Doctor knows best? Using the law to improve access of criminalized groups to health services

This session will focus on practical models from around the world that use the law to improve access of drug users, sex workers, and other criminalized groups to health services. Integrating legal services into health services enables comprehensive care and increases access to justice to underserved and marginalized communities, thereby also improving their health. No matter how good a harm reduction program, it cannot be effective if police harassment prevents people who inject drugs from using services. Discrimination, child marriage, sexual and domestic violence, disinheritance, and economic disempowerment are all drivers of HIV vulnerability. For criminalized groups, legal aid is as essential to improving their health as a condom or a clean needle. This presentation will discuss how these programs are set up, what legal issues they encounter, what their most effective practices are, and how they provide legal support when trained lawyers are in short supply.