SA should not be allowed to host the world’s largest gathering on HIV again as long as sex work remains criminalised in the country.
That was the call made by HIV activists who protested at the International Aids Conference in Montreal, Canada, on Saturday.
Vuyiseka Dubula-Majola, an HIV/Aids activist and director of the Africa Centre for HIV/Aids Management at Stellenbosch University, led a group of HIV activists who took to the stage during the conference’s opening ceremony to raise their unhappiness about a range of issues affecting people living with HIV.
These include, among other issues, the ambiguity concerning the rollout of the vaginal ring, which was proved to reduce the risk of HIV infection in women.
The group also labelled the Canadian government “racist” after scores of prospective delegates, mainly from Africa and Asia, were denied visas to attend the conference.
During the demonstration Dubula-Majola charged that the conference — which was expected to draw about 9,000 delegates, mainly researchers, medical practitioners, activists and people living with HIV — is a “community conference” where people living with HIV should be seen and given a voice.
Expressing dismay about Canadian government officials’ failure to attend the conference, she said to loud applause: “No more Aids conferences in racist countries ... no more Aids conferences in countries that criminalise sex work.”
Dubula-Majola said SA, which has held the conference at least twice (in 2000 and 2016), should also not be exempt from this ban.
“This should include SA. We are asking the government to decriminalise sex work in SA. Hosting such a conference in these kinds of countries is a crazy incentive. How do you incentivise a country to host such as big conference and get an income from it? If you are going to put your hand up to host the world you must also stand up for what you believe and respect human rights. This conference is about vulnerable communities.
“How do you then host knowing you are criminalising HIV and criminalising sex work? Countries must introspect before they invite the world and check what they have not done. SA must also be on that list.”
Conference organiser and International AIDS Society (IAS) president Adeeba Kamarulzaman said they would re-evaluate host countries based on visa issues arising from this year’s experience.
She said “many” delegates, including staff members and IAS leadership, were unable to attend this year’s conference after being denied visas.
The IAS said this affected their ability to host a “truly inclusive conference that is representative of communities most affected by HIV”.
Health minister Joe Phaahla, also attending the conference, said while sex work remains criminalised, in reality there are hardly any prosecution cases of sex workers.
Phaahla said as the health department’s head he is “fully in support of sex work as a human rights issue”.
“The reality is that while sex work is not off the criminal law statute, I’ve never heard of any sex worker that was ever prosecuted by our courts. Yes, the police harass them and sometimes take advantage of them, as the law has not been removed from our statute book, but it’s something being discussed by the government.”
Activists were also concerned about the lack of rollout of the dapivirine vaginal ring which in studies has demonstrated an HIV reduction of 35%.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the female-initiated ring be offered as an additional prevention choice for women at substantial risk.
While several African countries have approved licensing of the ring and the WHO has included it on the list of essential medicines, it has emerged some donors are backing away from their support of the ring for rollout beyond the planned introductory studies as well as support for future research in longer-acting rings.
HIV advocates called for accelerated access to the ring and not to lose sight of the importance of championing choice and respecting the investment African women and communities have made in bringing the ring to this point.
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