Charles Chauvel was a member of the Commission A landmark global report will be released tomorrow, which says an end to the global AIDS epidemic is within grasp. The UN High Commission on HIV and the Law has produced research representing 18 months of work, and spanning 140 countries. Sky News reports it has found discrimination, punitive laws, brutal policing and the denial of access to justice for people with HIV are fuelling the epidemic. Labour MP and former Chair of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation Charles Chauvel told Sky News some of the recommendations relate to empowering stigmatised groups, such as men who have sex with men, prisoners, people who inject drugs and sex workers. "If we want an AIDS-free world, then in fact the best thing we can do is deal to prejudice and disempowerment and make sure that everybody can negotiate their own safety," he said. Chauvel added many of the recommendations will be challenging in Africa and many parts of the Islamic world, "but the thing about this report is it's evidence-based," he said. "We're able to point to a drop in infection rates as a result of these sorts of interventions."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 8th July 2012 - 6:45pm