Our Policy

HIV Edmonton practices a philosophy of harm reduction. For more information, contact us at contact@hivedmonton.com, or call (780)488-5742.

POLICY 19: HARM REDUCTION

The HIV Network of Edmonton Society
Approved by Board of Directors January 24, 2000
Reviewed and amended September 20, 2004

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HIV Edmonton acknowledges that as human beings with the capacity to choose, we are exposed to risk on an ongoing basis. Harm reduction is a set of non-judgmental approaches and strategies aimed at providing and enhancing the knowledge, skills, resources, and supports for individuals to be safer and healthier. The goal of harm reduction is to minimize negative outcomes resulting from risky behaviours. HIV Edmonton acknowledges that risky behaviors occur along a continuum ranging from minimal to extreme and any change reducing the risk associated with the behaviour, no matter how small, is positive. HIV Edmonton recognizes that harm reduction is integral to addressing the complex needs of the persons we serve, and that we have an organizational responsibility to promote the adoption of harm reduction practices in the general community. This responsibility includes an organizational obligation to act as a catalyst for the creation of services in the community when there is no existing service to adopt or offer the harm reduction practices needed by the persons we serve.

 

NON PRESCRIPTION NEEDLE USE
HIV and other infections are transmitted via risky non-prescription needle use. Non prescription needle use includes any behaviours where needles are used for purposes other than the delivery of prescribed medication. This includes needles used for tattooing and piercing, as well as needles used for injecting non-prescription substances. The purpose of this policy is to support the development and adoption of harm reduction with attention to non-prescription use for individuals, organizations, and society at large. HIV Edmonton will provide these supports to individuals by:

  • Maintaining a needle exchange site.
  • Promoting safer needle use practices.
  • Ensuring that all staff is knowledgeable and skilled with harm reduction strategies related to non-prescription needle use.
  • Working with NPNUers to increase their skills and abilities to include harm reduction strategies with their non-prescription needle use.

HIV Edmonton recognizes that abstaining from non prescription needle use is only one of many harm reduction strategies, and not appropriate for everyone. HIV Edmonton will provide these supports to organizations by:

Working in partnership with other community agencies and organizations to develop and implement appropriate harm reduction policies, strategies, and programs with attention to non-prescription needle use.

Promoting the creation of agencies and organizations to develop and implement appropriate harm reduction policies, strategies, and programs when there are no existing agencies to partner with.

 

HIV EDMONTON PROVIDES THESE SUPPORTS TO SOCIETY AT LARGY BY:

  • Offering, supporting, promoting and advocating services, policies, and legislation which respects the dignity and rights of non prescription needle users.
  • Strongly opposing drug enforcement services, policies, and legislation that contribute to the harm of non-prescription needle users by criminalizing and marginalizing their drug use.
  • Minimizing the social barriers that non prescription needle users encounter in staying safe and healthy by promoting and supporting the creation of services, policies, and legislation espousing the general philosophy of harm reduction.
  • Advocating for legislative and social policy changes, which eliminate drug violence and drug, related crime.
  • Recognizing that criminalizing non prescription needle use promotes reliance on costly socially destructive and counter productive criminal justice measure of drug control.

 

SEXUAL PRACTICES

HIV and other infections are transmitted via sexual practices. Risky sexual practices include any behaviours of sexual expression associated with a risk of infection. This includes behaviours posing a theoretical risk of HIV infection such as wet kissing and behaviours posing a low risk of HIV infection such as unprotected oral sex, as well as behaviours posing a high risk of HIV infections such as unprotected sexual intercourse. The purpose of this policy is to create support to help individuals; organizations and society to develop harm reduction practices with attention to risky sexual behaviors. HIV Edmonton will provide these supports to individuals by:

  • Maintaining baskets of free condoms and lube in various public locations at HIV Edmonton that service users can readily access.
  • Providing the female condom in limited quantities free of charge to the service users.
  • Ensuring all staff are knowledgeable and skilled with harm reduction strategies related to safer sexual practices.
  • Explaining safer sexual practices to individuals accessing our information lines.
  • Encouraging the reasonable consumption or abstinence from mind-altering substances that could reduce a person's ability to use safer sexual practices.
  • Encouraging people to practice non-penetrative sexual behaviours that are of lower risk.
  • Encouraging people to limit the number of sexual partners and know their sexual partner (i.e. limit or avoid opportunistic sexual behaviours).
  • Promoting sexual safety in opportunistic sexual environments.
  • Recognizing abstinence and celibacy as viable alternatives and harm reduction approaches.

