Anti-homosexuality laws stop people from accessing lifesaving health services and seriously impede progress on eliminating HIV, a senior UN official has said.

Sixty-seven countries have laws that criminalise gay sex, and nearly half are in Africa, the continent most affected by HIV. In those countries, prevalence rates are about five times higher among gay men than in countries where same-sex relations are not criminalised, according to figures from UNAids.

“When LGBTQ+ people and other marginalised communities are stigmatised and criminalised, their access to lifesaving health services is obstructed, and the HIV response is undermined,” said Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of UNAids.

Earlier this year, Uganda passed one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws, making gay sex punishable by life in prison, and “aggravated homosexuality” – which includes transmitting HIV – punishable by death. It also criminalises any person who fails to report same-sex acts to the police.
The law has already generated a surge in human rights violations and reduced HIV prevention and treatment services for LGBTQ+ people.