HIV Justice Network’s (HJN) mission is to support individuals, communities and organisations to effectively advocate against criminal and similar laws, policies and practices that unjustly regulate, control and punish people living with HIV, based on their HIV-positive status. Our vision is a world where the sexual, reproductive and working lives of people living with HIV are no longer unjustly regulated or controlled, so that people living with HIV are able to live fulfilling and long lives in dignity.

HJN has three main objectives:

• To monitor international developments regarding criminal and similar laws, policies and practices that unjustly regulate, control and punish people living with HIV based on their HIV-positive status, as well as the global advocacy movement against this ‘HIV criminalisation’.
• To connect local, national, regional and global stakeholders, sharing information and resources to allow for targeted research and discussion of key issues, and identification of best practice models.
• To create practical resources to enable advocacy, empowerment and challenge through persuasive and pragmatic policy development and effective communication strategies.

This will result in advocates who are better informed, empowered and connected and, therefore, more able to challenge and influence decision-makers in order to: repeal or modernise unjust laws; ensure that any use of existing laws is limited and fairly applied; and present alternatives to a punitive, regulatory approach that benefits both public health and human rights.

HJN also serves as the secretariat for HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE (HJWW), a growing, global movement working to shape the discourse on HIV criminalisation, co-ordinating HJWW activities that include creating and sharing resources; sharing information and networking; building capacity; mobilising advocacy; and cultivating a global community of transparency and collaboration between organisations working to address HIV criminalisation.