Health Benefits of Legal Services for Criminalized Populations: The Case of People Who Use Drugs, Sex Workers and Sexual and Gender Minorities

Csete, Joanne; Cohen, Jonathan

doi:10.1111/j.1748-720x.2010.00535.x

Cited by 49 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Both contain extensive discussion of equity which is, in some ways, connected to a human rights understanding of equality and nondiscrimination, but this is mainly in relation to economic and geographic inequities and their role in producing vulnerability and disadvantage. While this overlaps with the prohibition on discrimination in international human rights law based on property or economic grounds, it leaves out the myriad other prohibited manifestations of inequality and discrimination which have been shown to impact health (Csete and Cohen 2010). For example, ethnicity has been documented as an important determinant of inequities in child survival outcomes (Mulholland et al 2008).…”

Section: Equality and Non-discriminationmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…For example, where same-sex sexual activity is criminalised, evidence has shown that people may avoid relevant services out of fear that their sexual activities and partners will be discovered and reported to the police (Gruskin and Ferguson 2009). Other areas where laws and policies have a direct bearing on the successful functioning of a health system and, therefore, could usefully be considered include: residency requirements surrounding access to health services, criminalisation of sex work, age of consent laws and other constraints around young persons' access to sexual and reproductive health services and family law Ferguson 2009, Csete andCohen 2010). Awareness of the existence of these laws, and their subsequent reform, would make important contributions to the health of many and to the overall effectiveness of health system efforts.…”

Section: Legal and Policy Context: Moving Beyond Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Human rights in health systems frameworks: What is there, what is missing and why does it matter?

Gruskin

Ahmed

Bogecho

et al. 2012

Global Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Global initiatives and recent G8 commitments to health systems strengthening have brought increased attention to factors affecting health system performance. While equity concerns and human rights language appear often in the global health discourse, their inclusion in health systems efforts beyond rhetorical pronouncements is limited. Building on recent work assessing the extent to which features compatible with the right to health are incorporated into national health systems, we examine how health systems frameworks have thus far integrated human rights concepts and human rights-based approaches to health in their conceptualisation. Findings point to the potential value of the inclusion of human rights in these articulations to increase the participation or involvement of clients in health systems, to broaden the concept of equity, to bring attention to laws and policies beyond regulation and to strengthen accountability mechanisms.

show abstract

Section: Equality and Non-discriminationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Legal and Policy Context: Moving Beyond Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human rights in health systems frameworks: What is there, what is missing and why does it matter?

Gruskin

Ahmed

Bogecho

et al. 2012

Global Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Training for police and judges, and court accompaniment for sex workers charged with crimescan also provide access to justice for sex workers. 110 In South Africa, sex workers can receive paralegal training on due process and sex worker rights, to ensure sex workers’ rights are upheld throughout the legal process. 111 These examples again illustrate the value of investing in sex worker organizing and partnership with legal and criminal justice sectors to support health and human rights.…”

Section: Evidence-based Reform: the Human Rights Framework For Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Human rights violations against sex workers: burden and effect on HIV

Decker¹,

Crago²,

Chu³

et al. 2015

The Lancet

264

243

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We reviewed evidence from over 800 studies and reports on the burden and HIV impact of human rights abuses against sex workers across policy climates. Published research documents widespread abuses of human rights perpetrated by both state and non-state actors. Such violations facilitate HIV vulnerability, both directly and indirectly, and undermine effective HIV prevention and intervention efforts. Violations include homicide, physical and sexual violence from law enforcement, clients and intimate partners, unlawful arrest and detention, discrimination in accessing health services, and forced HIV testing. Abuses occur across all policy regimes, though most profoundly so where sex work is criminalized through punitive law. Protection of sex workers’ human rights is critical to respect, protect and fulfill human rights, and to improve their health and wellbeing. Findings affirm the value of rights-based HIV responses for sex workers, and underscore the obligation of states to uphold the rights of this marginalized population.

show abstract

“…Lastly, ensuring access to legal services among IDU is important in order to help victims of police abuse obtain redress and compensation in this setting. In addition, a recent review indicated that expanded legal services also have potential to prevent police abuse and promote health benefits among IDU [41]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reports of police beating and associated harms among people who inject drugs in Bangkok, Thailand: a serial cross-sectional study

Hayashi

Csete

et al. 2013

BMC Public Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThailand has for years attempted to address illicit drug use through aggressive drug law enforcement. Despite accounts of widespread violence by police against people who inject drugs (IDU), the impact of police violence has not been well investigated. In the wake of an intensified police crackdown in 2011, we sought to identify the prevalence and correlates of experiencing police beating among IDU in Bangkok.MethodsCommunity-recruited samples of IDU in Bangkok were surveyed between June 2009 and October 2011. Multivariate log-binomial regression was used to identify factors associated with reporting police beating.ResultsIn total, 639 unique IDU participated in this serial cross-sectional study, with 240 (37.6%) participants reporting that they had been beaten by police. In multivariate analyses, reports of police beating were associated with male gender (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio [APR] = 4.43), younger age (APR = 1.69), reporting barriers to accessing healthcare (APR = 1.23), and a history of incarceration (APR = 2.51), compulsory drug detention (APR = 1.22) and syringe sharing (APR = 1.44), and study enrolment in 2011 (APR = 1.27) (all p < 0.05). Participants most commonly reported police beating during the interrogation process.ConclusionsA high proportion of IDU in Bangkok reported having been beaten by the police. Experiencing police beating was independently associated with various indicators of drug-related harm. These findings suggest that the over-reliance on enforcement-based approaches is contributing to police-perpetrated abuses and the perpetuation of the HIV risk behaviour among Thai IDU.

show abstract

Health Benefits of Legal Services for Criminalized Populations: The Case of People Who Use Drugs, Sex Workers and Sexual and Gender Minorities

Cited by 49 publications

References 25 publications

Human rights in health systems frameworks: What is there, what is missing and why does it matter?

Human rights in health systems frameworks: What is there, what is missing and why does it matter?

Human rights violations against sex workers: burden and effect on HIV

Reports of police beating and associated harms among people who inject drugs in Bangkok, Thailand: a serial cross-sectional study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About