Surge in anti-gay laws in Africa imperil progress on HIV/AIDS, experts say – GWC Mag

The International AIDS Society (IAS) and UNAIDS have spoken out against legislation passed by Ghana’s parliament last week that would impose prison sentences of up to three years on anyone who identifies as gay, and up to five years on anyone convicted of “promoting homosexuality.”

Calling the bill “the latest in an upsurge of anti-gay political acts in Africa,” IAS president Sharon Lewin said that Ghana’s law and another anti-gay law being debated in Kenya would “set back the substantial gains made towards ending the HIV pandemic.”

“There is an urgent need for the governments of these countries to work with, not against, communities most vulnerable to HIV,” said Lewin.

Research has shown that anti-gay laws are associated with less uptake of preventive HIV services,12 and that HIV is far more prevalent among gay men in jurisdictions that criminalise them.3 Anecdotal reports from Uganda point to a collapse in preventive services there since the …