Every area of our work is informed by our renowned legal research and analysis. From examining drug laws in Canada and internationally through a human rights lens to producing research that supports precedent-setting cases, we rely on our legal expertise and knowledgeable staff. But we also don’t work alone. Every step of the process is informed by careful consultation with people who are directly affected by the laws and policies we are trying to change. This year, through these crucial partnerships, we continued to amplify calls from communities whose human rights are being threatened and to collectively strive to uphold those rights at every level of government. Below you will find some examples of our focus this year and the reports that came from these collaborative efforts.

HIV Criminalization

Two major pieces of research this year focused on HIV criminalization and how the existing legal system needs to change in order to protect the human rights of people living with HIV. Building on previous reports from 2012 and 2017, HIV Criminalization in Canada: Key Trends And Patterns (1989-2020) provides an updated analysis of the patterns and outcomes of HIV non-disclosure criminal cases in Canada from 1989 to 2020. The analysis shows that the criminal law continues to be used disproportionately against Black and Indigenous people living with HIV, with these groups facing higher rates of conviction, lower rates of acquittal, and a higher likelihood of prison sentences than white people. This report highlights the urgent need for the criminal legal system to be better guided by science and human rights in responding to HIV.

Working in tandem with this research is a report on the use of sex offender registries in Canada and their impact on people living with HIV. Written in collaboration with researchers from York University and the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice and colleagues from the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario, Harms of Sex Offender Registries in Canada among people living with HIV examines how sex offender registries in Canada fail people living with HIV and why their use in cases of alleged HIV non-disclosure must be stopped.

Taken together, these two reports present a powerful case for why HIV criminalization must end immediately in the name of protecting human rights.

International Efforts

Our collaborative research extends far beyond the Canadian borders. While we work on specific legal cases in Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, we also work extensively with organizations on the ground who serve people living with HIV, people who use drugs, and other people whose human rights are trampled. Often these organizations are themselves targeted by repressive governments because of the work they do in the region and are funded by “foreign” sources. This year, we used our legal expertise to produce The Life of a Foreign Agent: Risks and Perspectives on Operating in Russia as a Non-Profit Organization Designated as a Foreign Agent. This report examines Russian laws that create significant obstacles to community-based organizations serving people living with HIV and the great risk faced by those who continue to operate. Our hope is that by sharing our research and analysis, we can shine a light on injustices and help our colleagues advocate for their very survival. Lives depend on it.

Sex Work

Collaboration is a key part of our legal analysis and advocacy to end the criminalization of sex work. Sex workers themselves are leading the charge, and we use our legal research and analysis to advocate for changes to laws that put sex workers at increased risk of harm. This year, along with the executive director of Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network) and academics from McMaster University and Osgoode Hall Law School, we produced Caught in the Carceral Web: Anti-Trafficking Laws and Policies and Their Impact on Migrant Sex Workers. This report evaluates the combined impact of criminal laws, immigration laws, human trafficking laws, and municipal bylaws targeting sex work and human trafficking and centres the voices of migrant sex workers — demonstrating how partnerships with those with lived experience make us, indeed, powerful together.

Once again, this year saw tremendous focus on using the courts or international authorities as a tool for change. Whether by intervening in cases affecting people living with HIV, advocating for human rights to United Nations bodies, or continuing to support lawsuits for LGBTQ+ rights in the Caribbean, these collective efforts have the potential to create lasting reform by encoding these rights in legal precedent and compelling other courts and lawmakers to follow suit.

Sex Work

Two big courtroom efforts this year challenged the laws governing sex work in Canada – R. v. N.S. and the constitutional challenge launched by the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform, of which the Legal Network is an active member.

In N.S., a third party was charged with the material benefit, procuring, and advertising sex work offences in the Criminal Code. In their defence, N.S. argued that these offences were unconstitutional — and was acquitted when the Ontario Superior Court agreed that the offences unjustifiably infringe sex workers’ rights to personal security and liberty under s. 7 of the Charter. Unfortunately, the Crown successfully appealed, and the Ontario Court of Appeal misguidedly upheld those laws.

