Gay and Lesbian Legal Issues and HIV/AIDS: Final Report

J. Fisher, R. Jürgens, A. Vassal, R. Hughes

This report reviews how, historically, gay men and lesbians have suffered persistent patterns of discrimination and persecution, and how the advent of HIV and AIDS has intensified and extended discrimination against them. It provides a detailed analysis of how, in 1998, Canadian law treats gay men and lesbians, as well as some examples of discrimination in two other areas, behavioural research and health and social services; and it assesses the impact of stigma and discrimination in the context of HIV/ AIDS. The goals are to document how pervasive discrimination against gay men and lesbians is in many sectors of life and in the law, to show how discrimination impacts on the lives of gay men and lesbians and, in the context of HIV/AIDS, on efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and to care for people living with HIV/AIDS; and to make recommendations for action that will enable Canada to decrease discrimination against gay men and lesbians and to increase and improve prevention and care efforts in the area of HIV/AIDS. With a time-line of a history of discrimination against Gay Men and Lesbians (p. 208-222).