Track D Social and Political Research, Law, Policy and Human Rights Olayide Akanni Journalists Against AIDS - JAAIDS Nigeria

Rapporteur Team Members Olayide Akanni, Aditi Sharma, Julie Mellin, Donald Tobaiwa, Manju Chatani, Michaela Rahimi , Lynette Mabote

#LeaveNoOneBehind Action beyond the hashtag  Inclusion & Equity For All Since Durban 2000 we have made remarkable progress against HIV. But we must not allow science to leave communities behind. We need prevention and treatment equity for all – for lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender, intersex, sex workers, people who use drugs, people with disabilities, indigenous people, migrants, prisoners, young people, adolescents, women, boys, men, elderly and all people living with HIV. We, at this conference, are extremely concerned about the closing of civil society spaces in all our contexts.

HIV is not a crime! One of the most exciting highlights has been the emergence of a movement united against criminalisation of specific populations, including people living with HIV, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, sex workers and people who use drugs. There was a call to analyse criminalisation using an intersectional feminist frame as female and transgender sex workers, migrants, indigenous and black women suffer most from HIV-specific laws in many countries. Criminalisation survivors and activists took their key messages to the first plenary chanting “HIV is not a crime”. Laws and policies that criminalise and penalise the most disenfranchised will continue to fuel the inequities that drive vulnerability and poor access.

What will it take to put Stigma reduction on the centre stage ?   Stigma Reduction Now The time is long past - to move the issue of stigma from the obligatory sentence in all presentations to a prominent plenary and pre-conference. Despite widespread acknowledgement of stigma as a foremost barrier preventing people living with HIV and key populations accessing and using healthcare services, there is far too little focus and investment in stigma-reduction interventions within our national plans and programmes. Dealing with stigma in health facilities is an urgent priority. Reducing stigma in all its ugly forms has to be the centre of all our interventions.

Is Durban 2016 about Gender Equality?   The progress achieved in the HIV response could be lost if underlying issues of gender equality is left unaddressed. Gender transformative goals are essential in designing interventions – that address power imbalances the put people in their diversity at risk. To achieve gender equality, innovation is critical - we cannot afford to continue doing what we've always done. Structural barriers such as gender norms, the socialization of young girls and power imbalances between men and women continue to put adolescent girls and young women at risk of infection. These need to be unravelled and challenged through comprehensive sexuality education, addressing gender equality in a holistic manner, catalyzing other relevant sectors, addressing the intersections between HIV and gender based violence, ending child marriage, keeping girls in school as well as ensuring that men are boys are also educated and involved to support these initiatives

Don’t shortchange human rights ! Our ambitions are plentiful but our pockets are empty! We need MONEY to deliver on our commitments. Each and every one of our governments , in the North and South must take shared responsibility and act in global solidarity. Too often, community led and human rights approaches are the first to take the cut in the current context of trying to do more with less. That is NOT doing the Right thing ! Immediate litmus tests include whether we fully fund the Global Fund and stand up to exploitative patent laws.

No silver bullets: Complex contexts require intersectional approaches “It’s not just about scientists or politicians, it’s about people. Let’s go back to our communities, who know what works and doesn’t work.” Vuyiseka Dubula, South African Activist There has been a rallying call for an analysis of the complexity and intersectionality of people’s lives and contexts that require responses that are as layered. The interconnected nature of race, class and gender create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. To address HIV risk or improve access within these contexts require a combination of biomedical, social, behavioural and structural interventions that themselves are broad, woven and multi-sectoral.