NCSSE letter to members of the Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee

2006-02-01

NCSSE letter to members of the Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee regarding HHS removal of website, hosted by HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), that featured basic preventative health information for LGBT individuals Read

Filed Under:

• Prevention and Sexual Health

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Responding to the New York City Commission on HIV/AIDS'

2005-07-10

Responding to the New York City Commission on HIV/AIDS? May, 2005 draft report, the Center for HIV Law and Policy drafted comments on behalf of SMART, Inc (Sisters Mobilized for AIDS Research and Treatment). SMART and CHLP endorsed many of the Commission?s recommendations. However, comments were submitted to draw attention to the report?s failure to address the need for local advocacy on development of microbicides (the most promising prevention technology for women currently in research); to identify steps to improve deadly systemic deficiencies in HIV care for the incarcerated; or to justify proposals for expansion of HIV surveillance.

Filed Under:

• Prevention and Sexual Health

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Center Allies Weigh in on the FDA's Proposed Condom Labelling Requirements

2006-02-10

Filed Under:

• Prevention and Sexual Health

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California Senate Bill on Sperm Washing for HIV-Postive Men (SB443)

2007-08-27

On 8/27/07, the California Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill to allow HIV-positive men to have their sperm washed and used for fertility treatments. The bill would allow the washed sperm to be used in artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization under certain guidelines. Since 1989, California has prohibited HIV-positive people from donating sperm, blood or tissue in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus. The law has prevented HIV-positive men from using reproductive technologies that lower the risk of transmitting HIV to their partners. The bill would allow couples to use reproductive technology as long as the HIV-positive donor's sperm is processed to minimize the risk of HIV transmission; informed mutual consent is documented; and the couple uses American Society for Reproductive Medicine-approved sperm processing procedures. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation and Deborah Cohan, medical director of the Bay Area Perinatal AIDS Center, California is one of two states where couples with an HIV-positive man cannot undergo fertility treatments with his donated sperm.

Filed Under:

• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Pregnancy and Newborns
• Blood, Semen, and Organ Donation
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection

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The UNAIDS Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights, "Statement and Recommendations on Scaling up HIV Testing and Counselling"

2007-09-17

The UNAIDS Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights is an independent, advisory body, established in 2002 to advise the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) on all matters relating to HIV and human rights. The group issued this independent "Statement and Recommendations on Scaling up HIV Testing and Counselling" expressing that HIV testing and counseling should be implemented in ways that maximize benefits to individuals and public health, and respect, protect and fulfill human rights. As the group notes, Efforts to increase access to HIV testing and counselling are not occurring in a vacuum. Rather, they take place in an environment in which evidence-informed and human rights-based policies and responses to HIV are being widely undermined. Furthermore, even as vastly increased funding for HIV has become available, those most vulnerable to HIV and its impact continue to receive the least access to HIV prevention, care and treatment services.

Filed Under:

• Testing
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Human Rights

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Letter to State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Conferees regarding the Fiscal-Year 2008 Budget for Bilateral Family Planning and Reproductive Health, dated November 8, 2007

2007-11-08

Over 50 diverse non-profit organizations including the Center for HIV Law and Policy, HIV/AIDS service organizations, reproductive rights advocates, womens and other policy organizations and religious groups together submitted a letter to the members of the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Conference Committee, asking that they maintain the Senate-approved $461 million funding level for bilateral family planning and reproductive health programs and urging them to also adopt the $40 million contribution for the United Nations Population Fund as recommended by the House of Representatives. The United States has fallen behind on its efforts to improve global health when adjusted for inflation, current U.S. funding is 41% below FY 1995, yet since that time the number of women of reproductive age in the developing world has increased by approximately 275 million women. These women and men lack access to basic reproductive health care such as contraception (reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies and, therefore, reducing the number of abortions), prenatal and pediatric care, and HIV prevention services and testing. Given the steep funding reductions that have taken place over the last decade, the minimal but critical increase called for by the Senate is warranted

Filed Under:

• Gender Issues
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Racial Justice
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection

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Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 3, HIV/AIDS and the rights of the child, U.N. Doc. CRC/GC/2003/1

2003-January

General Comment No. 3 was issued by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child to promote the realization of the human rights of children in the context of HIV/AIDS as guaranteed under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (“CRC”). General Comment No. 3 identifies and elaborates on several rights of children and corresponding obligations of state parties with regard to HIV/AIDS issues such as discrimination, HIV-prevention information, health services, counseling and testing, mother-to-child transmission, and children affected and orphaned by HIV/AIDS. For example, General Comment No. 3 explains that under Articles 24, 13, and 17 of the CRC, children should have the right to access adequate information related to HIV/AIDS prevention and care through both formal and informal channels. It also states that “accessibility of voluntary, confidential HIV-counseling and testing services, with due attention to the evolving capacities of the child, is fundamental to the rights and health of children.”

