The Legal Environment
New Map of HIV-related Legal Concerns Identifies Issues in Migration Law, Refugee Law and Criminal Law
This mapping review examines how HIV-related legal issues in Australia extend beyond criminal law to areas like migration, anti-discrimination, and wills and estates. By analyzing 281 case records, it highlights how laws impact the rights, health, and well-being of people living with HIV—sometimes protecting them but often creating barriers. Migration law emerges as a key area of concern, with visa restrictions disproportionately affecting individuals with HIV. Despite progress, HIV criminalization remains an issue, influencing prosecutions and sentencing. This review provides a crucial foundation for understanding where legal reforms are needed to support public health and human rights.
The Health Impacts of Law for People Living with HIV: A Systematic Review of Literature
This review explores the complex relationship between law and health for people living with HIV, highlighting how legal frameworks impact access to care, prevention, and overall well-being. It examines key legal challenges—including criminalization, migration restrictions, privacy, and housing laws—demonstrating how these issues intersect and amplify health-related harms. By systematically analyzing global literature, the review uncovers how seemingly neutral laws disproportionately affect people with HIV, reinforcing stigma and barriers to care. The findings offer crucial insights for policymakers, legal professionals, and advocates working to address these systemic injustices.
HIV and the Law in Australia: A Mapping Review of Contemporary Case Law
This report shows that HIV-related legal matters arise across a spectrum of both public and private law, including anti-discrimination law, wills and estates, and tort law. In this review, 281 relevant records from all Australian jurisdictions were uncovered spanning a wide range of areas of law. Migration law was an area where a significant number of HIV-related cases were identified, demonstrating a clear relationship between HIV status and the determination of visa-related questions before a decision-maker or judge. Although the results reported here indicate that HIV-related legal matters extend well beyond those related to the criminal law, at the same time, the prosecution of people living with HIV for transmission-related offences remains a feature of the criminal law.
Immigration and Travel to Canada for People Living with HIV – Questions and Answers
In general, people living with HIV are allowed to travel and migrate to Canada. However, in certain circumstances, HIV status is a factor considered by the Government of Canada to decide if a person can enter or remain in Canada. This Q&A provides information on how Canadian immigration law and policy affect people living with HIV who wish to visit or live in Canada.
This guide is also available in Spanish
This Q&A describes Canadian immigration law and policy as of July 2023. From time to time, changes are made to the laws and regulations, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issues new directives to immigration officers. Immigration officers are allowed some discretion, which they may or may not use to the advantage of an applicant. Officers may also make mistakes in applying laws, regulations, and policies. In other words, the law may be applied unevenly, which could have a positive or negative effect on an application. Therefore, an application to enter or stay in Canada may not proceed precisely according to the procedures described in this Q&A. Please seek legal advice as appropriate (see the “Getting legal advice” section on page 12).
Legalising HIV-positive migrants in the Russian Federation
Assessment of Access to Health Services, Care, and Support for Labor Migrants Living with HIV: Uzbekistan
Examines the state of health protection for migrants in the context of labour migration: describes legal and institutional barriers for labour migrants living with HIV within the country; analyses the national policies on health and migration, and analyses the activities of civil society organisations aimed at protecting the health of labour migrants.
POLICY BRIEF based on the results of an operational study “Legal and policy barriers to migrants’ access to HIV services in Armenia”
Desk review, included comparative legal analysis to identify gaps in Armenian legislation. The second, field research, included analysis of in-depth interviews with labor migrants living with HIV as well as professionals working in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.
Returned to risk – Deportation of HIV Positive migrants
This report considers the deportation of HIV-positive migrants from countries worldwide and makes recommendations for national governments and international agencies. Case studies from South Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and the United States.
