Activists fight parts of Uganda's HIV/AIDS bill, including mandatory testing & disclosure plus a 'wilful transmission' statute, tabled for Jan 2013

According to Dr. Jeremiah Twa- Twa, chairperson HIV/AIDS sectoral committee, the HIV/AIDS prevention and control bill,  aimed at protecting people and creating a conducive legal environment for the implementation of HIV/AIDS programmes in Uganda, will be finalised before the end of the session, most likely in January next year.

However, the bill has thrown a cat among dogs, especially the civil society and AIDS activists who have rejected some of the proposed sections, saying they undermine many critical issues. Led by Uganda Network on Law, Ethics and HIV/AIDS (UGANET) and the National Forum of People Living with HIV/AIDS Network in Uganda (NAFOPHANU), the activists demand that some clauses be revised. They, however, say it is a good law with good intentions, but also warn that it may have devastating effects.

The joint civil society coalition, made up of more than 40 organisations, including human rights groups, has urged Parliament to review the clauses on mandatory testing of HIV, mandatory disclosure of a person’s HIV status and the criminalisation of intentional spread of the disease. The bill, calls for mandatory HIV testing of pregnant women and their partners during antenatal visits. Most men do not accompany their wives for antenatal visits and those who do so rarely accept to be tested for HIV. If the bill passes into law, all men who are responsible for a pregnancy may be compelled to test for HIV.

'The Atlantic' highlights the work of the SERO Project

Forty-five U.S. states have made failure to do so a criminal offense. Two-thirds of HIV-positive adults are not aware of that. “HIV criminalization is the biggest driver of stigma in our society,” said Sean Strub, the HIV-positive founder of the SERO Project, a non-profit human rights organization combatting HIV-related stigma by conducting original research, briefings, forums and meetings around the country aimed at ending inappropriate criminal prosecutions of people with HIV.

HIV/AIDS Rally: Iowans Speak Out Against 709-C

Since the 1990’s, Iowa Code 709-C has made failing to disclose your HIV status a class “B” felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison. It’s a law that HIV and AIDS advocates hope legislators change in 2013. Laura Friest has lived with HIV for more than 13 years.

Nashua woman wants Iowa's HIV law repealed, says it's discriminatory

A Nashua woman wants Iowa’s HIV law repealed because she says it’s discriminatory. Tami Haught is part of the group “CHAIN” (Community HIV/Hepatitis Advocates of Iowa Network). The group’s goal is to repeal 709c, a state law relating to the criminal transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

AIDS ACTION NOW! asks gay men and other MSM not to press charges for alleged HIV non-disclosure

Last night AIDS ACTION NOW! launched phase 2 of our Think Twice Campaign against the criminalization of people living with HIV. We were at the Art Gallery of Ontario for the launch of poster/VIRUS 2012, to celebrate and commemorate a Day Without Art. Our target audience for phase 2: Men who fuck men.

Gay press coverage of Phase Two of 'Think Twice' campaign from AIDS ACTION NOW!

Call it an inspiring history lesson. The night started with a screening of a historical documentary but ended with a panel discussion calling for action on the contentious issue of HIV criminalization.

Report from Positive Women's Network forum on HIV criminalisation in Philadelphia

Laws in many states criminalize those with HIV/AIDS who fail to disclose their status to their partners. This was the message of a prograFm by the U.S. Positive Women’s Network held recently at the William Way Community Center in Center City.

China: Lawyer proposes making 'intentional HIV transmission' a crime

In the Chinese legal system, it is a crime to intentionally spread sexual transmitted diseases through prostitution, but this does not apply in a marriage or an ordinary relationship. Yang Shaogang, a Shanghai lawyer and advisor to the local government, is among those legal experts who propose legislation to make the intentional transmission of HIV/AIDS a crime, as it already is in many countries.  Yang has taken on two cases where wives sued their ex-husbands, who were HIV positive, for infecting them. The court ruled in favor of the wives in both cases. Yang believes concealing one’s illness and infecting others should be a criminal offense. Some provinces such as Yunnan and Gansu have also passed measures to mandate that carriers inform their partners within a month of getting the test results or else the health authorities would. Such policies have been heavily criticized for violating patients’ right to privacy.

EATG and IPPF Europe issue joint statement asking European institutions to tackle HIV criminalisation

People living with HIV throughout Europe face stigma and discrimination enshrined in laws and judicial decisions. They are made criminals for acts that would not be ‘crimes’ if they did not have, or did not know they had, the virus. Such prosecutions not only do not help prevent new HIV infections, they can actually do more harm than good by transforming newly diagnosed individuals into potential criminals adding further to HIV-related stigma and discrimination.