Filed Under:

• Education/Schools
• Juvenile Detention
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Youth
• Pregnancy and Newborns
• Human Rights
• Treatment
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Stigma

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Susan Okie, M.D. New England Journal of Medicine-Sex, Drugs, Prisons, and HIV

2007-01-11

Critics of U.S. penal policies contend that incarceration has exacerbated the HIV epidemic among blacks, who are disproportionately represented in the prison population, accounting for 40% of inmates. This New England Journal of Medicine article examines the facts, perceptions, and some proposed solutions to the HIV epidemic -- and the behaviors and policies that drive it -- occurring behind bars. As this article discusses, both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) have recommended for more than a decade that condoms be made available to prisoners and that measures for clean needles be implemented. Several Western European countries, as well as Canada, Australia, Indonesia, and Iran, have adopted some or all of these harm reduction approaches and have seen no increase in drug use or new cases of HIV infection. The prohibition of condom availability, absence of needle exchange programs, and inadequacy of HIV diagnosis, treatment and programs for reducing high-risk behavior before and after release have resulted in continued rising rates of HIV infection in the U.S. prison system. Theodore M. Hammett of Abt Associates, a Massachusetts-based policy research and consulting firm, is with the Domestic Health, Health Policy, and Clinical Research Division. According to Hammett, adoption of HIV-prevention measures is long overdue. Condoms ought to be widely available in prisonsFrom a public health standpoint, I think theres little question that that should be done. Methadone, also all kinds of drug [abuse] treatment should be much more widely available in correctional settings. As Robert Fullilove of Columbia Universitys Mailman School of Public Health puts it, The issue has never been, do we understand what has to happen to reduce the risks? Its always been, do we have the political will necessary to put what we know is effective into operation?

Filed Under:

• Testing
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Prisons and Jails
• Racial Justice

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Diane Binson, PhD, William J. Woods, PhD, Lance Pollack, PhD, Jay Paul, PhD, Ron Stall, PhD, MPH, and Joseph A. Catania, PhD, Differential HIV Risk in Bathhouses and Public Cruising Areas, (Am J Public Health 2001; 91:14821486)

2001-09-01

This article may be useful in considering the regularly-revived call to shut down bathhouses to reduce the rate of HIV transmission among men who have sex with me. The following abstract is taken from the article: Objectives. This report investigates differences in risk behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM) who went to gay bathhouses, public cruising areas, or both. Methods. We used a probability sample of MSM residing in 4 US cities (n = 2881). Results. Men who used party drugs and had unprotected anal intercourse with nonprimary partners were more likely to go to sex venues than men who did not. Among attendees, MSM who went to public cruising areas only were least likely, and those who went to both public cruising areas and bathhouses were most likely to report risky sex in public settings. Conclusions. Distinguishing between sex venues previously treated as a single construct revealed a significant association between pattern of venue use and sexual risk. Targeting HIV prevention in the bathhouses would reach the segment of men at greatest risk for HIV transmission. The authors state in conclusion, in part: We know that baths are places where prevention efforts can actually find a majority of the men who have risky sex, and they are places where sex occurs, sometimes unprotected sex. This fact is particularly noteworthy, given that HIV prevention programs have not successfully reached men at highest risk for HIV transmission. Further, HIV interventions proximate to sexual activity probably have the best chance of being successful. Conducting HIV prevention in baths would reach bathers, but also the men who report the most risky behavior, multivenue users. Although we know that many US baths distribute condoms, lubrication, and HIV information, and a few provide counselors and special events related to safer-sex skills building,3 there is no evidence of the efficacy of these interventions. More important, we need to begin to investigate how manipulating the physical structure of the environment. Although the data suggest an interaction between the environment and the individual, they are not sufficient to identify the particular characteristics that contribute to the interaction. Until these are identified, we cannot develop, implement, or test those prevention efforts that are most likely to be effective in reducing HIV transmission among MSM. Thus, although prevention programs that address the individual need to continue, the challenge in the next generation of prevention efforts is to unravel the complex interaction between individual characteristics and the environment. For more information about the complete report, please submit an inquiry to info@hivlawandpolicy.org.

Filed Under:

• Homophobia
• Prevention and Sexual Health

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T. Hammett, Making the Case for Health Interventions in Correctional Facilities

2001-06-01

In this article from the Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine (provided by Abt Associates,Inc.), Ted Hammett, a long-time expert on HIV in corrections and a vice-president at Abt Associates, elaborates on what he considers the three essential points to effective advocacy for health care services in prisons and jails: that correctional facilities are important settings for health care interventions because there populations typically bear a disproportionately heavy disease burden; that successful health interventions are possible among inmate populations; and that successful interventions benefit not only inmates, their families and partners, but the public at large, particularly the urban communities from which most inmates come.