This decision has immediate implications for the constitutional challenge, which is ongoing. Launched in the spring of 2021, this challenge argues that sex work offences in the Criminal Code are unconstitutional as they violate sex workers’ Charter rights to security, personal autonomy, life, liberty, free expression, free association, and equality. Witnesses have described in detail how their lives have been negatively affected by these violations, and a hearing is scheduled for October 2022.

One way to ensure that such challenges are never again needed is by repealing the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA), which criminalizes all facets of sex work. When the PCEPA was introduced, it was mandated to be reviewed five years later. This February, seven years after the law’s introduction, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights finally undertook this review. The Legal Network appeared before the committee to describe how this law has fueled stigma against sex workers, deprived them from networks of support, and violated their human rights. We hope courts and legislators heed the extensive body of evidence and testimony of sex workers, right past wrongs, and create a safe working environment for all.

International Advocacy: EECA and Caribbean regions

Working to change laws in some settings is a tricky proposition. Even with on-the-ground partners and advocates, local courts and lawmakers — in regions like the EECA, for example — can be incredibly hostile to the communities with whom we collaborate. This is why we use international bodies like the United Nations as a conduit for change. By making submissions to UN committees, we can highlight injustices in repressive laws and policies, especially when countries have committed to uphold international human rights obligations. This year, several of our submissions resulted in strong recommendations regarding drug policy and HIV criminalization. Read more in our submissions on Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Russia.

The freedom to express one’s love and sexuality without fear of persecution is a basic human right. And yet it is also one that many countries continue to deny LGBTQ2S+ people through laws criminalizing consensual same-sex intimacy. Over the past year, our team has continued to support the ongoing constitutional challenges to such laws in Jamaica and Dominica. While the case in Jamaica has moved very slowly, we have seen some important developments. In January, the court rejected the Jamaican government's 2019 application to sever the case into two hearings (one for the substantive issues, and another for the procedural issues — which would’ve led to further delay). But this small victory was short lived as the Jamaican government immediately applied for and was granted permission to appeal. And so, we persist. Further, another year has passed in which the Jamaican government has failed to demonstrate any effort to comply with the Inter-American Commission on Human Right’s recommendations from its 2020 report, which included a recommendation to repeal the provisions criminalizing consensual same-sex intimacy. In the meantime, we will continue to support our Caribbean partners as together we pursue equal and protected rights for all.

HIV Criminalization

This past year, we intervened (alongside HALCO) in three Supreme Court cases that have the potential to affect people living with HIV accused of alleged non-disclosure: R. v. Kirkpatrick, R. v. N., and R. v. Sharma. These three cases centre on the issues of condoms and consent; the automatic requirement for people convicted of HIV non-disclosure to register as sex offenders; and the current ineligibility for people convicted of aggravated sexual assault to receive conditional sentences. All of these cases highlight particular areas of concern for HIV-related prosecutions: Kirkpatrick could potentially require disclosure in all circumstances, bringing significant ramifications for people living with HIV, while N. and Sharma highlight the ways in which people convicted for non-disclosure face harsh consequences that are disproportionate and are more likely to affect people who are Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ2S+.

These cases remind us of the many intersecting harmful effects of Canada's current approach to HIV criminalization. While we envision a world where HIV is no longer a crime and continue to push for law reform, these interventions are important tools for advocacy and change. We are grateful to our colleagues for their continued collaboration in our litigation efforts; with them, we are definitely powerful together.

No matter which area of our work we talk about, education is always part of the conversation. By sharing our knowledge and expertise with a wider audience, we can help advance human rights, dispel stigma, and change the laws and policies that unfairly discriminate against or criminalize people. Bringing people together to learn about the impact of criminalization is a powerful way to combat injustice and drive us all towards a more just and equitable society.

