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Human rights as social and structural drivers of sexually transmitted infections

Edited by: Stefan Baral, Benjamin Mason Meier and Joseph Tucker

At present, there are a number of highly efficacious approaches to the prevention of, and response to, sexually transmitted infections, including decentralized testing, novel prevention approaches, harm reduction, participation of affected populations, and expanded treatment.  However, human rights infringements may limit the provision and uptake of these interventions for those at highest risk, further concentrating the burden of these infections among marginalized populations. Taken together, there remains a lot to be learned about the importance of structural determinants of sexually transmitted infections, including both the influence of human rights infringements and the optimal strategies to overcome them as a basis for disease prevention.

This collaboration between BMC International Health and Human Rights and BMC Infectious Diseases focuses on highlighting novel studies characterizing human rights infringements as structural determinants of infectious diseases, including sexually transmitted infections. 

  2. Access to HIV services among men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSWs) remains suboptimal globally. While the reasons for this dismal performance have been documented, limited evidence exis...

    Authors: Joseph K. B. Matovu, Geofrey Musinguzi, Juliet Kiguli, Fred Nuwaha, Geoffrey Mujisha, Joshua Musinguzi, Jim Arinaitwe and Rhoda K. Wanyenze
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2019 19:214
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  3. Latent class analyses (LCA) are increasingly being used to target specialized HIV interventions, but generalizability of emergent population structures across settings has yet to be considered. We compare LCA ...

    Authors: M. Kumi Smith, Gabriella Stein, Weibin Cheng, William C. Miller and Joseph D. Tucker
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2019 19:213
    Content type: Research article Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in BMC Infectious Diseases 2019 19:284

  4. Across diverse regions globally, sex workers continue to face a disproportionate burden of HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood borne infections (STBBIs). Evidence suggests that behavioural and biomedi...

    Authors: Elena Argento, Shira Goldenberg and Kate Shannon
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2019 19:212
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  5. Men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women in Sub-Saharan Africa are subjected to high levels of sexual behavior-related stigma, which may affect mental health and sexual risk behaviors. MSM and tra...

    Authors: Carrie Lyons, Shauna Stahlman, Claire Holland, Sosthenes Ketende, Lynn Van Lith, Duncan Kochelani, Mpumelelo Mavimbela, Bhekie Sithole, Libet Maloney, Sibusiso Maziya and Stefan Baral
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2019 19:211
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  6. Internalized HIV stigma is a public health concern as it can compromise HIV prevention, care and treatment. This paper has two aims. First, it highlights the urgent need for research evidence on internalized H...

    Authors: Marija Pantelic, Laurel Sprague and Anne L. Stangl
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2019 19:210
    Content type: Debate Published on:

  7. Repressive legal environments and widespread human rights violations act as structural impediments to efforts to engage key populations at risk of HIV infection in HIV prevention, care, and treatment efforts. ...

    Authors: Anne L. Stangl, Devaki Singh, Michael Windle, Kirsty Sievwright, Katherine Footer, Alexandrina Iovita, Stella Mukasa and Stefan Baral
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2019 19:209
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  8. Stigma is a multifaceted concept that potentiates Human Immunodeficiency Virus and sexually transmitted infection acquisition and transmission risks among key populations, including men who have sex with men (...

    Authors: Ashley L. Grosso, Sosthenes C. Ketende, Shauna Stahlman, Odette Ky-Zerbo, Henri Gautier Ouedraogo, Seni Kouanda, Cesaire Samadoulougou, Marcel Lougue, Jules Tchalla, Simplice Anato, Sodji Dometo, Felicity D. Nadedjo, Vincent Pitche and Stefan D. Baral
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2019 19:208
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  9. In Cote D’Ivoire, there has been limited coverage of evidence-based sexual health services specifically supporting men who have sex with men (MSM). To date, there has been limited study of the determinants of ...

    Authors: Mark B. Ulanja, Carrie Lyons, Sosthenes Ketende, Shauna Stahlman, Daouda Diouf, Abo Kouamé, Rebecca Ezouatchi, Amara Bamba, Fatou Drame, Ben Liestman and Stefan Baral
    Citation: BMC International Health and Human Rights 2019 19:11
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  10. Among all newly diagnosed HIV cases in Germany in 2015, 16% originated from sub-Saharan Africa. Twelve percent of these infections were contracted within Germany and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa (misSA) ar...

    Authors: Johanna Müllerschön, Carmen Koschollek, Claudia Santos-Hövener, Anna Kuehne, Jacqueline Müller-Nordhorn and Viviane Bremer
    Citation: BMC International Health and Human Rights 2019 19:10
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  11. Female sex workers, MSM, and transgender women—collectively referred to as key populations (KPs)—are disproportionately affected by gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV, yet little is known about the violence t...

    Authors: Emily Evens, Michele Lanham, Karin Santi, Juana Cooke, Kathleen Ridgeway, Giuliana Morales, Caleb Parker, Claire Brennan, Marjan de Bruin, Pavel Chladni Desrosiers, Xenia Diaz, Marta Drago, Roger McLean, Modesto Mendizabal, Dirk Davis, Rebecca B. Hershow…
    Citation: BMC International Health and Human Rights 2019 19:9
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  12. Stigma in health services may be detrimental to health seeking attitudes and practices. This study investigates non-disclosure of sex work to health care providers among female sex workers (FSW) in Brazil and ...

    Authors: Inês Dourado, Mark Drew Crosland Guimarães, Giseli Nogueira Damacena, Laio Magno, Paulo Roberto Borges de Souza Júnior and Celia Landmann Szwarcwald
    Citation: BMC International Health and Human Rights 2019 19:8
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  13. There have been several barriers in effectively engaging men who have sex with men for STI/HIV prevention and treatment programming in Nigeria including social stigma, policies, and laws criminalizing same-sex...

    Authors: Susanne Strömdahl, Abimbola Onigbanjo Williams, Bede Eziefule, Godwin Emmanuel, Stella Iwuagwu, Oliver Anene, Ifeanyi Orazulike, Chris Beyrer and Stefan Baral
    Citation: BMC International Health and Human Rights 2019 19:7
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  14. Syphilis screening can be successfully integrated into antenatal clinics, and potentially avert significant morbidity and mortality to unborn infants. A minority of male partners report for testing and treatme...

    Authors: Edith Nakku-Joloba, Juliet Kiguli, Christine Nalwadda Kayemba, Adeline Twimukye, Joshua Kimeze Mbazira, Rosalind Parkes-Ratanshi, Monica Birungi, Joshua Kyenkya, Josaphat Byamugisha, Charlotte Gaydos and Yukari C. Manabe
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2019 19:124
    Content type: Research article Published on: