The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) praised the Delhi High Court’s decision to decriminalize homosexuality in India’s capital city, the Voice of America reports.

According to the article, UNAIDS states that HIV/AIDS is more prevalent among men who have sex with men (MSM) and is much higher in countries that criminalize homosexuality compared with countries where it is legal.

Pradeep Kakkattil, chief of the technical support division at UNAIDS, said laws that criminalize homosexuality increase stigma, which makes it harder to reach MSM with HIV prevention, treatment and care services.

“The judgment will help [with] encouraging men to come out more and seek those services, [and] it will make it much easier for people working in the field to provide that information,” Kakkattil said.