The HIV Legal Network (www.hivlegalnetwork.ca) promotes the human rights of people living with and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, in Canada and internationally, through research and analysis, advocacy and litigation, public education and community mobilization. The Legal Network is Canada’s leading advocacy organization working on the legal and human rights issues raised by HIV/AIDS.
RESOURCES
The Jean Chrétien Pledge to Africa Act and its Impact on Improving Access to HIV/AIDS Treatment in Developing Countries
Publication date: 2008This document assesses some of the measures taken recently to improve access to more affordable ARV therapy in developing countries. It provides a synopsis of the key WTO rules and developments, and of the Canadian law, the concrete benefits of which have yet to be...
Human Rights and Drug Control Policy
Publication date: 2010Increasingly, human rights monitors, mechanisms and NGOs have begun to focus on drug policies and their impact on human rights protections, but this rarely happens in a connected or thematic way. These briefing papers are intended to provide a basic overview of some...
Fixing Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR): What You Need to Know About Bill C-398
Publication date: 2012In this document, we identify some of the key claims made by those who oppose CAMR reform and explain why these are incorrect and misleading.
Facing up to an epidemic: drug policy in Canada
Publication date: 2004Canada is facing a public health crisis with respect to injection drug use. Rates of blood borne infections among people who inject drugs increased during the 1990s at an alarming rate. By 1996, almost half of all new HIV diagnoses were in people who inject drugs....
HIV Disclosure and the Criminal Law in Canada: Responding to the Media and the Public
Publication date: 2003The purpose of this briefing note is to give community-based AIDS organizations (CBAOs) information to help them respond to media questions and other inquiries. The information in this Briefing Note is intended to provide responses that are positive and constructive,...
Reforming Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR): Bill C-393 — Finding the Expeditious Solution
Publication date: 2010In February 2010, a varied group of legal experts on intellectual property law and access to medicines from North America, Africa and Europe were brought together at the UNDP headquarters in New York City to discuss inter alia whether the reforms proposed to...
Needle Exchange Programs and the HIV Outbreak among Injection Drug Users in Vancouver, Canada: Addressing Some Common Misperceptions
Publication date: 2005The use of needle exchange programs (NEPs) has been associated with reductions in HIV infection in a number of settings. However, questions regarding NEP efficacy have persisted, and have been partially fuelled by misinterpretations of an early evaluation of NEP use...
Malawi’s Marital Property Law: Questions & Answers
Publication date: 2010How the property of couples is administered, owned and distributed at the end of a marriage has considerable relevance in the context of HIV/AIDS, especially in Malawi where women represent almost 60 percent of those over the age of 15 who are infected. Women and Law...
Occupational Exposure to HIV and Forced HIV Testing: Questions and Answers
Publication date: 2002These questions and answers explain how forced HIV testing is a serious violation of constitutional rights and rules of professional ethics. They also provide information about occupational exposure to HIV, about how information about the source person can — and...
Patents, International Trade Law, and Access to Essential Medicines
Publication date: 2003This Q&A answers some common questions about patents and international trade agreements. The rules on drug patents in international trade agreements and domestic laws affect the availability and affordability of medicines. This document explains the connection...