A/HRC/38/43 and a form of gender-based violence, driven by an intention to punish those seen as defying gender norms (A/HRC/19/41, para. 20).51 Acts of violence and discrimination may also be a means to justify inequality and to preserve the status quo in power relations. 49. The dynamics of this process have been described by different special procedure mandate holders, who concur that stigma is attached to an identity that is labelled as abnormal and based on a socially constructed process of alienation between “us” and “them” (A/HRC/21/42, para. 12), a “process of the dehumanization of the victim, often a necessary condition for torture and ill-treatment to be perpetrated (A/56/156, para. 19). A. Legislation and other regulations 50. More than 3 billion people, almost half of the world population, live in the 72 countries in which law or other measures criminalizes on the basis of sexual orientation. 52 In the cases in which the punishment is not the death penalty, it is usually incarceration that varies from one month to life imprisonment. 51. Consensual same-sex conduct is punishable by death in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan and Yemen, and parts of Nigeria and Somalia. Death is also the prescribed punishment for homosexuality in the revised penal code of Brunei, although reportedly relevant provisions have yet to take effect. 52. These discriminatory laws derive from French or British colonial systems of justice, or from particular interpretations of sharia or Islamic law, and per se violate international law. In addition, they fuel stigma, legitimize prejudice and expose people to family and institutional violence and further human rights abuses, such as hate crimes, death threats and torture. Such legislation and regulations reinforce gender stereotypes and foster a climate where hate speech, violence and discrimination are condoned and perpetrated with impunity by both State and non-State actors. They contribute to a social environment that explicitly permits and tolerates violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, creating a breeding ground for such acts. 53. Such laws also hinder the ability of relevant government departments and other actors involved in health responses. One such area is connected to the HIV response. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in a recent report, pointed out that punitive legal environments, combined with stigma, discrimination and high levels of violence, placed gay men and other men who have sex with men at high risk of HIV infection because they are driven underground out of fear of prosecution or other negative consequences. As a result, they do not receive appropriate health education, and are reluctant to seek health-care services, testing and treatment. 53 54. In addition, the possession of health commodities, such as condoms and lubricants, has even been used as evidence in criminal cases leading to further stigmatization and challenges in the health sector and, particularly, in relation to HIV prevention. 54 55. These laws, while aimed at lesbian, gay and bisexual persons, often have a criminalizing impact on trans persons or are used to target, shame or single out other parts of the population. Similarly, they also endanger or hinder the work of those who defend or support the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender non-conforming persons by exposing them to attacks and intimidation (E/CN.4/2001/94, para. 89 (g)). 56. Several countries also criminalize trans persons based on their gender identity or expression, while others criminalize statements, publications or actions that discuss or refer 51 52 53 54 12 See also Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “Violence against LGBTI Persons” (see footnote 25), para. 50. See United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects 2017 (available from https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/). African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, “HIV, the Law and Human Rights in the African Human Rights System: Key Challenges and Opportunities for Rights-Based Responses to HIV”, report, December 2016, para. 51. See Global Commission on HIV and the Law, Risks, Rights and Health, July 2012, p. 47.