Filed Under:

• Health Care and Insurance Issues
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Prisons and Jails

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T.Mason et al., Perspectives Related to the Potential Use of Vaginal Microbicides Among Drug-Involved Women: Focus Groups in Three Cities in the United States and Puerto Rico

2003-12-01

This article, provided by Abt Associates, presents results of focus groups of drug-involved women who have sex with men, conducted in Bridgeport, CT, Providence, RI, and San Juan, PR, to assess interest in and opennse to using microbicides effective against HIV transmission in the even they become available. The article also describes how aspects of women's different sexual lives might affect issues of concern to them if and when they tried microbicides.

Filed Under:

• Gender Issues
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection

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Antiretroviral Postexposure Prophylaxis After Sexual, Injection-Drug Use, or Other Nonoccupational Exposure to HIV in the United States -- Recommendations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , MMWR 54 (RR02); 1-20,

2005-01-21

Recommendations addressing administration, risk and effectiveness of antiretrovirals in preventing HIV infection when taken soon after a risky sexual or intravenous exposure. From the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Institutes of Health; Food and Drug Administration; and the Health Resources and Services Administration. In addition to offering guidance to those experiencing sexual or intravenous exposure to HIV with a real risk of transmission, these guidelines are relevant to policy proposals on testing of sexual assault defendants. In those situations where drug therapy is an option, the guidelines state that treatment should be started immediately after exposure, and is not believed to be effective if initiated more than 72 hours after the exposure. From the recommendations summary: For persons seeking care <72 hours after nonoccupational exposure to blood, genital secretions, or other potentially infectious body fluids of a person known to be HIV infected, when that exposure represents a substantial risk for transmission, a 28-day course of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is recommended. Antiretroviral medications should be initiated as soon as possible after exposure. For persons seeking care <72 hours after nonoccupational exposure to blood, genital secretions, or other potentially infectious body fluids of a person of unknown HIV status, when such exposure would represent a substantial risk for transmission if the source were HIV infected, no recommendations are made for the use of nPEP. Clinicians should evaluate risks and benefits of nPEP on a case-by-case basis. For persons with exposure histories that represent no substantial risk for HIV transmission or who seek care >72 hours after exposure, DHHS does not recommend the use of nPEP. Clinicians might consider prescribing nPEP for exposures conferring a serious risk for transmission, even if the person seeks care >72 hours after exposure if, in their judgment, the diminished potential benefit of nPEP outweighs the risks for transmission and adverse events. For all exposures, other health risks resulting from the exposure should be considered and prophylaxis administered when indicated. Risk-reduction counseling and indicated intervention services should be provided to reduce the risk for recurrent exposures.

Filed Under:

• Testing
• Prevention and Sexual Health

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Recommendations for Use of Antiretroviral Drugs in Pregnant Women Infected with HIV-1 for Maternal Health and for Reducing Perinatal HIV-1 Transmission in the U.S., U.S. Public Health ServiceTask Force Perinatal Guidelines Working Group

2008-07-08

The July 2008 version of the guidelines includes language that reaffirms an HIV-positive pregnant woman’s right to retain control over treatment decisions that affect her and her fetus. The Nov. 2007 version had inexplicably omitted language about a woman’s right to refuse ARV therapy without penalty—language that had been included in the Oct. 2006 version. That language has been reinstated, and is accompanied by other language in the document that makes explicit a woman’s right to be counseled in a way that will enable her to make informed decisions about her care.

The following sets out the noteworthy changes contained in the July 8, 2008 guidelines in more detail:
1. The introduction eliminates any mention of monotherapy to prevent perinatal transmission. It also adds this language: "After counseling and discussion, a pregnant woman's informed choice on whether to take antiretroviral drugs either for her treatment or for prevention of mother-to-child transmission or to follow other medical recommendations intended to reduce perinatal HIV transmission should be respected. Coercive and punitive policies are potentially counterproductive in that they may undermine provider-patient trust and could discourage women from seeking prenatal care and adopting health care behaviors that optimize fetal and neonatal well-being."
2. In the sections on antepartum care and infant prophylaxis, the guidelines provide updated information about Viracept, the use of which had not been recommended because of "a process-related impurity." As of 3/31/08, the drug was deemed safe for use in all populations, including pregnant women and children.
3. The section on postpartum follow-up care now acknowledges not only the physical changes women go through after delivery, but also the psychological changes.
4. Also in the section on postpartum follow-up, the recommendation on continuation of ARV therapy after delivery has been changed. The recommendation now is to make this decision in consultation with the woman's HIV provider, taking into account several factors. The recommendation used to be continuation of therapy without mention of consultation or consideration of other factors.
5. The section on sterilization as a possible method of contraception now includes the following sentence: "Advance counseling and discussion about sterilization is strongly encouraged in order to enable the woman to make a well informed choice."

