanising the Law: Harnessing Science and
Community Voices to End HIV Criminalisation

28 May 2025

Zimbabwe’s victory:
A beacon of hope for HIV justice amid global challenges

28 March 2025

New case study and documentary examines how Zimbabwe repealed its HIV criminalisation law

5 March 2025

HIV Is Not a Crime Awareness Day:
A Call to Action in a Time of Crisis

28 February 2025

News curated from other sources

New Zealand: New Zealand’s HIV progress undermined by stigma and outdated laws

1News - James Fleury

3 December 2025

Canada: Advocates urge Liberals to honour the Trudeau government’s commitment to reform HIV disclosure laws

HIV Legal Network

2 December 2025

Uganda: Uganda faces a choice between scientific progress and harmful criminalisation

New Vision

30 November 2025

Mexico: Baja California eliminates HIV Criminalisation from State Criminal Code

El Imparcial

5 October 2025

Canada: Google refuses to suppress name-based search results in dismissed HIV criminalisation case

heise - Daniel AJ Sokolov

30 August 2025

Canada: Reform of HIV criminalisation laws remains stalled amid political delays

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

24 August 2025

US: Missouri prison system ends solitary confinement policy targeting people with HIV

The Marshall Project

24 August 2025

US: Louisiana’s HIV laws lag behind HIV science

WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio | By Halle Parker (Verite News)

20 July 2025

Criminalization and funding cuts threaten global progress against HIV/AIDS

The Guardian

10 July 2025

Benin: MPs attend workshop to gain up-to-date knowledge to support review of HIV Law

BANOUTO

3 July 2025

Expert Consensus: Bringing Science to Justice

In 2018, twenty leading HIV scientists published the ‘Expert Consensus Statement on the Science of HIV in the Context of Criminal Law’ to address the misuse of HIV science in punitive laws and prosecutions against people living with HIV. Building on initial scoping report published in 2020, we undertook further research examining the impact of the statement in cases and advocacy in the five years since its publication.

HIV Justice Live!

This special edition of our webshow for HIV Is Not A Crime Awareness Day on 28th February 2024 featured Florence Riako Anam (GNP+); HIV and human rights consultant, Michaela Clayton; Mikhail Golichenko (HIV Legal Network); and Andy Tapia and Kerry Thomas (SERO Project) who explained why HIV criminalisation impacts us all, and what you can do it about it.

HIV criminalisation cases

Malaysia: Spa owner fined for alleged HIV exposure

6 December 2025

[Update]Senegal: Migrant sex worker on treatment sentenced to one month in jail

2 December 2025

[Update]Thailand: Ongoing dispute highlights conflicting narratives around HIV accusations

19 November 2025

US: Police investigates case of alleged non-disclosure of HIV status before sexual encounter

19 November 2025

Uzbekistan: Man sentenced to 2 years in penal colony for alleged HIV transmission

17 November 2025

UK: Trial starts in case involving alleged sexual violence and HIV transmission

14 November 2025

Uzbekistan: Court of appeal upholds original verdict and sentence in case of alleged HIV exposure

8 November 2025

Russia: Court finds man guilty of deliberate HIV exposure for stabbing police officer with syringe

7 November 2025

Uzbekistan: Man sentenced to four years restricted liberty for alleged HIV transmission to spouse

30 October 2025

France: Man sentenced to 5 Years, with 3 years suspended, for alleged HIV transmission

30 October 2025

Bluesky

Technology can facilitate gender-based violence. #NoExcuse #ACTtoEndViolence

4 December 2025

Community organisations are losing staff, services, and space to operate. At the same time, prosecutions and punitive laws are rising. This is the disruption @UNAIDS warns about. Fund advocacy. Defend rights. #WorldAIDSDay #HIVJustice

2 December 2025

On #WorldAIDSDay, the message is simple: Fund advocacy. End criminalisation. Defend community power. @UNAIDS’ World AIDS Day report makes the situation clear: the global HIV response is entering its most dangerous period in two decades. A sudden collapse in donor funding has devastated services.

1 December 2025

Funding cuts alone didn’t cause this crisis. Criminalisation, anti-rights movements, and attacks on civil society are accelerating it. To save the HIV response, we must invest in the communities fighting back. #WorldAIDSDay #DecriminaliseHIV

1 December 2025

HIV Justice News: #UNAIDS warns that funding cuts + rising criminalisation are pushing the HIV response into crisis. At FCAA’s From Courtrooms to Communities, we argued that advocacy funding is the frontline defence. See https://mailchi.mp/hivjustice.net/hiv-justice-news-world-aids-day-edition #HIVJustice #EndHIVCriminalisation #WorldAIDSDay2025

27 November 2025

Gender-based violence (GBV) poses significant public health and human rights challenges, and is closely associated with HIV. #NoExcuse #ACTtoEndViolence

26 November 2025

Women and girls living with #HIV are often at a greater risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). We join the call to stop digital abuse and gender-based violence. #NoExcuse #ACTtoEndViolence

24 November 2025

Registration, abstract submissions and scholarship applications for #AIDS2026 opens TODAY 20 November! We encourage you to make your voice be heard at the conference. Policy, law and human rights shape our day-to-day lives.

