News curated from other sources

The latest news relevant to HIV criminalisation, curated from a wide range of sources

Showing 25 of 926 articles

US: Missouri proposal to add spitting whilst HIV-positive to criminal law likely defeated following strong pushback

9 April 2015

On Tuesday, the Missouri House Committee on Civil and Criminal Proceedings held a hearing on HB 1181, a bill that would criminalize individuals knowingly infected with HIV who spit at another person. Contact with saliva has never been shown to…

Missouri USA Articles Risk Campaigns Punitive laws and policies

Czech Republic: Health Ministry proposes law to make HIV testing mandatory for key populations

8 April 2015

The Czech Health Ministry is pushing a proposed amendment to the law on public health which would make HIV testing compulsory for some people in high risk groups. While the ministry argues that this is to curb the spread of…

Czech Republic/Czechia Punitive laws and policies Human rights

Sudan: Draft law providing rights and protections for people living with HIV also comes with responsibilities, including criminalising 'intentional' transmission and non-disclosue to 'prospective spouses'

8 April 2015

April 2, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan is in the process of drafting a law to protect the rights of those living with HIV/AIDS and ensure that they receive medical and psychological care. The bill, which is being drafted by legal…

Sudan Punitive laws and policies Supportive laws and policies

The Positive Justice Project Steering Committee Voices Strong Opposition to Alabama Bill that Increase Penalties for Transmission of or Exposure to STIs

1 April 2015

On April 1, 2015 the House Judiciary Committee of t he Alabama Legislature held a hearing on HB 50, proposed legislation that would raise conviction of exposure to or transmission of a sexually transmitted infection from a class C misdemeanor,…

Alabama USA Campaigns Resources

US: Advocacy underway in Alabama to fight newly proposed bill to change 'knowingly' transmitting an STI from a misdemeanor to a felony

1 April 2015

HIV/AIDS advocacy groups are preparing for a fight against a piece of legislation that would heighten the penalty for knowingly exposing a sexually transmitted disease to another in Alabama. Research shows stigmatizing and criminalizing HIV doesn’t reduce the transmission rate,…

Alabama USA Campaigns Punitive laws and policies

Zimbabwe: HIV-specific criminal law criticised for making women with HIV more vulnerable

31 March 2015

Women in the country have condemned the law criminalising the willful transmission of HIV claiming that women always feel the brunt of the law. Criminalisation of willful or deliberate transmission has become controversial in a county. Willful transmission is defined…

Zimbabwe Articles Gender-based violence

Center for Reproductive Rights welcomes Kenya High Court ruling that quashes vague and unconstitutional HIV-specific criminal statute

31 March 2015

03.30.15 – (PRESS RELEASE) Key provisions of a law criminalizing the transmission of HIV in an effort to curb spread of the disease in Kenya are unconstitutional and violate fundamental human rights, according to a recent landmark ruling from the…

Kenya Articles Law and policy reform Discrimination Gender-based violence

Canada: Provocative new resource from anonymous collective of people living with HIV explains how to protect yourself from prosecution

28 March 2015

This is not intended as legal advice. Please always consult a lawyer if you are concerned about issues related to HIV non-disclosure or exposure. And do your own research! Some of the tactics suggested in this document are within a…

Canada Discrimination Resources Social science Personal testimonies Public health

Kenya: High Court declares Section 24 of HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act (2006) unconstitutional, removes overly broad and vague HIV-specific criminal statute

24 March 2015

By Kamau Muthoni Kenya: The High Court has declared unconstitutional a section of the HIV and Aids Prevention and Control Act that sought to criminalise reckless spreading of the disease. A three-judge bench comprising justices Mumbi Ngugi, Isaac Lenaola and…

Kenya Law and policy reform Discrimination Human rights Appeal court decisions

US: Texas Senator Joan Huffman introduces four new HIV-related laws, including vague and overly broad HIV-specific criminal statute, SB 779

21 March 2015

Three bills in the Texas statehouse would use HIV status as a weapon, one would lessen stigma. Januari Leo, who works with Legacy Community Health Service, is the state’s go-to girl when it comes to following bills in the Texas…

Texas USA Punitive laws and policies

Honduras reforms 20 year-old omnibus HIV law eliminating mandatory testing and providing free healthcare

19 March 2015

Finally, after months of hard work and activism, Honduras managed to approve the reform of 47 articles of the HIV Law, which helps people with HIV in the country. This reform seeks to guarantee the rights of people with HIV…

Honduras Law and policy reform Supportive laws and policies

Gambia's National Assembly passes new HIV omnibus law that appears to be protective and supportive, but anti-gay law with life sentence for 'aggravated homosexuality' if living with HIV remains on the books

19 March 2015

The Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Omar Sey, on Wednesday, 19th March, presented a bill entitled HIV AND AIDS PREVENTION AND CONTROL BILL, 2015 to the National Assembly during a session held in Banjul.In reading it for the second…

