Publications

The HIV Legal Network made this submission to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee (“Committee”) in advance of its review of Canada’s periodic report, detailing our concerns about Canada’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). This submission provides information on violations of Articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, and … Read more

We hope you’ll read our 2024-25 annual report — Securing Rights: Using Our Values to Meet the Moment — to find out more about the kind of positive change we’re making and get a glimpse of what we hope to accomplish in 2026.

On Friday, April 11, the HIV Legal Network wrote to the party leaders in the Canadian Federal election with key questions on their party’s positions on issues related to HIV, human rights, and the law.  Download the response from the Bloc Québécois, received on April 16, 2025 (French only):

On Friday, April 11, the HIV Legal Network wrote to the party leaders in the Canadian Federal election with key questions on their party’s positions on issues related to HIV, human rights, and the law.  Download the response from the Green Party of Canada, received on April 22, 2025:

This paper aims to explore the intersection of HIV criminalization and sex work to better understand how HIV criminalization affects sex workers, but also how the different forms of HIV criminalization and sex work reinforce each other and exacerbate violence and discrimination against sex workers living with HIV in the region. This project is a … Read more

The HIV Legal Network urges the Ontario government to withdraw the Safer Municipalities Act, which will do nothing to address the crisis of homelessness and drug toxicity deaths in the province, and only further harm people who use drugs, particularly those who are unhoused.  

The creation of our annual report always gives us a unique opportunity to look back at a year’s worth of important work with hindsight, clarity, and pride. As you will see in Raising the Bar — our 2023/24 annual report — our successes and challenges don’t begin and end with the flip of a calendar … Read more

Submission on sex work, women who use drugs and gender-based violence, and HIV criminalization. Joint submission with the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition on drug policy and harm reduction, with sections on women and gender-diverse people in relation to (1) gender-based violence; (2) HIV prevention, access to culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive harm reduction services, and drug decriminalization; … Read more

In response to a call from the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls for input for their report on “prostitution and violence against women and girls,” the Legal Network made a submission outlining the impacts of criminal, immigration, and other laws targeting sex workers as a primary source of state violence and … Read more

To view the 2022-2023 annual report, click here.