Filed Under:

• Testing
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Pregnancy and Newborns
• Treatment
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection

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THE CENTER FOR HIV LAW AND POLICY, Sexual Health Advocacy for Youth in Foster Care and Detention Facilities

2007-06-07

The Center for HIV Law and Policys (CHLP) legal and policy outline for advocating for sexual health and HIV prevention programming for youth in state custody. Youth in the state welfare and juvenile justice systems, especially lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning youth, are at alarmingly high risk of becoming HIV-infected. There is a critical need to address discriminatory treatment and the lack of policies, staff training and services that endanger and stigmatize these youth. Targeting advocacy in this direction has a potentially significant impact for the health of at-risk youth and the communities to which they return. The outline highlights various strategies for addressing the states failures; for example, policy and regulations reforms and using existing state laws governing adolescents autonomy and sexual orientation discrimination, as well as state and federal privacy, equal protection, substantive de process and first amendment guarantees to gain legal inroads to securing statesponsored sexual health care services for detained youth.

Filed Under:

• Family Law Issues
• Foster Care Facilities and Policies
• Homophobia
• Juvenile Detention
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Prisons and Jails
• Youth

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A Human Rights-Based Commentary on UNAIDS Guidance Note: HIV & Sex Work, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network

2007-09-04

This commentary, published by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and endorsed by more than 40 organizations around the world, including the Center for HIV Law and Policy, is a comprehensive, excellent critique the the April 2007 UNAIDS Guidane Note on HIV and Sex Work. Noting the Guidance Note's inconsistency with prior UN statements on the importance of protecting of sex workers' basic rights, the commentary addresses UNAIDS' failure "to consider seriously the precarious human rights situation of sex workers, and the way abusive and violent poicing and ill-conceived national laws undermine sex workers' rights. It also fails to discuss the human rights of sex workers as workers, including their right to work, their right to a livelihood of their choosing, and their right to workplace safety."

Filed Under:

• Criminal Law
• Gender Issues
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Human Rights
• International
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection

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New York Civil Liberties Union, Reproductive Freedom Project, Financing Ignorance: A Report on Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding in New York (September, 2007)

2007-09-20

New York Civil Liberties Union, Reproductive Freedom Project, Financing Ignorance: A Report on Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding in New York (September, 2007), assesses the result of an extensive study of the abstinence-only-until-marriage programs In New York that received federal funding through 2006. Since1998, New York has received $3.5 million a year for abstinence-only education, and the state had spent an additional $2.6 million annually on it over the past decade. After reviewing more than 33,000 pages of state and federal documents from 39 funded programs, the NYCLU concluded that ab-only programs across the state contain serious medical inaccuracies and fear-based approaches to health issues; demonstrate bias against LGBT persons and engage in negative gender stereotyping; in many cases redirected money to other after-school activities not directly related to sex education; relied on instructors with no training or expertise as educators; were neither required to, nor on their own, and engaged in evaluation of program effectiveness. In addition, 53 % of abstinence program funding goes to religious groups without real safeguards against the incorporation of religious content in ab-only programming; religious content was in fact included in the programming of some of these groups . On September 20, 2007, New York State Department of Health Commissioner Richard Daines announced that New York would no longer accept federal abstinence-until-marriage-or-death funding. Since 1998, New York has received $3.5 million a year for abstinence-only programming, and the state had spent an additional $2.6 million annually on it over the past decade. That money will now be used for actual sex education programming, according to Commissioner Daines, whose statement can be found in this section of the Resource Bank.

Filed Under:

• Homophobia
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Youth
• Reproductive Health and Rights

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Sexual and Reproductive Health of HIV Positive Women and Adolescent Girls: A Dialogue on Rights, Policies and Services (EngenderHealth, Harvard University, ICW, Ipas, UNFPA)

2006-03-01

This report summarizes discussion from two international electronic fora in which advocates, service providers, and HIV-positive women discussed services and policies related to the sexual and reproductive health of HIV-positive women. While the discussions spanned numerous countries and cultures, common threads appeared regardless of the geographical or cultural context. These threads provide lessons for all advocates seeking to promote the well-being of HIV-positive women. Issues such as confidentiality, domestic abuse, and reproductive rights were discussed, with the overarching issue being the high degree of stigma and discrimination experienced by HIV-positive women. Most strikingly, the discussions revealed widespread violations of the human rights of HIV-positive women as a result of the stigma and discrimination that they faced. These violations provided a backdrop to virtually all other topics discussed, creating major obstacles to the attainment of appropriate care and services by HIV-positive women. Another major theme was the lack of the most basic services responsive to the needs of HIV-positive women. Women described significant barriers at the domestic, community, regional and national level in realizing their rights and sexual and reproductive health. Among those mentioned included: inaccessibility of health centers; lack of respect for female patients' rights and judgmental attitudes among health care workers. The report is published by EngenderHealth, Harvard University, International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, Ipas, and the United Nations Population Fund.

