Due to their increased visibility, LGBT rights defenders and service providers are at increased risk for violent attacks. Not only are these incidents violations of basic human rights, they have a devastating impact on HIV services for LGBT populations. This policy brief focuses on the connection between anti-LGBT violence and HIV, attempting to convey a sense of the frequency of these attacks, their exceptional brutality, and their impact on HIV prevention and treatment services.

Taken together, the evidence makes a powerful argument that efforts to prevent, mitigate, and document anti-LGBT violence are indispensable to all HIV-related work. Not only are HIV funders ethically obligated to protect the safety of frontline activists and service providers, their support of anti-violence measures is essential for securing provision of and access to HIV services for LGBT people.