News by the HIV Justice Network

From March South Africa’s new Sexual Offenses Amendment Act will allow victims of rape to apply for a court order to force their alleged attacker to take an HIV (antibody?) test. “The bill was approved by parliament before it went…

A 16 year-old alleges that she was raped and infected with HIV by her 50 year-old brother-in-law. The man has since been arrested and charged with rape, but is out on bail. “Victim Friendly Court national co-ordinator Mr Idine Magonga…

Those That Sow HIV Deserve Prison Voice journalist Naledi Mokgwathi, recently went out onto the streets of Gaborone to find out what B0tswanans think about the issue. “People should be forced to test at intervals so that when someone accuses…

A short and somewhat unclear story from The Telegraph of Calcutta, India suggests that existing Indian law can be used to investigate and prosecute HIV exposure following non-disclosure (and possibly ‘reckless’ HIV transmission) under Sections 308 and 420 of the…

Bureaucracy must be battle-ready to combat HIV/AIDS December 10, 2007 FEW things are undeniably a matter of life and death, but the battle against the spread of HIV/AIDS is one. Unfortunately in Victoria, the fight against this insidious condition is…

Penalty for reckless HIV sex ‘inadequate’ The Australian | Natasha Robinson | December 04, 2007 A MAGISTRATE has criticised the inadequate punishment of HIV-positive offenders whose reckless sexual behaviour contributes to the spread of the disease. Magistrate Greg Connellan said…

After posting the original story from the Halifax Courier yesterday, I wrote an article for aidsmap that incorporates comments from two legal experts. I have decided to make this the main article; the original story appears further below. English Appeal…

UNDP and UNAIDS Secretariat Consultation on criminalization of HIV transmission, Geneva 31 October – 2 November 2007Opening remarks on 2 November and recap of previous day (1 November 2007) by Edwin Cameron, Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa The…

THE TRANSMISSION OF HIV AND THE CRIMINAL LAWEditorial by Matthew Groves in Criminal Law Journal (Australia)(2007) 31 Crim LJ 137There has recently been considerable publicity about the criminal law and the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In South Australia,…

Is HIV transmission a crime? UNAIDS – November 6, 2007 Several countries have recently introduced laws to criminalise HIV transmission, or exposing another person to the virus. A number of jurisdictions have used general laws against serious bodily harm in…

Court allows ‘HIV’ divorce In the first case of its kind, a Delhi court granted divorce to a man because he could not have sexual intercourse with his HIV-positive wife. Additional district judge Rajnish Bhatnagar allowed the divorce petition filed…

Criminalising HIV transmission sparks debate LOBATSE – The issue of criminalising intentional transmission of HIV received mixed reaction from residents of Lobatse and surrounding areas. While some accepted the idea of making intentional spread the disease a criminal offence, others…

Brit hit with HIV sex rap Published: 06 Oct 2007 A BRITISH sex beast was last night charged in Sweden with infecting two women with HIV and putting 14 more at risk. Christer Merrill Aggett, 32, met the women on…

http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,143384,00.html I may have HIV। Will you still sleep with me? Under proposed changes to law, those at risk must disclose sex history to partner TELL the truth, says a new legal proposal that seeks to put the onus on…

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19526213.900-hiv-sequences-cannot-prove-guilt-in-court.html HIV sequences cannot prove guilt 19 September 2007 People infected with HIV might well want to know who gave it to them – but the genetic sequence of their virus won’t tell them. The virus is now routinely sequenced…

http://www.thetelegraphaandargus.co.uk/news/bradford/bradfordnews/display.var.1675040.0.rape_case_asylum_seeker_has_to_stay.php Rape case asylum seeker has to stay 3:54pm Saturday 8th September 2007 An HIV-positive asylum seeker, who was cleared of rape after having unprotected sex with a woman at her flat, cannot be returned to his home country because…

Africa’s HIV transmission laws based on questionable scienceby Cassandra Willyard, New York Nature Medicine 13, 890 (2007)Published online: 31 August 2007 Faced with an AIDS epidemic that kills millions every year, countries in sub-Saharan Africa are contemplating a new prevention…

‘Risky’ HIV carriers to be reported by Julia Medew and Carol Nader http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/07/24/1185043115537.html July 25, 2007 CIVIL libertarians have attacked a decision by Australia’s health ministers to introduce mandatory reporting by doctors of “risky” HIV patients to state health authorities….

An editorial in The Age argues that Australia’s HIV Epidemiology Project should be used to track down individuals who are ‘reckless’ so that they can be prosecuted. This is not only unethical, it is also not scientifically possible given the…

‘The Age’ reports on the HIV Epidemiology Project which may be used to trace people who criminally transmit HIV. Full report below: Plan to genetically trace reckless HIV infections Julia MedewApril 28, 2007 People who have recklessly or deliberately infected…

China to prosecute deliberate AIDS infections BEIJING, Dec 6 (Reuters) – China will prosecute people who deliberately infect others with HIV, state media said on Wednesday. “Those who know they are infected with AIDS or are sick with AIDS and…

HIV crimes – lawyers’ views BBC News – September 19, 2006Michelle Roberts, Health reporter Two lawyers who have defended men accused of recklessly transmitting HIV share their views and experience regarding HIV prosecutions. Kharrim Arif, a solicitor in London, was…

How HIV can turn you into a criminal HEALTH & LAW / Confess, confess & consent Shaun Proulx / Xtra / Thursday, June 09, 2005 Like it or not, there’s such a thing as HIV assault. That means that if…