On International Testing Week, more than 40 organizations from across Canada sign statement of support
This statement can be attributed to the HIV Legal Network, HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario and the Canadian AIDS Society.
Toronto, ON (November 23, 2023) – Today, more than 40 health and human rights organizations across the country have signed a statement calling for a human rights-based approach to HIV self-testing in Canada to ensure that people using self-testing kits are fully informed of the implications of a positive test. This approach calls for providing options to confirm a positive test, information about the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure, and linkages to treatment, care, and support.
We know that the increased availability of HIV self-testing kits has the potential to radically transform Canada’s HIV response, boosting our potential to achieve the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets by 2025 (meaning that 95 % of people living with HIV know their HIV positive status, 95% of people who know their status are accessing anti-retroviral treatment, and 95% of people accessing treatment have achieved a suppressed viral load) and creating critical opportunities to connect individuals to health care, treatment, and supports. These are all very positive outcomes that we wholeheartedly encourage.
The availability of HIV self-testing kits also addresses several barriers to testing by offering privacy, independence, and control for people as they decide when and where to take an HIV test. But there are also risks associated with HIV self-testing that require additional attention to ensure that human rights are respected and protected in the testing process.
HIV testing should always occur in the context of informed consent, pre- and post-test counselling, and guaranteed confidentiality of test results. All people taking an HIV self-test should be informed of the different testing options, what can happen after they get tested, and whether their name or other personal information will be shared with public health authorities.
But the continued criminalization of people living with HIV for allegedly not disclosing their HIV status has enormous legal implications for people who test positive, particularly those who are disproportionately charged and convicted in Canada, including Black people, Indigenous women, and gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. All people taking an HIV self-test should be informed of their rights and how the law affects them if the test result is positive, even before a confirmatory laboratory HIV test is done.
In addition to HIV criminalization, a positive HIV test can increase the risk of public health surveillance, intimate partner and other violence, and can affect a person’s immigration status. Appropriate referrals to services, including legal, treatment, and support services, must be provided with the test kits to assist with safe engagement in prevention and/or care.
A rights–based approach to self-testing – and all HIV testing – in Canada is the only way to achieve our shared goal of ending HIV and linking people to health care and access to medications in a safe and supportive way. Self-testing can help end HIV, but only if we provide people with the information they need to understand and safeguard their human rights.
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You can access the statement on HIV self-testing here.
CONTACT:
Dylan DeMarsh
Digital and Strategic Communications Officer
HIV Legal Network
d.dmarsh@hivlegalnetwork.ca