New Zealand: Does the transmission of HIV still amount to grievous bodily harm? Interview with Jason Myers, AIDS Foundation Director, on the Court of Appeal current deliberation

Is deliberately spreading HIV grievous bodily harm?

A court’s being asked to determine whether spreading HIV still amounts to causing grievous bodily harm.

A man is appealing a grievous bodily harm conviction, after a jury found him guilty of knowingly infecting his partner with HIV.

He’s arguing the disease doesn’t amount to grievous bodily harm, because it can be easily treated.

Aids Foundation executive director Jason Myers said he isn’t surprised to see a case like this before the courts.

“Back in the eighties, early nineties it was a death sentence for many people. What you’ve essentially got in 2017 is a long-term manageable chronic disease.”