News curated from other sources

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

Showing 25 of 954 articles

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

South Africa: Section 27 lawyers argue that using attempted murder charges for potential HIV exposure during rape does a disservice to rape survivors and to people with HIV

14 October 2014

Charging an HIV positive rapist with attempted murder for exposing his victim to the condition is counter-productive. The investigation and prosecution of the rape is more important. A recent article on TimesLIVE highlighted the prosecution of a teacher charged with the rape of two…

South Africa Articles

Malawi: Delay in presenting draft HIV/AIDS bill to Parliament over "contentious" statutes that would criminalise 'wilful' HIV transmission and mandate HIV testing for pregnant women

5 September 2014

Lilongwe – In a bid to address some contentious issues in the draft HIV and AIDS Prevention and Management Bill, Capital Hill has said it will not submit the bill to Parliament during the September meeting as was expected. Instead,…

Malawi Punitive laws and policies

Liberia: Law proposed to criminalise those who "knowingly or willfully infect" with any communicable disease, including HIV, Ebola, hepatitis B or gonorrhoea

1 September 2014

The House of Representatives is reviewing a law to criminalize the concealing of information of persons with communicable or contiguous diseases in Liberia. Presenting the Draft Bill to the Plenary during the 54th Day sitting of the House, Lofa County…

Liberia Punitive laws and policies

Ugandan President Signs Law Criminalizing HIV Transmission

20 August 2014

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed a bill into law to criminalize HIV transmission and impose other measures public health activists say will make it even harder to get Uganda’s severe epidemic under control.

Uganda Punitive laws and policies

Venezuela: National Assembly unanimously passes new rights-based law that protects people living with HIV from discrimination in all areas of life

14 August 2014

On August 14th, the National Assembly (NA) of Venezuela passed a set of laws that, among other functions, ensure the rights of people carrying the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and their families. The Law on Protection of People with HIV…

Venezuela Human rights Supportive laws and policies

Criminal prosecution of HIV transmission – HIV Media Guide

9 July 2014

Regardless of the merits of individual cases, criminal prosecution of people for exposure or transmission of HIV is considered by some commentators to be problematic because prosecutions:

Australia Resources Media/Public Opinion

VAC and Living Positive Victoria call for reform of state's HIV-specific criminal laws

9 July 2014

VICTORIA’S two main HIV and AIDS organisations have released a joint statement urging their state government to reform its HIV-specific criminal law. In a joint policy discussion paper focusing on the repeal of section 19A of the Victorian Crimes Act,…

Victoria Australia Campaigns Punitive laws and policies

Flat funding, harsh laws could hurt Uganda's battle against HIV

25 June 2014

KAMPALA, 25 June 2014 (IRIN) – Inadequate funding coupled with harsh laws targeting same sex unions could erode the gains so far made in the fight against HIV in Uganda, activists warn.

Uganda Articles Punitive laws and policies Human rights Public health

Quebec develops expert consensus on viral load and HIV transmission risk | CATIE – Canada's source for HIV and hepatitis C information

18 June 2014

Quebec develops expert consensus on viral load and HIV transmission risk In the past few years, a large body of evidence has emerged supporting the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) as an HIV prevention tool.

Quebec Canada Risk Expert witnesses Resources

The AMA Adopts a Resolution Opposing HIV Criminalization

10 June 2014

The Center for HIV Law and Policy is a national legal and policy resource and strategy center working to reduce the impact of HIV on vulnerable and marginalized communities and to secure the human rights of people affected by HIV.

USA Resources Public health

HIV Criminalization: A Physician's Perspective

9 June 2014

This essay is an excerpt from the LGBT/HIV criminal justice report, A Roadmap for Change: Federal Policy Recommendations for Addressing the Criminalization of LGBT People and People with HIV. His name was Paul. I slid into the chair next to…

USA Articles Expert witnesses Resources Personal testimonies Public health

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signs 'Contagious or Infectious Disease Transmission Act', replacing draconian, unscientific HIV-specific law

31 May 2014

Des Moines, Ia. — Today, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed into law Senate File 2297, bi-partisan legislation that will modernize Iowa’s HIV criminal transmission statute to make the statute consistent with contemporary science, improve public health and lessen stigmatization of…

Iowa USA Articles Law and policy reform

US: On eve of national HIV criminalisation conference Iowa's remarkable advocacy success is the model for other states to follow

30 May 2014

If Gov. Terry Branstad signs Senate File 2297 on Friday as planned, Iowa will become the first state in the country to repeal and replace its criminal transmission of HIV law, activists say. The law being reformed had been on…

Iowa USA Law and policy reform Campaigns Events Human rights

Panel asks how HIV criminalization affects positive women

26 April 2014

Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network discussion explored nondisclosure and sexual assault laws

Canada Events Social science Personal testimonies

HIV Criminalization Hurts Women on Both Sides of the Courtroom

10 March 2014

Laws requiring individuals with HIV to disclose their status before sex are assumed to be in place to protect people. Often these laws are framed as protection for women. In a 2012 Supreme Court of Canada decision that made the…

Canada: Supreme Court rules that unwanted pregnancy is a similar 'harm' to HIV

10 March 2014

Men who sabotage condoms may turn an otherwise consensual act with a woman into sexual assault, and women who lie about using birth control have been left with some uncertainty about whether they, too, could face charges, under a Supreme…

Canada Harm Appeal court decisions

PARTNER study findings of zero transmissions amongst mixed HIV status gay and heterosexual couples where the positive partner has a low viral load has important legal implications

5 March 2014

As reported today at the 21st Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, the multinational PARTNER study found zero HIV transmissions from condomless sex within mixed-HIV-status couples when the HIV-positive partner had his or her viral load suppressed below 200 copies/mL….

Risk

US: Second attempt to modernise Iowa's HIV-specific criminal law during current legislative session

19 February 2014

A new bill, introduced Monday by Senator Rob Hogg, along with bi-partisan support, seeks to reform Iowa’s 709c HIV law. Iowa’s 709c law states a person has committed criminal transmission of HIV if that person knowingly engages in intimate contact…

Iowa USA Law and policy reform Events

Moving from potential complainant to anti-criminalisation advocate

12 February 2014

Dee Borrego is a 30-year-old woman, who since being diagnosed with HIV at the age of 20 has been on the forefront national HIV/AIDS activism. For Visual AIDS, Borrego has written an essay in which she talks about the anger…

USA Articles Campaigns

India: Supportive, protective HIV law introduced in the Rajya Sabha (upper house)

12 February 2014

Bill to end HIV/AIDS discrimination introduced – A bill aiming to protect people with HIV/AIDS against discrimination was introduced in the Rajya Sabha Tuesday. The HIV/AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill 2014 was introduced in the upper house amid din. The…

India Supportive laws and policies

Three new publications from Global Commission on HIV and the Law help advocacy to move forward

31 January 2014

In support of efforts by UNDP, UNAIDS and other UN agencies, governments and civil society to take forward the Commission’s recommendations, and learning lessons countries who have undertaken follow up activities including national dialogues, legal review and legal environment assessments,…

Resources

Global Commission on HIV and the Law Jan 2014 newsletter highlights important legal and policy developments as well as new resources

23 January 2014

We are pleased to share this first Newsletter Issue of 2014 containing several important developments. Perhaps most significantly, there have been a number of controversial recent anti-LGBT rulings and legislation around the world. In the same week in December, both…

India Nigeria Uganda Uzbekistan Punitive laws and policies Appeal court decisions Resources Supportive laws and policies