Publications

In February 2022, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights undertook a review of The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. The HIV Legal Network appeared before the Committee to describe how human rights violations against sex workers have escalated with the passage of the law, which has fueled stigma, … Read more

A growing body of research confirms that the criminalization of any aspect of sex work, including the criminalization of clients, sex workers, and third parties in sex work, violates sex workers’ human rights and is in itself a social determinant of health by creating barriers to accessing health care services and building relationships with health … Read more

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 … Read more

In Canada, a complex and multiscalar web of laws has been constructed to target sex trafficking. These laws range from federal prohibitions against human trafficking in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Criminal Code, to provincial laws that provide tools to raise awareness of the offence, to detect alleged traffickers and to provide victims … Read more

In advance of the adoption of the List of Issues Prior to Reporting for Canada’s periodic review under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”), to be held during the 132nd session (28 June to 23 July 2021), the HIV Legal Network would like to provide information to the United Nations (UN) Human … Read more

Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network) (“Butterfly”) was formed by sex workers, social workers, legal and health professionals to provide support to, and advocate for, the rights of Asian and migrant sex workers. Butterfly was founded upon the belief that sex workers are entitled to respect and human rights; regardless of their immigration … Read more

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 … Read more

Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network) and the HIV Legal Network are providing feedback with respect to the most recent proposed amendments to Newmarket’s body rub parlour bylaw. We urge the Newmarket Town Council to prioritize inclusion and respect as Newmarket community values — rather than promoting systemic racism and hateful perceptions of … Read more

In March 2020, the Ontario government announced a $307 million investment into a five-year anti-trafficking strategy. On February 22, 2021, Bill 251, Combating Human Trafficking Act, 2021 was introduced by Solicitor General Sylvia Jones in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The stated purpose of the Act is to combat human trafficking and provide support for … Read more