Publications

Ah, Cyber Monday. That unsettling day when your inbox overflows with ads and offers from retailers and global conglomerates promoting deep discounts on all kinds of wares. But what if you could do something more meaningful with your money today? What if, instead of spending your money on guilt-inducing or unnecessary goods, you put human rights in … Read more

Despite ample empirical evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of needle and syringe programs, the federal Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) refused for decades to implement this essential prison harm reduction program. After years of inaction, in 2012 the HIV Legal Network along with Steve Simons, a man formerly incarcerated in a federal prison, and three HIV … Read more

While the HIV Legal Network is based in Canada, our work extends all over the world. From advocacy to defend the human rights of people who use drugs in Russia and the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, to collaborating with local partners to challenge HIV criminalization in Africa, to supporting litigation against homophobic laws … Read more

Without our supporters, none of our work is possible. Whether we’re challenging homophobic laws that criminalize same-sex intimacy or advocating for Criminal Code reform to protect the human rights of people living with HIV, sex workers, and people who use drugs in Canada, our work is vital – and it costs both time and money. We literally … Read more

Last month, the Government of Canada announced the start of a public consultation on HIV criminalization. From now until January, you can have your say and tell the government that it’s past time to change the misguided and harmful law on HIV non-disclosure. Your participation is crucial The federal government needs to hear from you … Read more

Introducing Our New Podcast: Not a Crime Today, on International Drug Users Day, we will begin sharing stories of criminalization from around the world through our new podcast, Not a Crime. Featuring interviews with our policy analysts along with people working farther afield, Not a Crime will highlight the impact of criminalization on people living … Read more

Thirty years ago this December, a group of activists came together to create what we now call the HIV Legal Network. Their mission was to support and protect the human rights of people living with and affected by HIV. Thanks to the support of thousands of people over the past three decades, we have been … Read more

Since the Legal Network was founded in 1992, we have steadfastly promoted the human rights of people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, and other populations disproportionately affected by HIV, punitive laws and policies, and criminalization, in Canada and around the world. The scope of our work has grown over the past 30 years, … Read more

Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network) and the HIV Legal Network recognize sex work is work and respect the agency of sex workers and migrants. We also recognize the harms caused by criminalization, policing, and laws and policies that discriminate against migrant sex workers. We fight for the dignity, rights, and justice of … Read more

The HIV Legal Network promotes the human rights of people living with HIV or AIDS and other populations disproportionately affected by HIV and criminalization, in Canada and internationally. In 2021, we undertook a planning process that would shape the strategic goals and priorities for the organization’s next five years (2022-2027). To do this, we sought … Read more