Overview
The right to privacy is a fundamental human right. Except in narrow circumstances that must be legally and ethically justified, all people, including those living with HIV, should have the power to decide how, when, to whom, and to what extent their personal health information is shared.
People living with HIV often suffer discrimination as a result of the unauthorized disclosure of their HIV status. As a result, many lose their jobs, housing and insurance, and see their personal relationships with family and friends compromised.
Our work contributes to the informed development of Canadian laws and policies that support the right to privacy and the confidentiality of health information of people living with HIV.
Protecting and promoting the human right to privacy is essential to meeting the public health goals of lessening the impact of HIV on individuals and communities and minimizing its transmission and to recognizing the inherent dignity of people affected by HIV.
Learn more:
It’s Not So Simple
It’s Not So Simple: The impact of simple drug possession and trafficking offences on health equity builds on research demonstrating the many harms resulting from laws and policies that punish people who use drugs by specifically examining the consequences of recent shifts in how police and prosecutors pursue and lay drug possession and trafficking charges. … Read more
Hard Time Persists: GENDER-RESPONSIVE HEALTHCARE AND HARM REDUCTION IN PRISON
Canada must ensure that women, trans, and gender-diverse people have access to gender-responsive and culturally safe healthcare, including harm reduction programs, in prison.
Rights Within Reach: Strategic Plan 2022-2027
The HIV Legal Network promotes the human rights of people living with HIV or AIDS and other populations disproportionately affected by HIV and criminalization, in Canada and internationally. In 2021, we undertook a planning process that would shape the strategic goals and priorities for the organization’s next five years (2022-2027). To do this, we sought … Read more
Rights Within Reach: Strategic Plan 2022-2027, Executive Summary
In 2021, the HIV Legal Network undertook a planning process that would shape the strategic goals and priorities for the organization’s next five years (2022-2027). To do this, we sought the input of a broad range of stakeholders, from partner organizations to people living with and affected by HIV and criminalization, to staff. All identified … Read more