 

HIV EDMONTON PROVIDES THESE SUPPORTS TO ORGANIZATIONS BY:

  • Selling condoms at cost to those organizations requesting condoms.
  • Working with organizations to make safer sexual supplies more readily available for their service users free of charge or at a nominal cost.
  • Promoting safer sexual practices in all our relevant literature, professional in-services, and public presentations.
  • Working in partnership with other community organizations and agencies to develop and implement appropriate harm reduction policies, strategies, and programs with attention to safer sexual practices.
  • Providing professional in-servicing and community workshops teaching and promoting safer sexual practices.
  • Promoting the creation of agencies or organizations to develop and implement appropriate harm reduction policies, strategies, and programs where there are no existing agencies or organizations to partner with.
  • Promoting sexual safety in opportunistic sexual environments.

 

HIV EDMONTON PROVIDES THESE SUPPORTS TO SOCIETY AT LARGE BY:

  • Promoting safer sexual practices in all our relevant literature, professional in-services, and public presentations.
  • Working with the distributor of the female condom to make it more readily available at a cost that is not excessively high for individuals.
  • Offering, supporting, promoting and advocating services, policies, and legislation which respects the sexual dignity and sexual rights of all individuals regardless of sexual orientation.
  • Minimizing the social barriers that individuals feel in accessing safer sexual information and supplies.

 

SEXUAL SAFETY


HIV and other infections are more likely to be transmitted via situations where a person's sexual safety is compromised. The concept of sexual safety is the acknowledgment of the right of persons to have sex in safety. Sexual safety is compromised by any situation where a person is denied choices to negotiate sexual safety, as well as a lack of respect for the person's fundamental right to sexual safety. This includes systemic discrimination of class, gender, race, sexuality, sexual orientation, education, and ability, as well as all forms of sexual assault, coercion, and exploitation. The purpose of this policy is to support the development and adoption of harm reduction practices with attention to sexual safety for individuals, organizations, and society at large. HIV Edmonton will provide these supports to individuals by:

  • Promoting sexual safety.
  • Ensuring that all staff are knowledgeable and skilled with harm reduction strategies related to sexual safety.
  • Ensuring that information about potential resources with regard to sexual safety is made available.
  • Working with individuals in unsafe situations to increase and reinforce their skills and abilities to include harm reduction strategies.
  • Explaining sexual safety practices to individuals accessing our information lines.
  • Encouraging the reasonable consumption or abstinence from mind-altering substances that could reduce a person's ability to maintain sexual safety.
  • By promoting equality of class, gender, race, sexuality, sexual orientation, education, and ability in the delivery of our programs.

 

HIV EDMOTNON PROVIDES THESE SUPPORTS TO ORGANIZATIONS BY:

  • Working with organizations to make safer sexual supplies more readily available for their service users free of charge or at a nominal cost.
  • Promoting sexual safety in all our relevant literature, professional in-services, and public presentations.
  • Working in partnership with other community organizations and agencies to develop and implement appropriate harm reduction polices, strategies, and programs with attention to sexual safety.
  • Providing professional in-servicing and community workshops teaching and promoting sexual safety.
  • Promoting the creation of agencies or organizations to develop and implement appropriate harm reduction policies, strategies, and programs where there are no existing agencies or organizations to partner with.
  • Promoting sexual safety in opportunistic sexual environments.

 

HIV EDMONTON PROVIDES THESE SUPPORTS TO SOCIETY AT LARGE BY:

  • Promoting sexual safety in all our relevant literature, professional in-services, and public presentations.
  • Offering, supporting, promoting and advocating services, policies, and legislation which respects the sexual dignity and sexual rights of all individuals regardless of sexual orientation.
  • Minimizing the social barriers that individuals feel in negotiating sexual safety.
  • By recognizing that criminalizing sexual behaviour between consenting adults promotes reliance on costly socially destructive and counter productive criminal justice measures of control.
  • Advocating for legislative and policy changes, which promote safe sexual behaviour between consenting adults.
  • Recognizing that sexual safety is compromised by heterosexism
  • Society and will support, promote and advocate for policies and legislation which establish equality regardless of sexual orientation.