News by the HIV Justice Network

These remarks were made during the discussion of the proposed new Global AIDS Strategy (2026-31), the outline of which can be found here. I’m the Executive Director of the HIV Justice Network, speaking on behalf of HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE, a…

Speech delivered on the final morning plenary session of the 16th AIDSImpact Conference, Casablanca, 28th May 2025 Good morning. I am deeply honoured to stand here with you today in Casablanca – a city whose name evokes stories of resistance…

In a landmark victory for human rights, Zimbabwe repealed its HIV criminalisation law in 2022, marking a significant step forward in the global fight for HIV justice. This historic reform, detailed in a new case study and documentary by the…

Today, the HIV Justice Network (HJN), supported by the International AIDS Society (IAS), released a video documentary, “It is Time!” – How Zimbabwe Decriminalised HIV, along with a case study report examining Zimbabwe’s successful repeal of its HIV-specific criminal law….

Today, on HIV Is Not a Crime Awareness Day, we stand in solidarity with people living with HIV and our allies who not only continue to fight criminalisation, discrimination, and stigma, but also the sudden loss of funding amongst rising…

On Wednesday, 26th February, the HIV Justice Network (HJN) co-hosted a parliamentary reception in the UK Parliament in collaboration with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on HIV, AIDS and Sexual Health (APPGA) and the UK’s National AIDS Trust (NAT). The event,…

Today, on HIV Is Not A Crime Awareness Day, we are here to confront a grave injustice: HIV criminalisation. HIV criminalisation is not a public health tool, it is a human rights violation. It is state-sponsored stigma in its most…

As the world grappled with shifting political landscapes and evolving public health priorities, the fight against HIV criminalisation remained a critical, yet often overlooked, human rights issue. The HIV Justice Network and our HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE coalition partners navigated a…

Today, on International Migrants Day, the HIV Justice Network is thrilled to announce the relaunch of The Global Database on HIV-specific Travel and Residence Restrictions (HIVtravel.org) under a new name: Positive Destinations (www.positivedestinations.info). This rebranding reflects a bold vision for…

The HIV Justice Network (HJN) is two years into our 2022–2026 Strategic Plan, prompting a mid-term review to evaluate its relevance, coherence, and adaptability. Earlier this year, we worked with a team of experienced consultants utilising an ‘appreciative inquiry’ framework…

In July 2024, six members of the HIV Justice Network team travelled to Munich to take part in AIDS 2024, the 25th International AIDS Conference, which brought together more than 11,000 participants from across the world. The daily poster exhibitions…

Starting this coming weekend, and continuing until Friday 26th, seven HJN team members will join an estimated 15,000 participants at the 25th International AIDS Conference in Munich to advocate for the rights and health equity of people living with HIV…

UNAIDS Programme Coordination Board (PCB) Thematic Meeting on the Sustainability of HIV Response Round Table 1: The context and urgency of sustainability planning and response Remarks from Edwin J Bernard, Executive Director, HIV Justice Network, Netherlands on community leadership to…

This week sees the publication of a powerful and important new book, Criminalized Lives. Based on 24 interviews conducted across Canada over two years with 16 people who were criminally accused of not disclosing their HIV-positive status, author Alexander McClelland, details…

Download this statement as a pdf In 2022, the Government of Zimbabwe was celebrated nationally and internationally for repealing the country’s HIV-specific criminal law, Section 79 of the Criminal Code. When announcing the repeal in Parliament, Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, Zimbabwe’s…

The recent (April 3rd) ruling by Uganda’s Constitutional Court declaring that the Anti Homosexuality Act of 2023 complies with the Constitution of Uganda – except in only four aspects – was quite rightly roundly condemned by Amnesty International, the Global…

On Tuesday 5th March the HIV Justice Network hosted a reception with the All Party Parliamentary Group for HIV, AIDS and Sexual Health (APPGA) to mark the first global HIV Is Not A Crime Awareness Day. Baroness Barker, co-chair of…

Download this statement as a pdf This year, on February 28th, the HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE coalition commemorate HIV is Not A Crime Awareness Day as a Global Awareness Day for the first time, under the theme: “You care about ending…

Next Wednesday 28th February is HIV Is Not A Crime Awareness Day. For the first time, HIV Is Not A Crime Awareness Day – which began two years ago in the United States – has gone global! This year’s theme…

This year has begun with some really encouraging news: years of HIV criminalisation advocacy are really paying off. First, we heard that the Congress of Mexico City completely repealed the crime of “danger of contagion” from the Penal Code. The…

A DELICATE BALANCE Working to end punitive laws and policies that impact people living with HIV is never easy, but this year has been especially hard, as we fought to maintain that delicate balance between moving forward in our advocacy…

As we commemorate World AIDS Day, a coalition that so far includes: the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW), the Global Network of Young People Living with HIV (Y+…

The HIV Criminalisation Online Course is the centrepiece of our free online learning hub, the HIV Justice Academy, which launched just over a year ago. More than 500 HIV justice advocates from around the world have since enrolled in the…

The new website for the HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE (HJWW) coalition is now online, in four languages – English, French, Russian, and Spanish.   HJWW is an international coalition working to shape the discourse on HIV criminalisation, as well as share information…

Today, 24th July, at the 12th IAS Conference on HIV Science on Brisbane, we presented our research findings on the five-year impact of the ‘Expert Consensus Statement on the Science of HIV in the Context of Criminal Law’. Click on…