Awards for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights

The Awards for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights were established in 2002 by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Human Rights Watch.

The Awards highlight outstanding contributions that decrease vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and protect the rights and dignity of those infected and affected.

Recognizing excellence and long-term commitment to work having a direct impact on HIV/AIDS and human rights issues — in particular work that is of direct relevance to marginalized individuals and communities — an award is presented annually to one Canadian and one international recipient. The winners will be announced at the opening of the Legal Network’s Annual General Meeting and Symposium on HIV, Law and Human Rights in Toronto on June 9, 2011.

2011 International Recipient: Dr. Robert Carr and Caribbean Vulnerable Communities

As the past executive director of Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL), Dr. Robert Carr worked tirelessly to advance the cause of those most vulnerable to HIV and those ostracized as a result of living with it. He was a leading voice raising taboo subjects such as drug use, sex work and sex between men and insisting that governments put an end to violence and abuse. He was co-Chair of the Global Forum on MSM and HIV, a global advocacy network specifically dedicated to the needs and well-being of gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), as well as co-Chair of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS. He passed away unexpectedly at his Toronto home in early May 2011.

Co-founded in 2004 by Dr. Carr, Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC) is a coalition of community leaders and non-governmental agencies providing services directly to and on behalf of Caribbean populations who are especially vulnerable to HIV infection or often forgotten in access to treatment and health-care programs. CVC recognizes the critical importance of engaging marginalized groups in the fight against HIV. Realizing that hostile, sometimes violent prejudice drives marginalized groups underground and makes them invisible, CVC is committed to promoting leadership among them and working to strengthen their capacity to act on their own behalf to demand equal rights as key to protect against HIV and ensure access to services.

2011 Canadian Recipient: Prisoners' HIV/AIDS Support Action Network

Prisoners' HIV/AIDS Support Action Network (PASAN) is a community-based prisoners’ rights organization that strives to provide advocacy, education and support to prisoners and ex-prisoners on HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and other harm reduction issues. PASAN formed in 1991 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis in the Canadian prison system. Today, PASAN is the only community-based organization in Canada exclusively providing HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C prevention education and support services to prisoners, ex-prisoners, youth in custody and their families.

Currently serving over 600 active clients, PASAN operates the only national AIDS Hotline specifically for prisoners, as well as individual support counseling, advocacy, pre-release planning and referrals for prisoners and youth in custody living with HIV/AIDS, primarily in the Ontario region institutions. PASAN has also published numerous resources, including the first study ever done on women and HIV/AIDS in prison, and a quarterly newsletter, Cell Count, distributed to prisoners, institutions, and agencies across the country.

Learn more:

• Past recipients