In Georgia, a woman was sentenced to eight years in jail for failing to disclose her HIV status to a male partner, despite witnesses’ statements that he already knew she was HIV positive. There’s a man in Ohio who is serving 40 years for failing to tell his ex-girlfriend that he was HIV positive, even though the case was motivated by an ex-lover’s jealous rage.
Advocates Urge Repeal of U.S. Laws Criminalizing HIV
Advocates Urge Repeal of U.S. Laws Criminalizing HIV The producer of a new documentary about criminalizing those with HIV summed up such laws’ effects at a public showing of the film. “These horrendous punishments are vastly disproportionate to the crime,” said the film’s producer, Sero Project founder Sean Strub.
US: Todd Heywood's analytical history of how the US developed HIV-specific criminal statutes and why there's now a movement to modernise or repeal these laws
In the late fall of 1988, state lawmakers and representatives from major insurance and pharmaceutical companies were hard at work addressing the looming AIDS crisis for the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative-leaning think tank that produces state-based business-friendly model legislation.
Four Stories: The Effects of HIV Criminalization on Sex and Intimacy
“As a trans woman living with HIV, I’m always worried that if I don’t disclose to my partner before we even approach the bedroom that they’ll turn around and charge me with a crime. When you have to tell a potential partner that you’re trans and poz, there’s always a fear that they will use that information to make your life hell.
4 States With Scientifically Unsound Laws Criminalizing HIV
1. Missouri: It is unlawful for any individual knowingly infected with HIV to bite another person. The law also specifically prohibits the use of a condom as a defense in a nondisclosure case. 2. Michigan: It is a felony, with a four-year jail sentence, for those who know they are HIV-positive to engage in “sexual penetration, however slight” without first disclosing that status to a partner.
Uganda: As second reading of controversial national HIV law awaits, activists hope regional HIV law – with no HIV criminal statute – will take precedence
Activists in Uganda are seeing an opportunity to shoot down the country’s controversial HIV Bill that criminalises transmission of the Aids virus and enforces mandatory testing, after President Yoweri Museveni signed a more liberal one proposed by the East African Community. They want Uganda’s parliament to incorporate into law the EAC HIV and Aids Prevention Bill (EAC HIV Bill) that President Museveni signed last week. More than 30 NGOs in Uganda find the national law that is awaiting a second reading in parliament offensive, saying that it could exacerbate the spread of HIV. Laws passed by the East African Legislative Assembly take precedence over national laws. President Museveni can also prevail upon the Ugandan parliament to drop the bill.
US: Activists highlight problematic HIV criminalisation statutes in Georgia, Louisiana and beyond
Robert Suttle met the man through mutual friends. There was no romantic interest at first, but on a New Year’s Eve after a night of partying in Louisiana, the two decided to spend the night together. One thing led to another. Suttle told the man he was HIV positive.
UK: NAT letter to Guardian highlighting that police fears over occupational HIV exposure are unwarranted
A police officer in your article ( All in a night’s work, G2, 27 March) states getting HIV or hepatitis from uncapped needles as his biggest fear. Of all the risks police officers face, some highlighted elsewhere in the article, the risk of HIV infection is by far the lowest.
US: Well-meaning bill to repeal Maryland's HIV-specific criminal law may do more harm than good, advocates warn
A Maryland lawmaker and a handful of local advocates have started the course to repeal the state’s HIV-specific criminal law, and if other states’ efforts are any indication, Maryland’s path will likely be a long and winding one. Maryland Del. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam (D-Baltimore County) decided last week to withdraw a short-lived bill that would have repealed a state law that makes it a misdemeanor crime – punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and/or three years in prison – for a person who has HIV to “knowingly transfer or attempt to transfer” the virus to another person. Nathan-Pulliam said she withdrew the bill after hearing from HIV advocates who feared a straight repeal of the state law might do more harm than good.
As Kenya and Uganda assent to East African Community's Regional AIDS Law, the lack of an HIV criminalisation statute apparently holds back Tanzania and Burundi
Having a common regional approach to the HIV and Aids pandemic is an important step for the East African Community, as the five member states get ready for closer integration. The increased trade and labour migration that comes with closer economic ties will invariably create situations where large numbers of foreign nationals travel or relocate freely in their territories.