IAS 2023 forum: ACT NOW on global HIV migration, mobility and health equity

Earlier this year, Dr David Carter, Scientia Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law & Justice, University of New South Wales, convened the Law Stream as part of the ACT NOW on global HIV migration, mobility and health equity forum at the 2023 IAS Conference in Brisbane. The forum aimed to develop a stronger sector response to the question of ‘Global Migration, Mobility and Health Equity’.

Dr Carter led discussion with participants at the forum about their experiences and views of the law, alongside the clinical and policy stream conveners. Dr Carter spoke about how people living with HIV who wish to migrate, or are seeking protection or mobility, face enormous barriers as a consequence of deeply flawed migration law and legal processes that fail to uphold the expectations of dignity and rights we all share.

The participants in the Legal Stream at the forum wrote that they collectively ‘express a hope but also demand for an end to unjust and discriminatory legal barriers which prevent the free and equal movement of people living with HIV across and within borders.’

Reflecting on the forum, Dr Carter said that ‘what stood out in the discussion was the presence of bordering practices which go beyond those we might be used to seeing at the national border’. This is something that the Health+Law research is already seeing too. Delegates to the forum spoke about bordering practices that continue even once people living with HIV are living within a new national border: ‘Those living with HIV find themselves subject to different rules in many jurisdictions from those living right alongside them, with different access to essential services, treated differently to those with other health conditions.’

These are all restrictions and challenges which are exacerbated by temporariness, long visa application processes, delays plus the stigma and discrimination that repeated disclosure, reporting and sharing of information about status that migration and border rules require. You can view Dr Carter’s presentation here and the report from the forum here, where you will find a summary of the day, results from discussions as well as videos of the presentations.