Gambia Punitive laws and policies Supportive laws and policies

Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) Position on the Criminalization of HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Other Communicable Diseases (2015)

12 March 2015

This statement was issued by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) on the urgent need to repeal or modernize HIV-specific criminalization statutes and laws criminalizing transmission or exposure to sexually transmitted infections and…

USA Public health approaches Resources Public health

US: Positive Justice Project releases a set of principles to guide modernisation of state criminal laws

11 March 2015

Today, in the wake of recent court decisions rejecting several applications of the criminal law to people with HIV, the Positive Justice Project (PJP) , a national coalition challenging HIV criminal law policies in the United States, released a set…

USA Articles Law and policy reform Resources

Criminalizing HIV: Recent Experience in the United States and Africa to Update Laws and Policies to Promote the Public Health

5 March 2015

Conference Dates and Location: February 23-26, 2015 | Seattle, Washington Abstract Number: 129 Criminalizing HIV: Recent Experience in the United States and Africa to Update Laws and Policies to Promote the Public Health Primary Author: Jeffrey Crowley1 1 O’Neill Institute…

USA Risk Resources Media/Public Opinion Public health

US: Rhode Island politician wants the state to consider new unscientific, stigmatising HIV non-disclosure law

25 February 2015

State Lawmaker Targets People With HIV With Bill To Criminalize Exposure” by Zack Ford Rhode Island state Rep. Robert Nardolillo (R) has introduced a new bill ( H 5245) that would criminalize exposing individuals to HIV without disclosing a positive…

Rhode Island USA Articles Punitive laws and policies

Criminal Law Not Effective Against HIV

20 February 2015

THE CONFESSIONS of the 40-year-old man who went on a “deliberate spree to infect as many other people as possible” in 2002 (The Namibian, 14 January 2015) sparked a series of media reports in the past few weeks, which featured…

Namibia Articles Media/Public Opinion

Nigeria passes law to stop discrimination related to HIV | UNAIDS

11 February 2015

The President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, has signed a new antidiscrimination bill into law that protects the rights and dignity of people living with HIV. The HIV/AIDS Anti-Discrimination Act 2014 makes it illegal to discriminate against people based on their…

Nigeria Articles Supportive laws and policies

US: In depth interview with Ken Pinkela whose change.org campaign to review his unjust court-martial has more than 73,000 signatures

27 January 2015

Bob Leahy: Thank you for talking to PositiveLite.com about your case. Now before we get in to that, I want you to tell me first your background. Ken Pinkela: Sure! Ken Pinkela is still a card-carrying Lieutenant Colonel in the…

USA Articles Campaigns Personal testimonies

US: Texas man who pled guilty to murdering woman after learning she had HIV sentenced to 50 years

14 January 2015

A Lufkin man has accepted a 50-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to killing a woman after learning she had HIV after he had sex with her. Justin Welch, 23, entered the plea in District Judge Bob Inselmann’s courtroom. “Guilty,”…

Texas USA Gender-based violence

Australia: Western Australia implements unscientific new law mandating HIV and hepatitis testing for spitting at, or biting, cops

31 December 2014

Spitters and biters beware. From January 1 anyone caught biting or spitting at a police officer in Western Australia will be ordered to undergo blood tests for infectious diseases. The new law, coming in at midnight on the busiest night…

Western Australia Australia Risk Punitive laws and policies Police

China: Warranted fears of stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings resulting in people with HIV not disclosing their status

29 December 2014

“I was so desperate, and I could not imagine the future if I was really infected,” Fu Yi (pseudonym), a maternity doctor at Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital in Chengdu, recalled her feelings when she was exposed to HIV-infected blood during…

China Discrimination Personal testimonies

Canada: Judge rules that police violated constitutional rights by disclosing man's HIV status in press release

27 December 2014

An Oshawa judge’s decision to sentence a man to house arrest for Internet child luring rather than jail because police publicly revealed his HIV status is the latest example of judges finding creative ways to manoeuvre around mandatory minimum sentences….

Canada Human rights Judges Police

South Africa: Forced or involuntary disclosure in healthcare settings disproportionately affecting women resulting in discrimination and gender-based violence, despite constitutional protections

19 December 2014

Editor’s note: This story is part of a Special Report produced by The GroundTruth Project called “Laws of Men: Legal systems that fail women.” It is produced with support from the Ford Foundation. Reported by Tracy Jarrett and Emily Judem….

South Africa Articles Discrimination Gender-based violence Human rights Supportive laws and policies Personal testimonies

Uganda: HIV Prevention and Management Act should be seen in context with Anti-Pornography Act, Anti-Homosexuality Act and Narcotics Law says OSF

15 December 2014

On November 20, Uganda’s parliament passed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Bill, also known as the Narcotics Law. A draconian piece of legislation, the law purports to deter drug abuse by imposing inhumanely long prison sentences-a conviction for…

Uganda Articles Punitive laws and policies Public health