(Vienna)  Some 19 of 48 countries in the Asia Pacific region continue to criminalize male-to-male sex, and these laws often taken on the force of vigilantism, frequently leading to abuse and human rights violations. Correspondingly, HIV prevalence has reached alarming levels among men who have sex with men  and transgender populations in many countries of the region. If countries fail to address the legal and human rights context of HIV, this already critical situation is likely to become worse. The implementation of effective, national HIV responses requires governments to consider and address the effects of laws and law enforcement practices on the health of men who have sex with men and transgender people.

This warning came as a key finding in the report entitled Legal environments, human rights and HIV responses among men who have sex with men and transgender people in Asia and the Pacific: An agenda for action. Commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM), this report and its key findings were presented during the session on Criminalizing Homosexual Behaviour: Human Rights Violation and Obstacles to Effective HIV/AIDS Prevention at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna.

The study found that a range of laws, such as public order and vagrancy offences, are selectively enforced against men who have sex with men and transgender people in many countries of the region. Even in the absence of criminalization, the arbitrary and inappropriate enforcement of other legal provisions often violate the rights of men who have sex with men and transgender persons, thereby obstructing advocacy, outreach, and delivery of HIV and health services. This is among the issues that were at the heart of the 2009 landmark ruling by the Delhi High Court that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code unfairly discriminates against men who have sex with men.

Read the full press release (PDF).

Download the report (PDF) in the APCOM Resources Library.