News curated from other sources

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

Showing 25 of 1084 articles

US: [Update] Texas HIV criminalisation bill defeated (link does not reflect this updated news)

27 May 2015

The Texas State House is considering SB 779, a bill that would allow any HIV test results to be used in any criminal proceedings against a person with HIV in Texas. This bill is unnecessary – Texas law already allows law…

Texas United States Articles Campaigns Punitive laws and policies

Malawi: High Court rules that mandatory HIV testing is unconstitutional

22 May 2015

By Anneke Meerkotter, Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) and Ian Southey-Swartz, Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) In 2009, a group of women, presumed to be sex workers, was as part of a police sweeping exercise in Mwanza, Malawi….

Malawi Discrimination Gender-based violence Human rights Appeal court decisions Scientific tests

South Korea: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says mandating HIV testing only for foreigners is "discriminatory and an affront to..dignity"

21 May 2015

A New Zealand woman’s rights were violated when her employers in the Republic of Korea demanded that, as a foreign English teacher, she undergo HIV/AIDS and drug tests as a condition of having her contract renewed, United Nations experts have…

South Korea Forced HIV testing Deportation Travel restrictions Human rights violation

Canada: Mainstream magazine covers the problematic link between 'treatment as prevention' and overly broad HIV criminalisation

21 May 2015

Transmission Control HIV non-disclosure laws do more harm than good By Miranda Elliott From the June 2015 magazine Testing HIV positive is no longer a death sentence—a fact that stands as one of the great medical achievements of the twentieth…

Canada Risk Harm Human rights Media/Public Opinion Public health

US: Alabama lawmaker's proposal to increase 'knowing' HIV/STI transmission to a felony likely to resurface in 2016

14 May 2015

People with sexually transmitted diseases who knowingly spread infection to their partners could face prison time, if a bill now in the Legislature becomes law. Proposed by Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, the bill would make knowingly transmitting an STD a…

Alabama United States Punitive laws and policies Media/Public Opinion

US: HIV Criminalization Task Force being set up to challenge Florida's HIV-specific criminal law

27 April 2015

On April 3, 2015, SFGN interviewed Tami Haught, Sero Project Criminalization Conference Coordinator to discuss the HIV Criminalization Task Force in Florida. Could you define “HIV criminalization” for the readers of SFGN? “HIV criminalization” is the wrongful use of HIV…

Florida United States Articles Law and policy reform Campaigns

Kenya: Detailed analysis of recent High Court ruling on Kenya’s HIV-specific law by Annabel Raw, head of Health Rights Programme at the Southern Africa Litigation Centre

23 April 2015

On 18 March 2015, in Aids Law Project v Attorney General and Others [2015] the High Court of Kenya declared section 24 of the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act (“Act”) unconstitutional. I applaud the impetus of the decision…

Kenya Articles Law and policy reform Gender-based violence Human rights Appeal court decisions Public health

Greece: Mandatory HIV testing law, Health Decree 39A, repealed again by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras

21 April 2015

“I haven’t felt greater shame than when they caught us.” That’s what Georgia told me as she recalled the moment in April 2012 that police detained her and dozens of other women alleged to be sex workers and forced them…

Greece Articles Law and policy reform

Victorian Government to repeal 19A and address HIV stigma

14 April 2015

The Victorian Government has announced it will repeal section 19A of the state’s Crimes Act, which specifically criminalises intentional transmission of HIV and is widely considered to stigmatise people living with HIV. The law is the only one of its…

Victoria Australia Campaigns Punitive laws and policies

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 United States 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…

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 United States 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 United States 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 United States 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…

United States 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…

United States 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…

United States 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 United States Articles Punitive laws and policies