Laws discriminate in many ways, but the criminalization of people is one of the most devastating forms of discrimination. Despite calls for reform and the commitments under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to remove discriminatory laws and reduce inequalities:

• Sixty-nine countries still criminalize same-sex sexual relationships.
• More than 100 countries criminalize drug use or the personal possession of drugs and 98 countries criminalize some form of sex work.
• One in five people in prison are there because of drug-related crimes and 80% of those are there for personal possession or use.
• Nineteen countries deport non-nationals on the grounds of their HIV status.

A high-level political forum is meeting in New York, United States of America, from 9 to 18 July to review the progress made against the commitments of Member States towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including those on inequality and on peace, justice and strong institutions.

“As a judge, I have seen the effect that criminal law can have on communities. It takes people outside systems of protection, declares their actions or identity illegitimate, increases stigma and excludes them from any protections our judicial, social and economic systems may provide,” said Edwin Cameron, Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

Criminalization affects access to health services, housing, education, social protection and employment. The criminalization of same-sex sexual relationships, sex work or drug use prevents people from accessing health-care services, including HIV prevention, testing and treatment. Data show that gay men and other men who have sex with men are 28 times more at risk of HIV than the general population, people who inject drugs are 22 times more at risk and sex workers and transgender women are 13 times at risk. 

“To fully implement the Sustainable Development Goal agenda and make sure that no one is left behind, we need to ensure the laws are protecting people from discrimination and not pushing people into hiding from society,” said Lloyd Russell Moyle, United Kingdom Member of Parliament.

Groups that represent criminalized people are often barred from registering as nongovernmental organizations, and, for example, sex workers often can’t unionize. Propaganda laws may mean that information on, for example, HIV prevention can’t be disseminated.

“Ending AIDS and meeting the health-related Sustainable Development Goals targets will not be possible without addressing discrimination, violence and exclusion. We have an opportunity to harness the lessons from the AIDS movement and place rights and the meaningful participation of the most marginalized at the centre of the response,” said Luisa Cabal, Director for Human Rights and Gender, UNAIDS.

Criminalized groups often experience higher rates of violence than the general population. Victims of violence who are also criminalized often can’t report crimes against them to the police, and lawyers risk violence and other repercussions if they take up their cases.

“Discrimination against and criminalization of people living with HIV still continues to this day. And we are facing in Indonesia persistent stigma against and criminalizing of key populations. We will never end AIDS if we are not making their needs and rights a top priority for access to health care, protection against violence and realization of the right to health,” said Baby Rivona, from the Indonesian Positive Women Network.

Countries that decriminalize drug use and make harm reduction services available have seen reductions in new HIV infections. Evidence shows that decriminalizing sex work could avert between 33% and 46% of new HIV infections among sex workers and clients over 10 years. However, reductions in new HIV infections are not the only outcome—other outcomes include improvements in well-being and trust in law enforcement, reductions in violence and increased access to health-care and support services. Above all, however, decriminalization of people results in them no longer being seen as criminals and stigmatized by society.

A global coalition of more than 80 youth organizations working on HIV (the PACT), and Youth Voices Count (YVC) launched a poll to get a sense of what young people know about sexual reproductive health.

More than half of the 270,000 young people aged 10-24 from 21 countries who responded to the U-Report poll (54% of boys and young men, and 58% of girls and young women) sought HIV and other services at a health centre or clinic in the previous three months.  About 36% of young people aged 10-24 who did not seek services reported feeling uncomfortable visiting a health centre or clinic, and more than 28% of young people (both sexes) said they felt scared to seek services.

The poll with support from UNAIDS, UNICEF and UNFPA was complemented by an in-depth survey and interviews led by YVC, which showed that approximately 15% of those who accessed any sexual health services in the past 6 months experienced refusal or mistreatment because of their age, sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status. And of those who felt mistreated because of their age, 55% identified as gay, bisexual, and 25% identified themselves as living with HIV. Further, 32% of young gay, bisexual men and other young men who have sex with men, and 50% of young transgender people, felt that they had been discriminated against because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Finally,16% of young people who identified themselves as living with HIV said they had been mistreated because of their HIV status.

Although healthcare settings should be safe spaces for those receiving care, this is not the case. Policies and attitudes remain barriers to youth-friendly HIV and sexual and reproductive health services. Indeed, 37% of respondents who reported having visited a clinic were not willing to recommend doing so to their peers.

This year’s theme for International Youth Day is Safe Spaces for Youth, highlighting the need of young people for safe spaces to come together, hang out, and participate in decision making processes as well as freely express themselves. This includes in healthcare settings, which should be places of safety and refuge, free from stigma, maltreatment, and violence.