Filed Under:

• Confidentiality
• Employment
• Gender Issues
• Immigration
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Youth
• Pregnancy and Newborns
• Human Rights
• Treatment
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection
• Stigma

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Saving Lives Now: Female Condoms and the Role of U.S. Foreign Aid, 2008, Center for Health and Gender Equity

2008-04-23

This report prepared by the Center for Health and Gender Equity focuses on the role that female condoms can play in HIV prevention, and how the U.S. needs to be the leader in global distribution of, and education about, female condom use. The document’s executive summary explains that, “as international donors and country governments move forward with plans to make male circumcision more accessible and invest millions of dollars into developing microbicides and vaccines, they cannot afford to overlook the only available HIV prevention intervention that was designed to allow women to initiate protection: female condoms.”

Filed Under:

• Gender Issues
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Human Rights
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection

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Intensifying HIV Prevention, UNAIDS Policy Position Paper

2005-08-01

This UNAIDS policy paper is aimed at those with a leadership role in HIV prevention, treatment and care. It highlights the need for strengthening HIV prevention, key actions for an effective response, and core principles underlying these actions. While it appears to be intended primarily for low-income countries, the content is relevant for any efforts to overcome barriers to increased prevention efforts. The paper addresses barriers such as limited capacity to track and demonstrate the results of HIV-prevention programs; the lack of effective and efficient coordination of stakeholders; and limited institutional and human capacity to manage and deliver HIV-prevention programs. The paper also identifies essential policy actions, such as building and maintaining leadership from all sections of society, including people with HIV, and supporting the mobilization of community-based actions. To the extent that the policy position paper focuses on problems inherent in low-income countries, it provides a useful framework for those working in resource-poor areas of any country, including the United States.

Filed Under:

• Gender Issues
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Human Rights
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection

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Integrating Voluntary HIV Counselling and Testing Into Reproductive Care, UN Population Fund and the International Planned Parenthood Foundation

2004-02-17

This guide aims to provide sexual and reproductive health program planners, managers, and providers with the information necessary to integrate voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV within their services. VCT is not merely the simple assent to testing, but rather "the process by which an individual undergoes confidential counselling to enable the individual to make an informed choice about learning his or her HIV status and to take appropriate action." Counseling for VCT consists of pre-test, post-test, and follow-up counseling. VCT is a human-rights based approach to HIV testing and treatment that enables patients to make informed decisions; it has been shown to be an effective strategy to facilitate behavior change for HIV prevention, as well as to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV. The guide discusses the benefits of VCT and the barriers to implementation, and provides specific steps for each stage of implementing VCT, including the initial assessment of community need, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. The guide was produced by the United Nations Population Fund and the International Planned Parenthood Foundation.

Filed Under:

• Confidentiality
• Gender Issues
• Testing
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Transmission
• Youth
• Pregnancy and Newborns
• Human Rights
• Treatment
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection
• Stigma

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HIV Prevention in Maternal Health Programming Guide, United Nations Population Fund & EngenderHealth

2004

Because many women do not access health services outside of pregnancy, maternal health services provide an excellent resource for HIV interventions tailored to the needs of pregnant and postpartum women. Such services also provide the opportunity to provide treatment, care, and support for HIV-positive mothers and their families. This guide focuses on the prevention of HIV infection among pregnant and post-partem women, with some discussion of related issues such as prevention of unintended pregnancies, mother-to-child transmission, and treatment for HIV-positive women. The guide can be used to strengthen the integration of HIV prevention into existing maternal health services and build the capacity of health workers to address the prevention needs of pregnant and postpartum women. The guide is particularly useful for planners, program developers, and trainers who are looking for opportunities and guidance to address the underlying gender inequities that present obstacles to successful HIV prevention interventions. For example, it provides guidance for helping women negotiate condom use, advocating with policymakers to change discriminatory legislation, and working with community leaders to raise awareness about common harmful practices. The guide was produced by the United Nations Population Fund and EngenderHealth.

Filed Under:

• Gender Issues
• Testing
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Transmission
• Pregnancy and Newborns
• Human Rights
• Treatment
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection
• Stigma

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International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS Vision Paper #2: Access to Care, Treatment, and Support

2004

HIV-positive women need access not only to appropriate health care and antiretroviral medications, but also to HIV treatment support. This paper discusses the unique barriers women face to Access to Care, Treatment, and Support (ACTS). Issues include the limitations of health centers as points of access, the lack of research on the effects of antiretrovirals that is specific to women, and the stigma and discrimination that keep women from obtaining the care and support they need. The paper argues that HIV-positive women are in the best position to understand these issues, and that they therefore should be involved in attempts to identify and address these barriers. The paper could be useful for HIV-positive women and their advocates, as well as health-care providers, who seek to understand and reduce gender inequalities and obstacles to HIV treatment. Produced by the International Community of Women Living With HIV/AIDS.