In Canada, we also presented on drug policy to diverse audiences from coast to coast, and worked with journalists to humanize the drug poisoning crisis and the failed laws that have exacerbated it. In our work with municipal policymakers, we worked closely with Vancouver and B.C. colleagues, including Pivot Legal Society, the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, VANDU, and others, to amplify their advocacy on drug decriminalization. In Toronto, we collaborated with local frontline service providers, and for the first time made a joint deputation with Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre and South Riverdale Community Health Centre to the Toronto Board of Health regarding its submission to Health Canada for a section 56 exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. With so much work to be done to change the policies that unfairly target people who use drugs, amplifying each other’s advocacy is surely the quickest way to make our voices heard.

LGBTQ+ Rights

While much of our Caribbean work focuses on litigation, there’s a critical public education piece that goes hand in hand. If the courts finally decide to strike down homophobic laws, we want to help ensure that the public is willing to accept the change. To do this, in the wake of our second Intimate Conviction conference, which was held virtually in 2020, we published a second volume, Intimate Conviction 2: Continuing the Decriminalization Dialogue, and held launch events in Jamaica, Barbados, and Dominica. We are grateful to our partners in the region for supporting these educational efforts and helping us change hearts and minds together.

The symposium also saw the premiere of Positive Women Revisited, a short film that checks in with two of the women featured in our 2012 feature Positive Women: Exposing Injustice. This new film shares what’s happened with Lynn and Jessica in the 10 years since the first film and gives insight into how criminalization continues to affect their lives today. By sharing their stories, Lynn and Jessica are adding their voices to the growing calls for change and making us all more powerful together.

It takes more than one voice — and a lot of hard work — to make positive and sustained change in the world. Much of our work focuses on building consensus and creating a collective momentum towards a more just society, whether in Canada or internationally. Our work this year has brought together and mobilized many different people and communities worldwide in support of human rights for all.

HIV Criminalization

The Legal Network is a proud member of the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization and this year saw a strong focus on community consultations. While we all agree that health conditions shouldn’t be criminalized, it’s critical that the contours of reform are informed by the communities most immediately affected. To address this, the Coalition launched a series of community consultations to solicit feedback on proposed Criminal Code reforms to limit HIV criminalization, four years after the release of the Coalition’s Community Consensus Statement, which called for the federal government to make these reforms.

Although the online nature of many of the consultations and the complexity of the subject matter challenged us to ensure meaningful participation, the Coalition received thoughtful, engaged feedback from a diverse range of voices in the community, from people living with and affected by HIV, community organizations, and advocates to activists, lawyers, researchers, and others. In the months that followed the consultations, the CCRHC has been integrating this feedback into our internal discussions as we refine our proposal for Criminal Code reform. Law reform advocacy is complicated and protracted work, but by coming together in pursuit of a common goal, we are seeing real momentum on this issue.

Francophone Partners in Africa

Our community is international and growing in numbers. In other parts of this report, we’ve told you about our work in Eastern Europe and the Caribbean, but this year we’ve also seen significant growth in our work in West, Central, and North Africa. Many countries in the region have HIV-specific laws and, as part of HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE (HJWW)’s francophone network, we’re supporting partners to ensure those laws uphold the rights of people living with HIV, through our small grants program and an online networking space for activists.

Much of this community building is made possible through the use of the aptly named “francophone space” developed by HJWW. This space is a network that allows francophone activists to discuss common issues in their own language and connects them with other global activists working on the same issues. More than 14 countries are represented in this space, where learning and French-language resources and experiences are shared by email and conference calls, and technical and financial support are provided.

The grants in Burkina Faso and Benin supported civil society and key populations with respect to law reform initiatives in their respective countries. The francophone network has been supporting colleagues in Burkina Faso for several years. Legal change take time but thanks to small grants, communities in Burkina Faso can remain engaged and mobilized, and the current HIV bill does not include provisions criminalizing HIV. In Benin, our small grant enabled local organizations to respond to a problematic HIV bill submitted to the government by convening sessions to alert and mobilize the community. The Legal Network, together with UNAIDS, also drafted a memo on key problematic provisions in Benin’s HIV bill and proposed amendments, and the draft bill was dramatically improved. In both countries, small grants contributed to increased legal literacy and increased capacity regarding law reform strategies and community mobilization. Other small grants have supported advocates in Burundi, Niger, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Through this network and these grants, a community of activists is uniting to challenge injustices and proving the true power of solidarity.

