HIV criminalisation at AIDS 2012 (updated July 23)

The main focus of the International AIDS Conference, taking place right now in Washington DC until July 29th might not be the criminalisation of HIV non-disclosure, potential exposure and transmission, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of sessions, meetings and activities related to HIV criminalisation taking place.

In fact, the impact of HIV criminalisation is creeping into much broader discussions and sessions, notably how the excitment of all these new prevention technologies (such as the additive preventative effect of treatment for people living with HIV, or ‘treatment as prevention’ and the use of anti-HIV drugs as an prevention tool for people at risk of HIV, or ‘PreP’) must be tempered by the realities that people will not access prevention or treatment if they fear being treated as second-class citizens by the law.

Although there is a ‘Criminalisation of HIV Transmission, Exposure…’ roadmap for the main conference available at AIDS 2012’s programme at a glance (Microsoft Silverlight plug-in required) it doesn’t cover pre-conference meetings or all events in the Global Village.  So here is your handy pictoral guide to what I currently know is going on relating to HIV criminalisation at AIDS 2012.  I hope to see many of you there!

(Apologies for the poor formatting – but info is more important than pretty design)

 Click on the image to see a larger version.

SUSA57     The Politics of Condoms: Cock-ups, Controversies and Cucumbers
      Non-Commercial Satellite
Venue:     Mini Room 3
Time:     22.07.2012, 15:45 – 17:45

15:50 Condoms as evidence – of misdemeanours, crimes and punitive laws; Susan Timberlake (Chief, Human Rights and Law Division, UNAIDS) and Monique Moree (HIV Activist)

MOGS09 HIV and the Law: Insights on How to Advocate for Enabling Legal Environments for African and Black Populations Across the Diaspora
Panel Discussion
Venue: GV Session Room 2
Time: 23.07.2012, 18:30 – 19:30
TUSY03 The Global Commission on HIV and the Law: A Movement for HIV Law Reform   Symposia Session Venue: Session Room 2 Time: 24.07.2012, 14:30 – 16:00
Criminalise Hate, Not HIV panel, Human Rights Networking Zone: Global Village, Tuesday July 24, 18.30-20.00

WEAD02     Get a Test; Risk Arrest
      Oral Abstract Session : Track D
Venue:     Session Room 9
Time:     25.07.2012, 11:00 – 12:30
Co-Chairs:     Susan Timberlake, Chief, Human Rights and Law Division, UNAIDS, Switzerland
Laurel Sprague, United States
GLOBAL VILLAGE: HUMAN RIGHTS NETWORKING ZONE:

WEDNESDAY 25 JULY: 1pm-2pm
HIV criminalisation: personal perspectives (1pm-2pm)
Chair/Facilitator: Edwin J Bernard 5 mins
Speaker: Louis Gay, Norway 10 mins
Speaker: Robert Suttle, USA 10 mins
Speaker: Marama Pala, New Zealand 10 mins
Discussion: 25 min

THAD02     Legal Action, Legal Support
      Oral Abstract Session : Track D
Venue:     Session Room 7
Time:     26.07.2012, 11:00 – 12:30
Co-Chairs:     Ralf Jurgens, Canada
Michaela Clayton, Namibia
THGS04     Is HIV a Crime? Race, Sexuality, Poverty and the Impact of Criminalization
      Panel Discussion
Venue:     GV Session Room 2
Time:     26.07.2012, 13:00 – 14:30
THWS16     Building Evidence: How to Monitor Punitive and Protective Laws and Their Enforcement to Promote Access to Justice and Effect Anti-Criminalization Advocacy
      Community Skills Development
Venue:     Mini Room 10
Time:     26.07.2012, 14:30 – 16:00
Language:           English

Level:                  Intermediate

Target audience: Advocate, Legal professional, Community-based advocate

Seating limits:    50
Co-Facilitators:     Edwin Jeremy Bernard, HIV Justice Network
Lisa Power, THT, United Kingdom
Sean Strub, SERO, United States
Moono Nyambe, GNP+, Netherlands

THCA11     Positive Women: Exposing Injustice
      Screening
Venue:     Global Village Screening Room
Time:     26.07.2012, 18:00 – 19:00
Co-Facilitators:     Richard Elliott, Canada
Alison Symington, Canada

Doing HIV Justice: Clarifying criminal law and policy through prosecutorial guidance.  A documentary for the HIV Justice Network by Edwin J Bernard and Nicholas Feustel.  Global Village Screeing Room. Thursday 26 July 19.00-19.45.
HIV criminalization laws and the trend towards increased criminlization of people living with HIV, Maurice Tomlinson AIDS Free World, Jamaica in FRSY02 “Getting to Zero Excuses’. Sessions Room 2, Friday 27th July, 11am