The current state of play of research on the social, political and legal dimensions of HIV

Abstract

This paper offers a critical overview of social science research presented at the 2014 International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia. In an era of major biomedical advance, the political nature of HIV remains of fundamental importance. No new development can be rolled out successfully without taking into account its social and political context, and consequences. Four main themes ran throughout the conference track on social and political research, law, policy and human rights: first, the importance of work with socially vulnerable groups, now increasingly referred to as “key populations”; second, continued recognition that actions and programs need to be tailored locally and contextually; third, the need for an urgent response to a rapidly growing epidemic of HIV among young people; and fourth, the negative effects of the growing criminalization of minority sexualities and people living with HIV. Lack of stress on human rights and community participation is resulting in poorer policy globally. A new research agenda is needed to respond to these challenges.

The dynamics of the production of AIDS-related stigma among pregnant women living with HIV/AIDS in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…Such perspective implies that responses to HIV should recover the focus on human rights and on community participation 27,28 .…”

Meanings and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS among long-distance truck drivers in Brazil

“…The AIDS pandemic still represents a major challenge regarding the fight against the stigma and criminalization of sexual minorities, the access to HIV prevention and treatment, and the greater attention to socially vulnerable groups 16 , a .…”

Desperdício da experiência e precarização da vida: momento político contemporâneo da resposta brasileira à aids

“…Medicalization will not resolve these issues. It is necessary to invest in other means of responding to the disease, understood here as essentially political, without forgoing advances in medicine (see, for example, Paiva et al 28 ).…”