The Back Story

The misguided War on Drugs has been waged in Canada for more than a century, grounded in racist roots, harmful “Just Say No” campaigns, and harsh criminal sentences for people using or selling drugs — with vastly disproportionate impacts on Black, Indigenous, and racialized people and people living in poverty. Although people who use drugs and advocates have spent decades calling for a fundamental change in the way governments think about drug use and how they treat people who use them, these same governments have paid lip service to calls for change without taking necessary action.

The current drug poisoning crisis has already claimed tens of thousands of lives in Canada and shows no sign of slowing down. While the federal government appeared willing to consider bills that would divert people who use drugs from the criminal legal system in some circumstances, there were also worrying signs that these bills were far from adequate. In the face of this horrific loss and trauma, people who use drugs, supported by the Legal Network and our colleagues, knew we needed to define decriminalization on different terms. We needed to act quickly and centre the very people who would be most affected — those who use drugs.

In late 2020, a group of more than 20 organizations came together to discuss what needed to be done. Could we create enough consensus on this issue to form a united front? Who else would join us? With the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition and the Canadian Association of People who Use Drugs, the HIV Legal Network co-led this group in the development of what would ultimately become Decriminalization Done Right: A Rights-Based Path for Drug Policy, a civil society platform on drug decriminalization in Canada.

The Process

Reaching consensus in a group of organizations, no matter how likeminded and aligned, always requires extensive consultation to ensure that all voices are heard. Over the course of much of 2021, the group met virtually to discuss priorities and approaches, to draft text and suggest amendments, and to strategize about the eventual launch. With voices of lived and living experience, front-line workers, bereaved family members, academics, lawyers, and other allies co-creating the platform, the Legal Network contributed its legal and policy analysis to create the framework for the recommendations.

The Platform

The Decrim Done Right document gives an overview of the disastrous impact of drug prohibition, from the number of lives lost to the grave human rights violations criminalization inflicts and the grossly disproportionate arrest, prosecution, and incarceration of Black and Indigenous people for drug offences. As the platform underscores, to protect and advance the health, human rights, and dignity of people who use drugs, governments must abolish criminal and other laws, policies, and practices that control, stigmatize, pathologize, and punish people who use drugs and redistribute resources into programs and services, including those that are community-led, that uphold and promote people’s health and human rights, and create safety and security.

The Release

The final platform — now endorsed by more than 100 organizations — was released on December 9, 2021, timed for just after the introduction of Bill C-5 in Parliament, which proposed repealing mandatory minimum sentences for drug offences and offering alternatives to prosecution for simple drug possession. Our platform release highlighted that although these proposals were a start, they didn’t go nearly far enough, nor did they consider the real-world needs of people who use drugs. Using social media graphics with dedicated hashtags calling for #DecrimDoneRight, a media statement, and emailing all Members of Parliament directly, we ensured the platform would reach its target audience and the message would be heard loud and clear: merely tinkering with failed drug policy will not undo the harms of the Drug War.

The Impact

The platform generated tremendous interest on social media, with tens of thousands of views and shares. Media attention was both positive and widespread, with articles appearing in the Toronto Star and even the New York Times. This attention intensified when the federal government released its own mandate letters and failed to mention the drug poisoning crisis, even in the letters to the Ministers for Health, Justice, or inexplicably Addiction and Mental Health. This glaring omission and our platform position were reported on again by the Toronto Star. Decrim Done Right has also been used as a tool against which to assess section 56 exemption applications to decriminalize locally and federal bills proposing alternatives to prosecution for simple drug possession. While there is still a long way to go to build support for the vision of drug decriminalization that is so desperately needed, we have succeeded in creating and publicizing a strong analysis of what must be done. Through critical collaboration, we have shown what can happen when we are powerful together.