Indigenous Communities
Imprisonment. Lack of culturally appropriate access to health services and resulting poor health. Poverty.
Each of these factors increases a person’s risk of contracting HIV — and in Canada, Indigenous people suffer disproportionately from all of them
We’ve collaborated with Indigenous organizations across the country since 2001 to respond to HIV on two fronts:
- in marginalized populations in which Indigenous people are overrepresented, such as prisoners and drug users, and
- in Indigenous communities, where discrimination, inadequate funding and inconsistent quality of HIV programs and services all remain problematic.
The path to human rights for all is in view with collaboration, collective advocacy, and community building. To view the 2021-2022 annual report, click here.
Respect. Protect. Fulfill. You can help challenge wrongs, advance rights, and transform lives. Denied basic healthcare. Criminalized and vilified for love. Unfairly targeted by police. These abuses, and more, are too often the experience of people living with HIV and of communities affected by HIV. At the HIV Legal Network, our mission has always been […]
Joint press release: HIV, Hepatitis C and Sexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections in Canada: Top Election 2021 Issues Health and human rights groups identify priorities for federal policymakers as people in Canada head to the polls Tuesday, September 14, 2021 – More than 60,000 people are currently living with HIV in Canada, approximately 13% of […]
Seizing the moment to push for concrete and lasting change.
The HIV Legal Network and the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) make this submission in support of the plan of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (“CEDAW Committee”) to develop a new General Recommendation on Indigenous women on the topic of “equality and non-discrimination with a focus on Indigenous women and […]
Guided by the past and working toward the future as we challenge wrongs, advance rights, and transform lives.
Highlights of our work in Canada and around the world from April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019.
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 […]
“Repressive drug control laws and policies around the world have fueled the HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) epidemics and contributed to mounting human rights violations against people who use drugs. The upcoming Ministerial Segment of the 62nd session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in March 2019 represents another important opportunity for Member […]
In this brief, the Legal Network provides information about Canada’s implementation of its international human rights obligations as raised in the draft report, organized under subheadings included in the draft report. It expands on issues presented in the Legal Network’s Submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s UPR Working Group in advance of the […]
The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Prisoners with HIV/AIDS Support Action Network, CATIE and the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network work to promote the human rights of people living with, at risk of or affected by HIV and hepatitis C (HCV), including Indigenous women in prison. We appreciate the opportunity to make this submission on Indigenous women […]
June 21, 2017 Today, National Aboriginal Day, we recognize not only the cultures and contributions of First Nation, Inuit and Métis people in Canada, but also the resilience and strength of these communities. Many Indigenous Peoples have had to cope with traumatic life circumstances, including those related to experiences with the residential school and child […]
This report synthesizes resources that jointly consider Indigenous women, HIV and gender-based violence and relevant recommendations for law reform.
In Canada, Indigenous people experience higher rates of injection drug use and less access to health care than non-Indigenous people. For many Indigenous people, drug use offers a means of coping with traumatic life circumstances, including those related to their experiences with the residential school and child welfare systems in Canada, legacies of colonialism and […]
This ‘Question and Answer’ booklet is for prisoners who identify as First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and who are imprisoned in a federal prison or healing lodge run by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC).
Knowing your rights and responsibilities when it comes to HIV disclosure, privacy and confidentiality is an important way to protect your privacy. This guide provides answers to common questions on disclosure, privacy and confidentiality in the health care settings, workplaces, post-secondary institutions and other settings — places where many Indigenous people living with HIV have […]
In 2014, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (“Legal Network”) and the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) began collaborating to produce a series of legal information resources for Indigenous communities living with and affected by HIV and/or hepatitis C (HCV). In support of this effort, a legal needs assessment was carried out to determine priority legal […]
While the criminal law is a blunt instrument to deal with complex issues such as disclosure or the root causes for HIV in Indigenous communities, it is the law in Canada, and it is important for you to know about it so you can make informed decisions about your sexual life. This brochure has been […]
This is a series of nine info sheets: Issues Discrimination Human Rights Law Dealing with Discrimination Jurisdictional Barriers Health Care Confidentiality HIV Testing Access to HIV Testing