20 November 2025

Are you familiar with #HIV criminalisation? Strengthen your knowledge or learn about the harms and inefficiencies of unjust laws with key materials and resources. Prepare for Action with the HIV Justice Academy academy.hivjustice.net

17 November 2025

The Expert Consensus Statement has been instrumental to successful defences in court. It has also been used to support strategic litigation, including testing the constitutionality of highly problematic laws, and as evidence in court cases challenging sodomy laws. www.hivjustice.net/publications

13 November 2025

Last chance! If your organisation has contributed to progress toward decriminalisation in the past five years, we want to hear from you. 🗓 Submit your case study by 14 November 2025 👉 tinyurl.com/HIVDecrim

10 November 2025

Stigma, prosecutions and lack of trust deter testing and treatment. Criminalisation hinders public health efforts to stop #HIV transmission. 📖 Find out why criminalisation weakens our HIV response on our website. www.hivjustice.net

10 November 2025

What documentation do I need? What do I do about my medicines? How can I access healthcare? How can I better take care of myself while traveling with #HIV? We compiled Frequently Asked Questions to help you navigate your next destination www.positivedestinations.info/faqs/

6 November 2025

Case reports, including the number of known cases, should be considered illustrative of what is likely a more widespread, poorly documented use of criminal law against people living with #HIV. https://www.hivjustice.net/global-hiv-criminalisation-database/cases/

3 November 2025

Laws should protect, not punish. HJN is collecting good practices in HIV decriminalisation from around the world. Have a case study to share? Learn more: https://mailchi.mp/hivjustice.net/hiv-justice-news-30-october-2025 Respond by 14 Nov 2025 → tinyurl.com/HIVDecrim

30 October 2025

New Research! Our Executive Director, Edwin J Bernard, traces two decades of work against #HIVcriminalisation in a new paper published in AIDS Care. Discover how science and community voices have influenced laws and public understanding. Read the full paper https://academy.hivjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Bernard-EJ-Humanising-the-law-AIDS-Care-published-online-20-Sep-2025.pdf

27 October 2025

🎓 Grow as a leader in the #HIV response! Take the @iasociety.bsky.social 's free course on gender & #HIV. Learn how gender impacts HIV & apply it in your work. 🖱️ Sign up now on #IASPlus & explore more free courses: https://plus.iasociety.org/all-courses/gender-and-hiv

23 October 2025

This rise in prosecutions for #HIV non-disclosure, exposure, or unintentional transmission, often with harsh sentences, indicates a stalling in legal reforms and a persistent misuse of outdated laws. Discover our e-poster for critical insights! https://www.hivjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IAS-2025-HJN-poster-v04-FINAL.pdf

16 October 2025

A pilot from Germany, living with HIV, shares his experiences navigating international travel. The fear of discrimination and potential consequences in countries with restrictive laws has led to constant subliminal anxiety. Watch this and other stories at www.positivedestinations.info

13 October 2025

Stigma, prosecutions and lack of trust deter testing and treatment. Criminalisation hinders public health efforts to stop H#IV transmission. 📖 Find out why criminalisation weakens our HIV response on our website. www.hivjustice.net

9 October 2025

Looking for in-depth information on #HIV criminalisation? Our resource library contains a collection of academic papers, legal analyses, and policy recommendations to back your research and advocacy https://academy.hivjustice.net/resource-library/

6 October 2025

Our latest data presented at #IAS2025 tracks global policies harming migrants, students & workers living with #HIV. Explore Positive Destinations https://www.positivedestinations.info/news/17928-global-study-reveals-50-countries-still-enforce-hiv-related-travel-restrictions

2 October 2025

We are partnering with @iasociety.bsky.social to present their interactive digital platform and help you drive greater impact in the HIV response! Explore free, interactive HIV-related courses, educational resources, & on-demand sessions from the IAS global conferences & webinars.

29 September 2025

New in AIDS Care: Humanising the law by HJN’s Edwin J. Bernard. Science, storytelling & solidarity are reshaping laws on #HIVcriminalisation. Learn how to access a free eprint of the article in this week’s #HIVJustice News: https://mailchi.mp/hivjustice.net/hiv-justice-news-26-september-2025

26 September 2025

#HIV-specific criminal laws are discriminatory and stigmatising. People with other serious blood borne infections – including hepatitis B and C and syphilis – are not singled out with specific laws, nor for prosecution under general criminal laws. https://www.hivjustice.net/publication/badblood/

22 September 2025

Dreaming of your next adventure or considering a move? Understanding #HIV-related travel and migration policies is key to a smooth journey. Our website features a dedicated news hub! Plan smarter, travel safer: www.positivedestinations.info/news/

18 September 2025

HIV criminalisation laws are often vague and overly broad, leaving people living with HIV vulnerable to human rights abuses. 🔍 #HIVCriminalisation laws target marginalised communities, worsening stigma and inequality. academy.hivjustice.net

15 September 2025

The upward trend continued into 2025, with 48 #HIV criminalisation cases reported in just the first six months. Uzbekistan (28) and Russia (9) again accounted for the majority, alongside new cases in the US, Canada, and Argentina. What are the 2025 trends? 👉 https://www.hivjustice.net/news/new-global-data-reveals-rising-hiv-criminalisation-amid-stalling-legal-reforms/

11 September 2025

🗺️ Interactive #HIV Criminalisation Map See how laws are applied worldwide: 📌 Select by category (HIV-specific, communicable diseases, etc.) 📌 Click on a country to explore case reports https://www.hivjustice.net/global-hiv-criminalisation-database/cases/

8 September 2025

Summer travels are more than just a holiday—they're about freedom, new experiences, and living life to the fullest. Knowing what to expect when traveling is a huge part of that journey. Have you travelled recently? Share your experiences with us! www.positivedestinations.info #HIV

4 September 2025

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