HIV and criminal law

HIV and criminal law features

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  Getting tough on criminalisation

  “Nothing short of barbaric.” This was the comment of a BBC presenter, confronted with the number and sheer arbitrary injustice of criminal convictions of people accused of transmitting...

  From:HIV treatment update

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  Where HIV is a crime, not just a virus

  A new resource, HIV and the criminal law, has just been published by NAM. Its author, former HTU editor Edwin J Bernard, also presented on the issue at the...

  From:HIV treatment update

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  Unsafe convictions?

  Why advocates have concerns over recent HIV and hepatitis B prosecutions, by Edwin J Bernard and Michael Carter ...

  From:HIV treatment update

HIV and criminal law in your own words

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  Life on HIV treatment – a personal perspective

  I’ve been taking HIV treatment for ten years – that's longer than the average life expectancy of someone with HIV when I was diagnosed back in 1991. I’ve...

  From:In your own words

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  Bored and horny

  It’s Sunday afternoon and it’s raining. I’m bored and horny. However, I’ve got £20 left over from the night before and this will be enough...

  From:In your own words

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  Anger - I was furious

  I wasn’t really surprised when I found out I had HIV, after all I went to have an HIV test because I had all the...

  From:In your own words

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  The sex police

  I met Amy through a friend – a friend who knew my HIV status. We got on really well and she asked if I wanted...

  From:In your own words

HIV and criminal law news from aidsmap

• Canadian study finds criminalisation confusion "chills" open and honest discussion of HIV risk-taking

  The lack of clarity over when a person with HIV has a legal obligation to disclose their HIV-positive status to a sexual partner is resulting in "anxiety, confusion and contradictory HIV counselling advice," according to a new study on ...

  23 August 2011 | Edwin J. Bernard

• Large gaps in the HIV prevention evidence base

  An analysis of research that is relevant to HIV prevention in the United Kingdom has identified several important topics on which little research is done. Writing in the journal BMC Public Health, the authors point to the lack of ...

  09 June 2011 | Roger Pebody

• Partners study expands our knowledge of HIV transmission risk

  A prevention study in which the intervention being tested failed is turning out to be a fertile source of information about HIV transmission risk in heterosexuals. Three substudies from the Partners in Prevention (PinP) prevention trial presented at the ...

  03 March 2011 | Gus Cairns

• Claims that phylogenetic analysis can prove direction of transmission are unfounded, say experts

  A report from the United States published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences claims to show for the first time that direction of HIV transmission from one individual to another for use as evidence in ...

  24 November 2010 | Edwin J. Bernard

• Higher HIV rates among black MSM in the US may be linked to attitudes about homosexuality

  Higher prevalence of negative attitudes about homosexuality among African-Americans than among whites may help to account for why the US AIDS epidemic has disproportionately struck African-American men who have sex with men (MSM). Two US researchers have proposed this association on ...

  21 September 2010 | Kelly Safreed-Harmon

• Majority of US gay men support HIV transmission laws

  Two-thirds of US gay men believe that it should be illegal for an HIV-positive man to have unprotected anal sex without disclosure, investigators report in the October edition of AIDS Care. “Believing that it should be illegal was associated with ...

  21 September 2010 | Michael Carter

• Three tactics to stem the tide of criminal prosecutions

  Scientists, lawyers and advocates have been able to reduce unwarranted prosecutions of HIV exposure and transmission in three European jurisdictions by employing three distinct approaches, Robert James told the Eighteenth International AIDS Conference in Vienna last week. The conference also ...

  29 July 2010 | Roger Pebody

• North America and Western Europe lead the world in criminalising HIV transmission and exposure

  Worldwide, at least 600 individuals have now been convicted of transmitting HIV or of exposing others to the virus, a satellite session at AIDS 2010 was told. Whilst by far the greatest number of convictions has occurred in North ...

  19 July 2010 | Roger Pebody

• Vienna declaration calls for science-based drug policies

  Three leading scientific and health policy organizations this week launched a global drive for signatories to the Vienna Declaration, a statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence ...

  30 June 2010 | Press Release

• Uganda: Minister's turnaround on HIV bill raises concern

  Ugandan AIDS activists have expressed concern over a decision by the Ministry of Health to back an HIV/AIDS bill that would criminalize the deliberate transmission of HIV. Last week, State Minister for Health in charge of ...

  13 May 2010 | Reproduced from PLUS NEWS

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HIV and criminal law news selected from other sources

• Same-Sex Couples Saved From HIV Disclosure Laws

  In Florida, if an HIV positive person knows that he is HIV positive and has been informed that HIV may be transmitted during sexual intercourse, and has sexual intercourse with any other person without disclosing his HIV status, it can be prosecuted. But courts are ruling that the statute cannot be applied to same-sex couples.

  01 February 2012 | South Florida Gay News

• Man sues strip club, government after contracting HIV

  A Toronto man who found out nearly eight years ago that his Thai stripper wife had infected him with HIV has no one to blame but himself, the Ontario Superior Court heard Tuesday.

  31 January 2012 | The Province

• HIV-infected man jailed in Sweden

  A 20-year-old Swedish man was jailed for not informing eight women of his HIV infection status before having sex with them, officials said. The Malmo District Court convicted the man of reckless endangerment.

  25 January 2012 | UPI

• Canada: Urgent sign on statement - ask Supreme Court to stop inappropriate criminalisation of people with HIV

  On February 8, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear two landmark cases on the issue of criminalisation of HIV non-disclosure in R v. Mabior and R v. DC. The Court’s decisions in these two appeal cases will have profound implications not only for people living with HIV, but also for Canadian public health, police practice and the criminal justice system.

  25 January 2012 | Criminal HIV Transmission (blog)

• Ohio wrestler gets 32 years in HIV assault case

  A former professional wrestler was sentenced Monday to 32 years in prison for having sex with women without telling them he had tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS.

  23 January 2012 | Fox News

• Sales of HIV Meds Catch Lawmakers' Eyes

  Prosecutors and legislators report an increase in illegal sales of HIV medication by people looking to feed their families or support drug habits. Will tougher criminal penalties slow the market?

  18 January 2012 | City Limits magazine

• Austria: Man accused of criminal HIV transmission fights "unconstitutional" forced blood test

  A man in Austria is taking a case to the Constitutional Court that challenges the forcible testing of blood for HIV (as well as for use in phylogenetic analysis) that was legalised on 1 January 2012 through an amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code by the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2011.

  18 January 2012 | Criminal HIV Transmission

• Singapore: man jailed for sex without disclosing HIV status

  A man infected with HIV was today sentenced to 18 months jail for engaging in sex with his male partner without first informing him of the infection.

  18 January 2012 | Asia One

• Canadian Prison Guards Seek Law to Compel Inmate Blood Samples

  The union representing Canada’s prison guards is lobbying for a new law that would compel inmates to give over blood samples when an employee is at risk for an infectious disease, iPolitics reports.

  18 January 2012 | Poz magazine news

• Maryland Senator introduces bill to classify HIV transmission as felony

  As LGBT groups focus on pending marriage legislation in Maryland, a Democratic Senator stands to potentially ignite a fight over HIV criminalization in that state.

  17 January 2012 | Washington Blade

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