Women’s Rights
Women and girls account for a steadily growing proportion of the world’s HIV cases, both in Canada and internationally. Not enough has been done to address the poverty, subordination, violence and human rights abuses that drive the epidemic among women and compound its impact upon them.
We research and analyze the role that the law plays in perpetuating women’s poverty, lack of access to health care and social services, lack of rights awareness, exposure to stigma and discrimination and vulnerability to violence.
We’re also collaborating with other organizations, including women’s groups, to promote laws and policies that advance women’s broader economic and social equality. The empowerment of women and girls is key to reducing vulnerability to HIV infection, ensuring equitable access to care and treatment and reducing the disproportionate impact of the epidemic.
At writing, Canada is facing an unprecedented overdose crisis that is killing at alarming rates. Canada’s ongoing fixation on criminal prohibition as the primary approach to addressing drug use has led to a situation in which people who use drugs continue to face criminalization, political and social hostility, and limited access to harm reduction and health […]
There are marked differences between men, women, and gender-diverse people in terms of their drug use and how laws and policies affect them. However, insufficient attention is paid to the needs of women and gender-diverse people who use drugs and their access to health services, including harm reduction services. This is especially true for gender-diverse […]
We make this submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Mr. Felipe González Morales, to describe laws and policies that inhibit migrant sex workers and other marginalized communities from enjoying their right to freedom of association, as well as concrete steps that States, international organizations and the UN can take […]
In advance of the adoption of the List of Issues Prior to Reporting for Canada’s periodic review under the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW Convention”), to be held during the 76th Pre-Sessional Working Group (11 – 15 November, 2019), the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (“HIV Legal Network”) […]
Harm Reduction International (HRI) and supporting organisations welcome the report by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, and wish to take this opportunity to comment on the disproportionate impact of the criminal justice response to drugs on foreign nationals, including migrant women, in countries that retain the death penalty for drug offences. […]
Highlights of our work in Canada and around the world from April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019.
Rather than helping, sex workers’ human rights are being systemically violated by those meant to protect them The following statement is issued by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (“Legal Network”). Comments can be attributed to Sandra Ka Hon Chu, Director of Research and Advocacy, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. April 10, 2019 — In […]
Criminal law has perpetually trapped sex workers within dualities of criminality and victimization. Whereas the previous criminal offences concerning sex work framed sex workers in terms of nuisance and criminality, the passage of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) in 2014 legally enshrined sex workers as victims, invalidating the labour of sex […]
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Criminal law has perpetually trapped sex workers within dualities of criminality and victimization. Whereas the previous criminal offences concerning sex work framed sex workers in terms of nuisance and criminality, the passage of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) in 2014 legally enshrined sex workers as victims, invalidating the labour of sex […]
Submission to the United Nations Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (“Legal Network”) welcomes this opportunity to provide comments to the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice (“Working Group”) on the issue of women deprived […]
Last month, representatives from holistic practitioner, sex worker and human rights organizations gathered in Committee Room 1 at Toronto City Hall to make deputations to the Municipal and Licensing Standards Committee about the bylaws governing holistic practitioners and body-rub providers. The meeting was prompted by a study of licensing for holistic centres and body-rub parlours, […]
Highlights of our work in Canada and around the world from April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2017.
This report synthesizes resources that jointly consider Indigenous women, HIV and gender-based violence and relevant recommendations for law reform.
This resource was produced for parents or prospective parents living with HIV, including women, transgender men and non-binary people. Its aim is to provide practical information and to foster knowledge about some of the main areas of concern that parents living with or affected by HIV may have. Also available in Spanish and Swahili.
Today, we remember the 14 women who lost their lives in a horrific act of gender-based violence at the hands of a lone gunman in Montréal. Though the incident occurred over 25 years ago, our society continues to struggle with the structural violence against women that manifests in many forms, and in many arenas, all […]
GENEVA, November 18, 2016 — The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued its Concluding Observations today following its review of Canada’s compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. This is the first time the Committee reviewed women’s rights in Canada since 2008.