Filed Under:

• Gender Issues
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Public Benefits Access
• Public Accommodations
• Transmission
• Youth
• Pregnancy and Newborns
• Human Rights
• Treatment
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection
• Stigma

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International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS Vision Paper #1, HIV Positive Young Women

2004

This policy vision paper outlines the key priorities for women with HIV as identified by a group of young HIV positive women from across Eastern and Southern Africa who met in Durban in April 2004. The meeting was a dialogue organized by the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW) in partnership with Youth Against AIDS Network (YAAN) and Gender AIDS Forum (GAF). Three primary priorities are identified: 1) Access to sexual and reproductive rights, 2) Access to screening, treatment, and prevention, and 3) meaningful participation and action of women with HIV in decision-making at the community, national, and regional levels. Within these three priorities, several specific issues and examples are identified, citing experiences of real women with HIV. The vision paper then provides a call to action, identifying specific steps that must be taken to remedy these shortcomings. The paper provides a useful starting-point for HIV-positive women and advocates seeking to identify, address, and mobilize around HIV issues specific to women, or anyone seeking to understand the unique obstacles facing HIV-positive women. While many of the issues are identified by women around the world, the themes of disenfranchisement, marginalization, and stigma are universal. Produced by the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS.

Filed Under:

• Education/Schools
• Gender Issues
• Testing
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Public Benefits Access
• Public Accommodations
• Transmission
• Youth
• Pregnancy and Newborns
• Human Rights
• Treatment
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection
• Stigma

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Fact Sheet on Women and HIV/AIDS, American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR)

2008-03-01

This fact sheet, created by the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), describes the rising rates of HIV/AIDS among women in the United States and worldwide, and outlines the factors that have contributed to this rise. For example, it describes economic and social factors that increase women's vulnerability to HIV, such as disproportionate earning power and assets due to prescribed gender roles, and limited access to education, healthcare, and other resources that help women prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. Other factors that may lead to the disproportionate rise in HIV/AIDS among women include biological factors, gender-based violence, and sex differences in HIV treatment. The fact sheet advocates ten policies to address these factors, such as making women a priority in national HIV/AIDS strategies, increasing public knowledge and decreasing stigma and discrimination, reducing barriers faced by women in disadvantaged populations, and investing in the development of female-controlled prevention methods. The fact sheet is a useful resource for those seeking to illuminate the rising HIV/AIDS rates among women and the factors that contribute to it, and those advocating policy changes to address these factors. It is also useful to view it in conjunction with the amfAR survey on the stigma faced by HIV-positive women in the United States, which is posted separately in CHLP's Women's Advocacy Resource Collection.

Filed Under:

• Gender Issues
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Transmission
• Human Rights
• Treatment
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection
• Stigma

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Effectiveness of Interventions to Manage HIV in Prisons—Provision of Condoms and Other Measures to Decrease Sexual Transmission

2007

This paper, jointly authored by the WHO, UNAIDS, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, discusses the reality of life in correctional settings and asserts that distribution of condoms is necessary to help stop the sexual transmission of HIV in those settings. According to the paper, “various countries have introduced HIV programmes in prisons. However, many of them are small in scale, restricted to a few prisons, or exclude necessary interventions for which evidence of effectiveness exists. There is an urgent need to introduce comprehensive programmes, (including information and education, particularly through peers; needle and syringe programmes; drug dependence treatment, in particular opioid substitution therapy with methadone and/or buprenorphine; voluntary counselling and HIV testing; and HIV care and support, including provision of antiretroviral treatment) and to scale them up rapidly. As part of these programmes, prison systems should make condoms accessible to prisoners.” The paper has an international focus, but the concepts are broadly applicable in U.S.

Filed Under:

• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Prisons and Jails
• International

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CEDAW, The Treaty for the Rights of Women: Rights That Benefit the Entire Community, Leila Rassekh Milani et al., eds., The Working Group on Ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

