Laws and policies : Law and policy reform
News and features
Australia: New campaign launched by state PLHIV organisation to amend HIV disclosure requirement in New South Wales’ Public Health Act
Positive Life’s Communications and Policy Officer, Scott Harlum (pictured), explains why the organisation will advocate for changes to HIV disclosure requirements in the Public Health Act as part of the review. The Public Health Act is a key piece of … More
UK: Law Commission considers HIV criminalisation in great depth, but recommends no change for HIV/STI prosecutions in England & Wales, pending a wider review
Following a scoping consultation which ran from autumn 2014 to spring 2015, the Law Commission (of England and Wales) has now published its report containing their final recommendations to the UK Government. It recommends the adoption of a modified version … More
Australia: Victoria’s HIV-specific criminal law, Section 19A, finally repealed today
In a joint media release, Living Positive Victoria and the Victorian AIDS Council have welcomed the passage of the Crimes Amendment (Repeal of Section 19A) Act 2015 by the Victorian Parliament. The Act repeals Australia’s only HIV-specific law criminalising the … More
UK: Law Commission scoping consultation deadline this week; key findings and outputs from ‘Criminalizing Contagion’ seminar series may help inform the process
This week, the Law Commission – which reviews areas of the law in England and Wales that have become unduly complicated, outdated or unfair – will conclude its scoping consultation of the reform the Offences Against The Person Act, the … More
US: Lambda Legal calls for halt to HIV-based criminal prosecutions in wake of Department of Justice guidance
[Press release from Lambda Legal] “We call upon those charged with enforcing such laws—from governors to prosecutors to police detectives—to halt the criminal prosecution and resulting persecution of any individual based on HIV status.” (Washington, D.C. Thursday, July 17, 2014) … More
US: Department of Justice releases guidance to eliminate or reform HIV criminalisation laws
[Press release from the US Department of Justice] JUSTICE DEPARTMENT RELEASES BEST PRACTICES GUIDE TO REFORM HIV-SPECIFIC CRIMINAL LAWS TO ALIGN WITH SCIENTIFICALLY-SUPPORTED FACTORS WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has released a Best Practices Guide to … More
US: Iowa Supreme Court rejects ‘theoretical’ HIV risk, reverses ‘HIV exposure’ conviction
Last Friday, June 13, the Iowa Supreme Court set aside the ‘HIV exposure’ conviction of Nick Rhoades, who was initially sentenced to 25 years in prison, with required registration as a sex offender, after having a one-time sexual encounter with … More
US: Iowa modernises its HIV-specific law, SF 2297 passes unanimously
(Press release from One Iowa. Further detailed analysis will be available soon) DES MOINES–After a series of negotiations, a historic bill passed through the Iowa House early this morning that will modernize Iowa’s discriminatory HIV law. Iowa’s current law, 709c, … More
US: Will Donald Bogardus be the last person to be convicted under Iowa’s overly draconian HIV-specific law?
Earlier this month, Donald Bogardus, 42, was given the lightest-ever sentence for HIV non-disclosure in Iowa. He had faced up to 25 years in prison but was given a suspended sentence with two to five years of probation. However, he … More
Switzerland: New handbook for parliamentarians on effective HIV laws includes case study and interview with Green MP Alec von Graffenried
A new publication from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), written by Veronica Oakeshott, is an excellent new resource to help inform advocacy efforts to remove punitive laws and policies that impede the HIV response. Aimed … More
