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Today, on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT), we are reflecting on our legacy amongst activists working \u201cat the heart of democracy\u201d (the 2026 IDAHOBIT theme) to fight the bigotry that fueled \u2014 and continues to fuel \u2014 the HIV epidemic.<\/p>\nIn the very early days of the epidemic, first officially reported 45 years ago next month<\/a>, what we now know as HIV and AIDS were being called Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (GRID) because of the sexual orientation of people who had acquired the virus. In the following years, rather than act immediately to end transmission and develop treatments for the deadly virus, governments sat still. Policies rooted in homophobia, whorephobia, and racism, alongside the so-called \u201cWar on Drugs,\u201d allowed AIDS to take the lives of thousands of gay men, racialized people, people who use drugs, and sex workers, among many more.<\/p>\n It took massive community mobilization in the 1980s to push governments to invest in medical research and community-based supports for people living with HIV or AIDS. These investments not only resulted in the innovative community-based AIDS Service Organization model seen throughout Canada and the United States, but also allowed for the development of antiretroviral treatments, first made available in 1995. In the subsequent 30 years, HIV experts learned that antiretrovirals not only slowed the progression of HIV, but could also reduce the virus to non-detectable levels and remove the possibility of transmission.<\/p>\n We should have been able to fully end the transmission of HIV worldwide by 2026.<\/strong> But structural barriers \u2014 including those reflected in law and policy \u2014 persist, including criminalization, underfunding, stigma, racism, and the lingering impacts of colonialism.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n In Canada, the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure \u2014 which can see people living with HIV charged with aggravated sexual assault for allegedly not disclosing their HIV status to a sexual partner, even when there is no possibility of HIV transmission and indeed transmission did not occur \u2014 continues to disproportionately persecute members of 2SLGBTQIA+ and Black and Indigenous communities, among other groups. Despite repeated promises by the Government of Canada to reform these laws<\/a>, they are still on the books. With the advent of the first federal majority government since 2019, we now have a critical window to address these punitive and unscientific laws that put Canada out of step with our human rights obligations, and we will push policymakers until the law reflects both human rights values and the scientific consensus.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n We are prepared to use this opportunity to dive even further into the heart of democracy, but we can\u2019t do it without you.\u00a0<\/strong>The values that we share with our generous supporters are key to the work that we do, and will guide us as we face the challenges posed by funding cuts, political opportunism, and human rights rollbacks. In honour of IDAHOBIT, we have chosen today to launch our #45for45 campaign.<\/strong><\/p>\n Right now, anybody who donates any amount to the HIV Legal Network will have their donation matched. In recognition and remembrance of the 45 years of this epidemic, those who donate $45 will have their donation not only be matched but increased to $100. Thinking about becoming a monthly donor? Your donation will be matched each and every month.<\/strong><\/p>\n This International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, please consider joining the fight for human rights and dignity for all by donating to the HIV Legal Network. We can\u2019t do it without you, and time is of the essence.<\/strong><\/p>\n In Solidarity<\/p>\n The HIV Legal Network<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","publication_topics":[],"publication_language":[],"class_list":["post-25988","blog22","type-blog22","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog22\/25988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog22"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog22"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"publication_topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_topics?post=25988"},{"taxonomy":"publication_language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_language?post=25988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}