2004

This document summarizes the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and describes the status of CEDAW in the United States, and describes CEDAW’s impact on several issues, including HIV/AIDS. It provides excellent insight into how CEDAW has been received by the federal government, and state and local government declarations with regard to CEDAW. It also specifically discusses the issues unique to women and HIV/AIDS and how CEDAW addresses these problems.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW”), addresses women’s rights within the political, social, economic, cultural, and family life. It calls for state parties to overcome barriers of discrimination against women in areas of legal rights, education, employment, health care, politics, and finance, and sets benchmarks. Particularly relevant to HIV/AIDS issues are: the definition of discrimination against women (Article 1); a mandate that states condemn discrimination in all its forms and ensure a legal framework that provides protection and embodies the principle of equality (Article 2); mandate of the end of discrimination in employment, including the right to work, employment opportunities, equal renumeration, free choice of profession and employment, social security, and protection of health, including maternal health (Article 11); requirement of steps to eliminate discrimination in health care, including family planning access (Article 12); a focus on the unique problems that rural woman face in access to health care and adequate living conditions (Article 14); requirment of steps to ensure equality in marriage and family relations, including the right to freely determine the number and spacing of children (Article 16). Article 18 requires parties to submit reports periodically to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on measures they have taken to give effect to the Convention.

Filed Under:

• Gender Issues
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Pregnancy and Newborns
• Human Rights
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection
• Stigma

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NY State Department of Health, Statement by Commissioner Richard F. Daines On End of Abstinence-Only Program Funding

2007-09-22

On September 20, 2007, New York State Department of Health Commissioner Richard Daines announced that New York would no longer accept federal abstinence-until-marriage funding. Since 1998, New York has received $3.5 million a year for abstinence-only programming, and the state had spent an additional $2.6 million annually on it over the past decade. That money will now be used for actual sex education programming, according to Commissioner Daines. For more information on abstinence programming in New York, see the September, 2007 report of the New York Civil Liberties Unions Reproductive Rights Project, Financing Ignorance: A Report on Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding in New York (September, 2007), also included in the Prevention section of CHLPs Resource Bank.

Filed Under:

• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Reproductive Health and Rights

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Legal Concerns for Providers of Internet HIV Prevention Programs -- Recognizing and Avoiding Legal Pitfalls, PowerPoint presentation by C. Hanssens, Robert Thony, Jane Levine,

2008-01-14

As Internet-based strategies gain in popularity, many service providers want to know how to protect their agencies and their staff from liability or legal complications that can arise from these efforts. Working with underage youth online, exposing staff to sexually charged virtual environments, providing information and health advice that could be inaccurate--these are a few of the concerns that we created this PowerPoint presenation to address. This slide presentation was prepared for a presentation entitled "Avoiding Liability While Increasing Your Reach: Internet-based Initiatives and the Law," at a 2007 NYC-sponsored conference on expanding use of the internet for HIV prevention interventions. Catherine Hanssens, Executive Director of The Center for HIV Law & Policy, Robert Thony, MHRA law intern/Brooklyn Law School, and Jane Levine, Esq., General Counsel, MHRA prepared the slides.

Filed Under:

• Prevention and Sexual Health

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Alliance for Open Society International v. United States Agency for International Development, Complaint

2005-09-23

In a case brought by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, two organizations (AOSI and Pathfinder International) that received funding under the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (the Leadership Act) sued the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), among others, seeking to enjoin their narrow reading of the Leadership Act’s provision requiring funded organizations to have a policy expressly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking. In May, 2006, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York had ruled that this requirement violated the organizational plaintiff’s First Amendment rights, restricting their privately-funded speech and forcing them to adopt the U.S. government’s views in order to be eligible for funding. The Court of Appeals remanded in view of proposed new HHS and UNAIDS guidelines to determine whether a preliminary injunction is appropriate. In February 2008, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint to add Global Health Council and InterAction (international development and public health groups) as plaintiffs; Global Health Council and InterAction then moved for a preliminary injunction on behalf of their members. HHS represented to the court that its July 2007 guidelines will go through a notice and comment process by April 2008, after which the court will assess the constitutionality of the revised guidelines. For copies of pleadings and other information, go to http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/aosi_v_usaid/

Filed Under:

• Gender Issues
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Public Benefits Access
• Human Rights
• Treatment
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection
• Stigma

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Alliance for Open Society International v. United States Agency for International Development, 430 F.Supp.2d 222 (S.D.N.Y. May 08, 2006)

2006-05-08

In a case brought by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, two organizations (AOSI and Pathfinder International) that received funding under the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (the Leadership Act) sued the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), among others, seeking to enjoin their narrow reading of the Leadership Act’s provision requiring funded organizations to have a policy expressly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking. In May, 2006, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that this requirement violated the organizational plaintiff’s First Amendment rights, restricting their privately-funded speech and forcing them to adopt the U.S. government’s views in order to be eligible for funding. The opinion may also be useful to those looking for a source in which to discuss HIV among marginalized groups. The opinion discusses the larger context in which the debate takes place, citing the high rates of HIV among some populations sex workers and the difficulties in reaching this marginalized community. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit remanded in view of proposed new HHS and UNAIDS guidelines to determine whether a preliminary injunction is appropriate. In February 2008, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint to add Global Health Council and InterAction (international development and public health groups) as plaintiffs; Global Health Council and InterAction then moved for a preliminary injunction on behalf of their members. HHS represented to the court that its July 2007 guidelines will go through a notice and comment process by April 2008, after which the court will assess the constitutionality of the revised guidelines. For copies of pleadings and other information, go to http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/aosi_v_usaid/

