Today we are celebrating Zero Discrimination Day, a campaign run by UNAIDS to highlight how people can become informed and promote inclusion, compassion, peace and a movement for change. Under the theme “Save lives: Decriminalise” UNAIDS want to highlight how the decriminalisation of key populations and people living with HIV saves lives and helps advance the end of the AIDS pandemic.
Despite some encouraging reforms, the world is still far from achieving its target and in fact today there are:
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134 countries explicitly criminalising or otherwise prosecuting HIV exposure, non-disclosure or transmission
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20 countries criminalise and/or prosecute transgender persons
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67 countries now criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, according to UNAIDS
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48 countries still place restrictions on entry into their territory for people living with HIV
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106 countries report requiring parental consent for adolescents to access HIV testing
Criminalisation encourages discrimination and structural inequalities. It robs individuals of the chance for a healthy and fulfilling life and ultimately holds back the end of AIDS. Save lives: decriminalize! #ZeroDiscrimination
