Law is a key factor shaping how states respond to people facing a pandemic. In the context of confronting a virus, the law impacts who faces the highest risk of infection and death. A decade ago, the landmark report from the Global Commission on HIV and the Law joined AIDS movement calls for countries to remake their approach to same-sex sexuality, as criminalization undermines the AIDS response.Indeed, recent research shows that countries that criminalize consensual same-sex sexuality have made less progress against key global AIDS targets. In these countries, HIV rates among gay men and other men who have sex with men are higher and the gap with the general population is more pronounced.