Filed Under:

• Gender Issues
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Public Benefits Access
• Racial Justice
• Human Rights
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection
• Stigma

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Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1577 U.N.T.S. 3

1989-November-20

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (“CRC”) is an international treaty that discusses many of the rights children, some of which are in addition to those also enjoyed by adults. Particularly relevant to HIV/AIDS issues are: the right to life and corresponding obligation of the state to ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child (Article 6); the right to seek, receive, and impart information (Articles 13, 17); the right to education (Article 28); the right to the highest attainable standard of health, including preventative health care, guidance for parents, and family planning education and services (Article 24); rights of disabled children to special care and to conditions that ensure dignity and facilitate active participation in the community (Article 23);the right to a standard of living adequate for physical, mental, spiritual, moral, and social development (Article 27); and the right to be actors in their own development and to express their opinions in all matters affecting the child (Article 12). States are also obligated to respect and ensure the rights in the CRC without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child’s or his or her parent’s disability (Article 2). The best interests of the child must be a primary consideration in all actions concerning children (Article 3). Moreover, states are obligated to ensure that the child as such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, and to ensure that institutions, services, and facilities responsible for the care or protection of the child conform with the standards established by competent authorities, particularly in the area of safety and health (Article 3).

Filed Under:

• Education/Schools
• Family Law Issues
• Foster Care Facilities and Policies
• Health Care and Insurance Issues
• Juvenile Detention
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Youth
• Pregnancy and Newborns
• Treatment
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights

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Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, G.A. Res. 60/262, U.N. Doc. A/RES/60/262

2006-June-16

The Political Declaration, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in June 2006, renews the General Assembly’s commitment to the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS issued in 2001. It commits to several actions as part of a human rights-based approach to HIV/AIDS, including: promoting prevention, treatment, care, and support; overcoming legal or other barriers to block access to effective HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support; ensuring pregnant women have access to antenatal care, including voluntary and confidential counseling and testing with informed consent; intensifying efforts to enact, strengthen, or enforce legislation and other measures to ensure those with HIV have full enjoyment of all human rights; eliminating gender inequalities and protecting women’s rights; and addressing the vulnerabilities of children affected by and living with HIV/AIDS. 

Filed Under:

• Gender Issues
• Testing
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Transmission
• Pregnancy and Newborns
• Human Rights
• Treatment
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection

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International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, 2006 Consolidated Version, UNHCHR & UNAIDS, HR/PUB/06/9

2006

A revised and consolidated version of the original guidelines published in 1996, the purpose of the Guidelines is “to assist States in creating a positive, rights-based response to HIV that is effective in reducing the transmission and impact of HIV and AIDS and is consistent with human rights and fundamental freedoms.” The Guidelines are a joint project of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNAIDS. The consolidated guidelines include the revised Guideline 6, which reflects the human rights dimensions of access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support. The document consists of three parts: 1) twelve guidelines for state action; 2) recommendations for dissemination and implementation of the Guidelines; and 3) a description of the human rights principles underlying a positive response to HIV. The primary users are intended to be states, but it is also meant to inform intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, networks of people living with HIV, community-based organizations, networks on ethics, law, human rights, and HIV, and AIDS service organizations. It is also useful for any person looking for interested in a rights-based approach to HIV/AIDS and specific steps needed to implement such an approach.

Filed Under:

• Criminal Law
• Confidentiality
• Education/Schools
• Employment
• Family Law Issues
• Gender Issues
• Health Care and Insurance Issues
• Testing
• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Prisons and Jails
• Transmission
• Youth
• Human Rights
• Treatment
• International
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection
• Stigma

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Handbook on HIV and Human Rights for National Human Rights Institutions, UNHCHR & UNAIDS, HR/PUB/07/3

2007

 This Handbook is intended to guide a human-rights based response to HIV for national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, networks of people living with HIV, and national AIDS programs. Government institutions and other partners of national institutions may also find it useful. It provides a useful outline of international legal principles that underlie a rights-based approach to HIV/AIDS, as well as specific steps institutions can take to further these principles. Such steps are outlined in the context of: outreach and in-reach for assessing national institutions and their partnerships, workplans, and priorities; integrating HIV into existing activities and programs; education and raising awareness on HIV and human rights; working with national AIDS programs; and achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support. The Handbook is intended to be read alongside the International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. The annex includes the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS.

Filed Under:

• Prevention and Sexual Health
• Youth
• Human Rights
• International
• Women/Women's Advocacy Resource Connection

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