News by the HIV Justice Network

The HIV Justice Network (HJN) has been monitoring a disturbing phenomenon — at least 12 women living with HIV have faced criminal prosecution in relation to breastfeeding or comfort nursing.   In addition, women living with HIV have been threatened…

Preventing the transmission of blood-borne infection by imposing limitations on the donation of blood is an important and legitimate public health objective. Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, certain groups – including, but not limited to, gay men and…

The 24th international AIDS conference (AIDS 2022) held in Montreal and virtually between 29 July and 2 August integrated HIV criminalisation throughout multiple sessions – both in the main conference and during pre-conferences, satellites and in the Global Village. Australian…

A new report published today (July 22nd 2022) by the HIV Justice Network (HJN) on behalf of HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE shows that the global movement to end HIV criminalisation continues to achieve remarkable successes, despite the many challenges that COVID-19 has…

The HIV Justice Network recently had an editorial published in a special supplement of the American Journal of Public Health. The supplement highlights the importance of moving toward actions to reduce HIV-related intersectional stigma and discrimination. Our editorial, ‘Punishing vulnerability…

Now celebrating its tenth anniversary, the Support. Don’t Punish campaign promotes justice for people who use drugs – including people living with HIV. We wholeheartedly support the campaign’s messages: The drug control system is broken and in need of reform….

Today we are delighted to share with the world a new short film, Mwayi’s Story, produced by the HIV Justice Network on behalf of HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE. Mwayi’s Story is a story about courage, and about women standing up for…

Today, with the publication of our Annual Report 2021 we look back at some of the key highlights of last year, as well as look to the future. The report is published by the HIV Justice Foundation, an independent non-profit…

A new report produced by the Eurasian Women’s Network on AIDS with the Global Network of People Living with HIV on behalf of HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE, illustrates how women living with HIV, who are disproportionally impacted by HIV criminalisation across…

Our thoughts this week are with the family and friends of Rosemary Namubiru who passed away last weekend in Kampala, Uganda. Rosemary was a dedicated nurse as well as a mother and grandmother – and a courageous HIV criminalisation survivor….

Last week, Zimbabwe’s parliament finally agreed to repeal the country’s HIV-specific criminal law, section 79 of the Criminal Code.  The law which contained the provision to repeal section 79 – the Marriages Act – was originally gazetted in July 2019. …

Our founding document, the Oslo Declaration, was created 10 years ago this week On February 13, 2012, a group of individuals from civil society around the world, concerned about the inappropriate and overly broad use of the criminal law to…

Please complete our short survey on e-Learning and e-Training by 11th February   You’ll have seen from our first HIV Justice Newsletter of the year that we are excited about various advocacy tools and resources we are working on this…

This past year we’ve been challenged yet again due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As well as the impact on each of us, personally, the legal and policy decisions relating to its control – and their enforcement –  have significantly impacted…

Criminal prosecutions related to presumed HIV exposure via breastfeeding are all-too-often driven by stigma, misinformation, and the desire to protect a child from exaggerated risk.  People living with HIV require a vigorous defence based on principles of justice and human…

REGISTER HERE Beyond Blame, our flagship meeting for activists, human rights defenders, criminal legal system and public health system actors, healthcare professionals, researchers, and anyone else working to end HIV criminalisation, is returning for a special eve-of-World AIDS Day edition….

A new briefing paper published today by Positive Women’s Network-USA on behalf of the HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE coalition aims to support people living with HIV, activists, legal experts, and human rights campaigners in understanding the complexities and consequences of molecular…

A new report published by the Global Equality Caucus examines what elected officials can do to ensure LGBT+ people receive equitable access to HIV healthcare. The report titled Breaking barriers in HIV: Action for legislators to address LGBT+ inequities, includes…

The proverb says, “It takes a village to raise a child”. But what if a mother in the village is living with HIV, and some of the villagers stigmatise her? What if that stigma creates a situation where the mother…

HJN stands in solidarity with sex workers and asks everyone to support the upcoming Sex Worker Pride Day (September 14) that aims to increase the visibility of sex workers and their activism. Sex Worker Pride is an opportunity to celebrate and share stories…

After five years of waiting, the Constitutional Court of Uganda has finally begun to hear a landmark case challenging the overly broad and draconian provisions of the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 2014. Constitutional Court Judge Christopher…

Activists and advocates in East and Southern Africa are encouraged to register and participate in a free moderated online course on HIV criminalisation. If you work with civil society organisations based in Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini,…

This week, the Governor of the US state of Illinois signed a bill that fully repeals its HIV criminalisation law, becoming only the second US state ever to do so. Illinois’ HIV-specific criminal law was first enacted in 1989, and…

The fourth episode of HIV Justice Network’s web show, HIV Justice Live! that streamed live on July 14 is now available to watch on YouTube.  The episode, which our colleagues at the HIV Legal Network called a “master class in…

The HIV Justice Network is a proud supporter of the Support. Don’t Punish campaign now in its ninth year. Tomorrow, Saturday 26 June, is the campaign’s yearly high point, the Global Day of Action. According to the campaign’s website, “Support.Don’t…