- Author
- Malek, Danielle
- Title
- Australia's Successful Response to AIDS and the Role of Law Reform
- Editor
- The Global HIV/AIDS Program - The World Bank
- Imprint
- The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, Washington, D.C., June 2006, 30 pp
- Description
The source of this document is the World Bank.
Reproduced with the World Bank's kind permission.- Abstract
"This paper describes Australia’s response to HIV and AIDS from the first death from AIDS in 1983 to the present, with particular attention to the role of law reform. The report considers the characteristics of HIV infection in Australia, then examines how the Australian approach succeeded in containing the spread of HIV and maintaining low rates of incidence. The paper highlights the leading role taken by community advocacy groups at a state and national level in responding quickly to the crisis and liaising effectively with government; and also points to the existence of bipartisan parliamentary support in formulating a strategy to combat HIV and AIDS. This included significant policy and legal reform. Among the law reforms considered are: laws prohibiting homosexual acts, age of consent laws, anti-discrimination and antivilification laws, drug laws, laws regulating prostitution, prison laws and immigration laws. Examples of relevant provisions are provided."