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India gay sex ruling could set precedent: UN
2 Jul 2009, 1639 hrs IST, AFP
GENEVA: A landmark ruling in India to legalize gay sex could set an example
for about 80 countries which still outlaw homosexual sex, a UN agency said
on Thursday. It would also encourage more HIV victims in India to come
forward to seek treatment and information, added the United Nations joint
programme on HIV and AIDS.
"We think this will set an important precedence throughout the world," said
Susan Timberlake, who heads UNAIDS' human rights and law team. She added
that in almost all of the countries that outlaw homosexual sex, "both the
law and the homophobia... results in both the denial of human rights of men
who have sex with men, transgender people and lesbians, but also in the
denial of health care services that they desperately need in the world of
HIV."
Anand Grover, the lawyer who argued the case before New Delhi High Court,
described the decision as an "historic event because India was the country
where the anti-sodomy laws were first statutorised...and the same law was
then replicated all over the British Commonwealth."
He added that countries that still outlaw homosexual sex can now "use this
as a precedent." "Countries in Africa can use this as a precedent. Same for
Asia," he told journalists in Geneva.
Several Commonwealth countries still view gay sex as illegal, including
Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, and many Caribbean islands. In India,
homosexual HIV sufferers would now find it easier to seek information and
treatment, said Pradeep Kakkattil who heads UNAIDS' technical support
division.
"What this judgement could help in is encourage men who have sex with men to
come out more and seek those services... and it will make much easier for
people working in the field to provide that information," he said.
When homosexual sex was outlawed, patients "would not go to the doctor
because of fear of ... potentially being reported to the police," said
Kakkattil.
"Besides the threat of imprisonment, these victims also faced blackmail from
police," he said. "Health workers providing help to homosexual HIV sufferers
are also working in precarious situations, he added. He said that it's not
uncommon for police to arrest you because you are providing information on
something illegal."
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