“The Legal Network submits this briefing to the World Health Organization’s High-Level Working Group of Health and Human Rights of Women, Children and Adolescents in order to provide inputs on the following areas of concern: (i) the rights of women living with HIV; (ii) the rights of women, children and adolescents who use drugs; (iii) […]
“The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network submits this briefing to the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in advance of its review of the periodic report of Canada, held during its 65th session from 24 October to 18 November 2016. “In this submission, the Legal Network sets out its concerns about Canada’s […]
Highlights of our work in Canada and around the world from April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016.
This guide is for women, including trans women, who are living with HIV and who experience or are at risk of experiencing violence from their intimate partner. Intimate partner violence can be physical, emotional, psychological or sexual abuse from someone with whom you have or had an intimate relationship. Abuse by an intimate partner is not […]
“We are pleased to see the new federal government’s commitment to recognizing the legacy of colonization on Indigenous peoples and its direct relationship to the widespread violence that Indigenous women suffer. We make this submission to urge the Inquiry to ensure the meaningful participation of Indigenous women who sell or trade sex and/or use drugs, […]
This Discussion Guide was created for people who want to use the film Consent: HIV non-disclosure and sexual assault law to engage colleagues, clients, students and communities on the use of sexual assault law to criminalize HIV non-disclosure in Canada. It is meant to be used as a companion piece to the film. To watch Consent online, […]
In April 2014, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network hosted a ground-breaking workshop, Rethinking HIV Non-Disclosure and Sexual Assault: A Feminist Dialogue. Approximately 30 socio-legal scholars, criminologists, lawyers, anti-violence advocates, researchers, graduate students, people living with HIV, and other members of the feminist and HIV communities participated in a series of panels and roundtables. This report […]
A new documentary film on HIV non-disclosure and sexual assault law — produced by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Goldelox Productions
Researching the effects of surveillance on women living with HIV September 2015 While media headlines focus on individuals prosecuted for alleged HIV non-disclosure, we know that the impacts of criminalizing HIV non-disclosure go far beyond those who are formally charged. I was therefore delighted to learn in April that our 3-year community-based research (CBR) proposal […]
“We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations and activists working for the promotion and protection of human rights and empowerment of all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or intersex status, would like to express both disappointment and cautious optimism on the occasion of the adoption of the Political Declaration at the 59th […]
The existing legal framework in Russia makes sex work and related activities punishable offenses, leaving sex workers stigmatized, vulnerable to violence, and disproportionally affected by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. In light of international human rights standards, in particular the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, we examine in this paper whether […]
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 […]
This document addresses some common HIV-related legal questions of agencies that provide services to women in Canada. The information will help service providers inform and refer the women with whom they work to appropriate legal information and support when necessary. It will also present them with guidance about their responsibilities with respect to HIV-related information. […]
A series of four info sheets on the human rights of women living with or vulnerable to HIV in Canada. Women in Prison, HIV and Hepatitis C Women and the Criminalization of HIV Non-Disclosure (updated February 2017) Women, Sex Work and HIV Women and HIV Testing
WLSA–Malawi is challenging Malawi’s approach to marital property law before the Constitutional Court of Malawi because it discriminates against women. They are fighting for an approach to marital property that would give a husband and wife equal control and ownership over property obtained during the subsistence of the marriage during marriage, and half the value […]
How the property of couples is administered, owned and distributed at the end of a marriage has considerable relevance in the context of HIV/AIDS, especially in Malawi where women represent almost 60 percent of those over the age of 15 who are infected. Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Trust — Malawi (WLSA-Malawi) is […]
This project draws together international human rights law and illustrative examples from various jurisdictions as the basis for a legal framework to respect, protect and promote women’s rights in the context of HIV/AIDS. It is intended as a tool to assist advocates and policy-makers as they approach the task of reforming or developing laws to […]
