UN Urges India to Overturn Ban on Sodomy

by Michael Jones · 2008-11-07 06:30:00 UTC
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Section 377As India's courts prepare to rule on whether or not the country's ban on same-sex sodomy should be overturned, the United Nations has weighed in, calling on the government to decriminalize homosexuality.

By decriminalizing homosexuality, the UN said, India can better combat HIV/AIDS. Around 2.5 million people in India are infected with HIV/AIDS, and rates of contraction for men who have sex with men continue to climb, in large part because LGBT people are forced to closet their sexuality or face criminal penalties. Currently, homosexuality is punishable in India, under section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, by a fine and up to a 10-year prison sentence.

According to Jeffrey O'Malley, director of the United Nations Development Programme on HIV/AIDS, countries that protect men who have sex with men have double the rate of coverage of HIV prevention services -- as much as 60 percent. Those prevention services could go a long way toward decreasing the number of infections, which is why O'Malley and the UN argue that India needs to overturn its sodomy ban.

Until we acknowledge these behaviours and work with people involved with these behaviours, we are not going to halt and reverse the HIV epidemic.

The suit in Delhi's high court to overturn India's ban on homosexuality was brought forward by a number of gay rights activists. It's unclear when an official ruling will come, but just yesterday, the Delhi High Court refuted the State's claims that homosexuality causes bodily harm. This, coupled with the fact that last month the court rejected the State's argument that homosexuality should be banned for religious reasons, brings a small sense of optimism that India's courts are going to decide correctly on this issue. We'll wait and see.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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