Every day, approximately 1600 young people are infected with HIV, while one young person dies of AIDS-related illnesses every 10 minutes. Young women aged 15-24 are particularly affected. In sub-Saharan Africa, young women are twice as likely to be infected with HIV as their male counterparts. And young key populations (including gay men and other men who have sex with men, bisexual people, transgender people, young sex workers and young people who inject drugs) are at a high risk of HIV around the world due to rights violations, discrimination, exclusion, criminalization and violence. Of the young people living with HIV globally, most do not know their status.

Download more slides like this from 2018 Global AIDS Update Miles to Go 

United Nations Secretary-General presents his report on HIV as United Nations General Assembly meets to review progress towards ending AIDS

NEW YORK/GENEVA, 13 June 2018—At the halfway point to the 2020 Fast-Track Targets agreed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2016, United Nations Member States have come together to review progress in responding to HIV. Gathered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States of America, Member States presented the progress and challenges in their countries and heard from the United Nations Secretary-General, who presented his report on the global response to HIV.

The President of the General Assembly Miroslav Lajčák opened the meeting. “We cannot forget that what we are doing today ties into our other goals and objectives,” he said. “We can use today’s meeting to explore opportunities for even more action. Let’s keep going. Let’s keep fighting this virus—and the stigma that comes with it.”

The United Nations Secretary-General presented his report, Leveraging the AIDS response for United Nations reform and global health, and said, “The world is making good progress towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, but progress is uneven and fragile. At this pivotal moment, we must renew our focus and shared commitment to a world free of AIDS.”

The report shows that the exponential scale-up of antiretroviral therapy has now reached more than half of all people living with HIV, which in turn has contributed to a decline of one third in AIDS-related deaths, from 1.5 million in 2010 to 1 million in 2016. It also notes the progress in stopping new HIV infections among children and highlights that eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV is possible if the world remains focused.

The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, attended the plenary meeting. He said, “We are at a critical juncture on the path towards ending AIDS. We must unite and use our collective force to push HIV into permanent decline.”

More than 30 Member States reported on progress in their countries, many expressing their appreciation and support for the work of UNAIDS and the Joint Programme while reiterating their commitment to achieving the targets in the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS.

“The United States strongly supports UNAIDS and its leadership in combatting the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” said Deborah Birx, United States Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy. “UNAIDS’ focus on producing the most extensive data collection on HIV epidemiology continues to be fundamentally important and is our road map to controlling this pandemic. We cannot achieve the targets to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 without the right data to track our progress, pinpoint our unmet need and effectively and efficiently direct resources for maximum impact.”

The report of the United Nations Secretary-General shows that while the number of people accessing treatment almost tripled from 2010 to June 2017, from 7.7 million people on treatment to 20.9 million, 15.8 million people are still in need of treatment, and progress in expanding access to treatment for children is particularly slow. Just 43% of children living with HIV had access to treatment in 2016.

It also flags that more needs to be done to stop new HIV infections. New HIV infections declined by 18% from 2010 to 2016, from 2.2 million to 1.8 million, but to reach the target of 500 000 new infections by 2020 HIV prevention efforts must be significantly stepped up, particularly among populations at higher risk, a sentiment echoed by many of the speakers at the plenary meeting.

Lazarus O. Amayo, Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations, spoke on behalf of the African Group. “A lot remains to be done as AIDS continues to disproportionately affect sub-Saharan Africa, with the risk of new HIV infections remaining exceptionally high among young women in eastern and southern Africa,” he said. “We reiterate the need for a comprehensive, universal and integrated approach to HIV and AIDS, as well as investments towards it.” In eastern and southern Africa, young women aged between 15 and 24 years account for 26% of new HIV infections, despite making up just 10% of the population.

The report shows there is still much work to do to reach the targets in the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS, including filling the US$ 7 billion shortfall in funding for the AIDS response. It sets out five strong recommendations to get countries on track, including mobilizing an HIV testing revolution, safeguarding human rights and promoting gender equality and using the HIV Prevention 2020 Road Map to accelerate reductions in new HIV infections.  

In 2016 (*June 2017) an estimated:

• *20.9 million [18.4 million–21.7 million] people were accessing antiretroviral therapy (in June 2017)
• 36.7 million [30.8 million–42.9 million] people globally were living with HIV
• 1.8 million [1.6 million–2.1 million] people became newly infected with HIV
• 1.0 million [830 000–1.2 million] people died from AIDS-related illnesses

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.