KAMPALA—The upcoming HIV/AIDS Implementers' Meeting in Uganda must address the widespread human rights abuses and lack of legal services fueling the country's HIV epidemic, according to a new report released today by the Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA) and the Open Society Institute's Law and Health Initiative (LAHI).
"As a global leader in HIV prevention and treatment, Uganda must set a better example on HIV and human rights," said Binaifer Nowrojee, OSIEA director. "Uganda cannot effectively respond to the AIDS crisis without protecting the rights of the most marginalized members of society."
The report, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, and Legal Services in Uganda, documents common abuses faced by people living with AIDS or at high risk of contracting HIV, including barriers to employment or education, discrimination in gaining access to medical care, violations of the right to medical privacy, forced HIV testing, and eviction from housing.
According to the report, while the government of Uganda has addressed the medical effects of the HIV epidemic, it has paid little attention to the epidemic's legal and human rights implications. This is especially true for marginalized populations who are most vulnerable to HIV-related human rights abuses: women (especially young women, widows, and women living in fishing communities); sex workers; orphans and vulnerable children; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals; and internally displaced persons.
Uganda has a detailed legal and policy framework to address the human rights aspects of its HIV epidemic, according to the report. Yet most people who endure abuses or rights violations do not seek justice or legal redress. One main impediment is that legal services in Uganda are often inaccessible, ineffective, disproportionately accessible, or non-existent. In the absence of a national legal aid system in Uganda, the provision of HIV-related legal services is dominated by nongovernmental organizations that often lack sufficient funding to meet the need for services.
"HIV may not discriminate, but society does," said Anne Gathumbi, a program officer for OSIEA and LAHI. "Ending stigma is a long battle, but it is one that Uganda needs to engage in to protect the human rights and dignity of all of its citizens."
For people living with HIV in Uganda, stigmatization and discrimination represent a major obstacle to effective HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support. Fear of discrimination at work and school often prevent people from seeking treatment for AIDS or from acknowledging their HIV status publicly.
Girls and women who have survived rape, sexual violence and abduction, and are exposed to HIV face the added abuse of being stigmatized by their communities. Widows and orphans who have lost husbands or fathers to AIDS are also in greater need of legal aid services. Widows are often blamed for bringing HIV into the family and are cast out from their homes. Orphaned children may be forced into child labor, which increases HIV vulnerability especially among girls.
The criminalization of sex work and LGBT relations in Uganda further thwart HIV prevention and treatment efforts, according to the report. Women who are perceived to be lesbian are sometimes subjected to rape in an effort to "make them straight." Similarly sex workers report being subjected to violence at the hands of pimps, forced to participate in unsafe sex, robbed of their personal belongings, and coerced by police to perform sexual favors or pay bribes to avoid arrest.
The report recommends stronger enforcement of policies and legislation that offer clear protection against HIV-related stigma and discrimination. It calls for greater support to community-based groups that have sought to integrate legal support into HIV prevention and care programs. It also recommends strengthening legal mechanisms to help people living with HIV access justice. Local Council Courts appear to be the most utilized dispute resolution mechanism by communities, but these courts are not being used to address HIV-related infringement of rights.
"Addressing HIV solely with a medical response is not enough to combat the devastating effects of the epidemic in Uganda," said Jonathan Cohen, director of OSI's Law and Health Initiative. "As communities in Uganda have long known, legal support must be present in the AIDS response alongside prevention and treatment efforts."
To interview one of the report's co-authors, please contact: Anne Gathumbi at +254 (0)720 426815 or agathumbi@osiea.org