Judging the epidemic has been prepared as a resource to help judges, magistrates, arbitrators and other judicial officers throughout the world adjudicate cases involving HIV-related issues. This handbook may also be used by judicial trainers and ministries of justice to deliver educational programmes to judges and magistrates on legal issues related to HIV and human rights. It may also be relevant to advocates, lawyers and other legal practitioners, and civil society organisations (including people living with HIV) that seek to gain specific understanding of HIV-related legal issues and the potential role of the courts in advancing human rights in the context of the epidemic. Based on international legal and human rights standards, the handbook contains examples of decided cases from different jurisdictions, good-practice advice and judicial rulings on HIV-related issues.
UNAIDS releases handbook to enhance the capacity of the judiciary to address HIV-related legal and human rights issues
News curated from other sources

New Zealand: New research reveals how HIV criminalisation is experienced in Aotearoa
HIV decriminalisation in Aotearoa: Survey findings
March 15, 2026

Senegal: Same-sex relations, now punishable by five to ten years in prison
Senegal passes law imposing harsher penalties for homosexuality in the name of combating Western influence
March 12, 2026

Senegal: Rising homophobia drives patients away from HIV care and prevention services
Senegal’s LGBTQ+ community lives in fear as fight against AIDS faces setback
March 12, 2026

Senegal: Right to defence tested in Senegal’s high-profile homosexuality and HIV criminalisation cases
The Senegalese bar facing the “file of shame”
March 11, 2026
News by the HIV Justice Network

2025 in review: more reported cases, uneven reform
January 7, 2026



