Untitled Document

HIV & Human Rights

Introduction
Protecting the rights of those affected and most vulnerable to HIV will create an environment in which stigma, violence and inequity will be lessened, thereby bringing the disease into the open and making it easier to treat and control. In India there is no law or statute that specifically addresses the issues that are raised in the HIV context. Both appellants and the judiciary make their complaints, decisions and rulings by extrapolation from a variety of law sources detailed here Read more

Gender inequities
Women, who have little ability to negotiate a safe and healthy life for themselves, are more disadvantaged than men when it comes to HIV infection, and the law does little to protect them Read more

Liability for transmission
It is an offence under the Indian Penal Code to knowingly transmit the HIV virus. But greater clarity is required to determine that criminal sanctions are warranted and to specify the cases in which they may be imposed Read more

Wanted: A special law on HIV
A specific statute to address HIV/AIDS - its prevention, its treatment, and the manner in which we respond to the people most affected by it - is necessary. The HIV/AIDS Bill 2007, that is to be presented to Parliament, covers all these aspects Read more

Marginalised populations: outside the pale
It is difficult for preventive and harm reduction strategies to reach marginalised populations - who are often most at risk - because the law sees them as criminals Read more

Legal issues that arise in the HIV context
Stigma and discrimination triggered by HIV and AIDS lead to significant human rights violations for persons living with HIV/AIDS. How have the Indian courts handled these and other issues such as confidentiality and consent to testing? Read more

Rights of children and young persons
The paternalistic approach to children and adolescents in India impacts adversely on the rights of young persons to receive accurate, scientific and timely information related to sex and sexual health, on their right to confidentiality and to make other decisions on their own Read more

HIV and military recruitment
Making testing for HIV mandatory for military recruits, and denying HIV-positive persons jobs in the armed forces, could be open to constitutional challenge Read more

Is the right to treatment legally enforceable?
Under the constitutionally guaranteed right to health, the Indian government has to do more to ensure that the most effective treatment is available to all HIV-positive people who need it Read more