Thread by @MMKavanagh

Article out: Legal environ & #pandemic response. After 5yr global #HIV push on testing&treatment, countries that criminalized gay relat, sexwork, drugs had less success. Rights-protective laws, better outcomes
Biomedical & structural interconnected
A🧵/1
gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e0…

Measuring legal approaches in world: @HIVPolicyLab data show some countries highly criminalize, some less so (only 20% criminalize all). Meanwhile rights-protective legal approaches: 23% have strong non-discrim, 39% ind. human rights inst., 79% enforceable GBV laws. /2

@HIVPolicyLab @BenjaminMMeier @sharifasekalala @SECTION27news @mpactglobal @mplngr @KashishAneja_ @EllieGraeden @LawrenceGostin We looked at success on the global #HIV 90-90-90 targets to achieve knowledge of status + viral suppression by 2020. Biomedical focus of last 5 year Global AIDS Strategy agreed at UNGA. Some countries exceeded, many did not. This allows for empirical comparison. /3

@HIVPolicyLab @BenjaminMMeier @sharifasekalala @SECTION27news @mpactglobal @mplngr @KashishAneja_ @EllieGraeden @LawrenceGostin Countries with criminalized legal environments: fewer PLHIV know their HIV status + there is more un-suppressed #HIV virus. Same sex crim: 11% lower knowledge + 8% lower suppression. Sex work: 10% + 6%, Drug: 14% both. Criminalizing all 3=aprox 18%–24% worse biomedical outcomes/4

@HIVPolicyLab @BenjaminMMeier @sharifasekalala @SECTION27news @mpactglobal @mplngr @KashishAneja_ @EllieGraeden @LawrenceGostin Rights-protective legal environments: national laws on non-discrimination, independent human rights institutions and gender-based violence were associated with significantly higher knowledge of HIV status (9%, 3%, 16%) and higher viral suppression among PLHIV (11%,3%,16%). /5

In sum: biomedical health outcomes (how effectively HIV virus been suppressed in a country) are linked to the legal environment. As @HIVLawCom found “the legal environment can play a powerful role in the well-being of people living with HIV and those vulnerable to HIV” /6

Thanks to @HIVPolicyLab partners @GlobalSexWork @IDPCnet @ILGAWORLD @UNAIDS @gnpplus for data contributions