There is scant research into HIV discrimination, particularly structural and institutional forms of it. This appears, in part, to arise from a prevailing view that the solutions to HIV discrimination are known a priori and in the absence of additional data. The six country studies into HIV discrimination presented in this AIDS Care supplement suggest that this is not the case. There needs to be an acceptance that if the issue of HIV discrimination is to be tackled successfully and based on evidence, then incremental and effortful steps need to be taken to develop that evidence base. This is discussed.