The Delhi High Court’s landmark ruling decriminalising sex between two consenting adult homosexuals was applauded at the ninth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, held in Nusa Dua, Bali, last week.
At a high-level symposium on ‘Overcoming legal barriers to comprehensive prevention among men who have sex with men (MSMs) and transgender (TG) people in Asia and the Pacific’ it was revealed that 90% of MSM in Asia Pacific do not have access to HIV prevention and care services, and if interventions are not urgently intensified, the spread of HIV in the region will escalate sharply.
“In order to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, we must facilitate an enabling legal environment and human rights-based HIV policies and programmes for MSM and TG,” Jeffrey O’Malley, global director of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) HIV Group, said at the symposium. “This will mean stepping up our investment in legal and social programmes, which effectively address stigma and discrimination directed at MSM and TG.” The symposium was hosted by UNDP and Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (Apcom).
Currently, 20 countries in the Asia Pacific region criminalise male to male sex, and these laws are often translated into vigilantism, leading to abuse and human rights violations. “Structural barriers significantly increase the vulnerability of MSM and TG to HIV infection and have an immense adverse effect on their health and human rights,” a UNDP press release said. “Developing alliances between affected communities, the legal profession, human rights bodies, parliamentarians and policy makers is critical.”
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