Law, criminalisation and HIV in the world

Have countries that criminalise achieved more or less successful pandemic response

Dados Bibliográficos

ID21881485
AutoresMatthew M Kavanagh (0000-0003-1751-4828, Georgetown University, autor correspondente), Schadrac C Agbla (0000-0002-0648-3336, University of Liverpool), Marissa Joy (Georgetown University), Kashish Aneja (Georgetown University), Mara Pillinger (0000-0002-6692-5407, Georgetown University), Alaina Case (Talus Analytics, Boulder, Colorado, USA), Ngozi Erondu (0000-0003-0268-6838, Georgetown University), Taavi Erkkola (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), Ellie Graeden (0000-0002-1265-9756, Georgetown University)
Ano2021
Volume6
Fascículo8
Páginase006315
Data de publicação2021-08-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoBMJ Global Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2059-7908 • E-ISSN: 2059-7908
EditoraBMJ (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006315
PMID34341021
OpenAlexW3172229220
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas12
Referências citadas27

How do choices in criminal law and rights protections affect disease-fighting efforts? This long-standing question facing governments around the world is acute in the context of pandemics like HIV and COVID-19. The Global AIDS Strategy of the last 5 years sought to prevent mortality and HIV transmission in part through ensuring people living with HIV (PLHIV) knew their HIV status and could suppress the HIV virus through antiretroviral treatment. This article presents a cross-national ecological analysis of the relative success of national AIDS responses under this strategy, where laws were characterised by more or less criminalisation and with varying rights protections. In countries where same-sex sexual acts were criminalised, the portion of PLHIV who knew their HIV status was 11% lower and viral suppression levels 8% lower. Sex work criminalisation was associated with 10% lower knowledge of status and 6% lower viral suppression. Drug use criminalisation was associated with 14% lower levels of both. Criminalising all three of these areas was associated with approximately 18%–24% worse outcomes. Meanwhile, national laws on non-discrimination, independent human rights institutions and gender-based violence were associated with significantly higher knowledge of HIV status and higher viral suppression among PLHIV. Since most countries did not achieve 2020 HIV goals, this ecological evidence suggests that law reform may be an important tool in speeding momentum to halt the pandemic

Criminal law · Criminology · Disease · Domestic violence · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Geography · Human rights · Pandemic · Poison control · Political science · Sociology · Suicide prevention · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Law · Medicine · Sex work and related issues