Respect, Protect and Fulfill: legislating for women’s rights in the context of HIV/AIDS

Legislation can be instrumental in impeding or promoting initiatives to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The widespread legal, social, economic and political ramifications of the epidemic make it necessary to review and reform a broad range of laws. Within a context of entrenched gender discrimination, the devastating impacts of HIV/AIDS, widespread poverty and increasing competition for resources such as property and land, legislative solutions to the denial of women’s rights are urgently needed. Law reform is not a complete solution to the HIV epidemic among women, but it is a necessary and often neglected step. This project draws together international human rights law and illustrative examples from various jurisdictions as the basis for a legal framework to respect, protect and promote women’s rights in the context of HIV/AIDS. Respect, Protect and Fulfill is intended as a tool to assist advocates and policy-makers as they approach the task of reforming or developing laws to meet the legal challenges posed by the HIV epidemic. It is not intended for any one country or set of countries. The project focuses on sub-Saharan Africa but it is designed to be adaptable to the needs of countries in other regions.