US: PA House Committee considers bill to end HIV criminalization

Pennsylvania House committee hears testimony on bill to decriminalize HIV

On June 2, the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to debate HB632, “Decriminalizing HIV in Pennsylvania.” The bill, primarily sponsored by Philadelphia Rep. Ben Waxman (D-Dist 182), if enacted, would remove the last bit of criminal stigma attached to HIV in the PA Criminal Code.

Referring to the part of the Criminal Code his bill will change, Waxman said, “This is a statute of a bygone era.” The current Code provides that a person engaged in prostitution or other sex crime who exposes another person to HIV can face a “sentence enhancement” from a misdemeanor to a class 3 felony.

According to supporters, the American Medical Association, the American Bar Association, and other professional organizations have put forth guidance around HIV transmission. HB632 would modernize the criminal code to follow the guidance and science behind HIV transmission and remove stigmatizing language.

In his initial co-sponsorship memo, Waxman explained the rationale of decriminalization. In it, he said, in part, “While prostitution is typically a misdemeanor offense, people living with HIV in Pennsylvania who are charged with prostitution can be charged with a felony even if transmission would not be possible, because no physical contact occurred or the nature of contact is not a method of transmission. HIV criminalization laws do not reflect the science around HIV prevention, transmission and treatment. Instead, they stigmatize people living with HIV, and are contrary to federal and state anti-disability discrimination laws. Criminalizing conduct that cannot result in HIV transmission is stigmatizing as everyone living with HIV becomes a potential criminal by virtue of their diagnosis. Stigma undermines public health goals. According to the White House’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States 2022-2025, ‘HIV-related stigma and discrimination continue to undermine the effective use of tools to reduce HIV transmissions.’”

In addition to picking up over half a dozen co-sponsors (all Democrat), the bill has been supported by the PA District Attorneys Association. The AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania also provided significant lobbying support, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania HIV Justice Alliance.

The committee heard testimony from a number of supporters in addition to Rep. Waxman, including Dr. Jay Kostman, Chief Medical Officer of Philadelphia FIGHT; Sean Strub, founder of POZ magazine; Ronda Goldfein, Executive Director of the AIDS Law Project; and Andrea Johnson, activist and HIV advocate.

In their testimony, Strub and Johnson spoke of their personal experiences with the stigma attached to HIV criminalization, while Dr. Kostman and Goldfein spoke from a medical and legal perspective.

Dr. Kostman emphasized public health goals.

“If people know they could face legal consequences for testing positive for HIV, they may avoid getting tested,” Dr. Kostman said. “In addition, fear of prosecution may prevent individuals from seeking care or disclosing their status to partners, contrary to what the laws are intended to encourage. These fears actually produce the opposite public health effect from what would be expected, and treating and identifying people with HIV becomes more difficult.

“We now know that when people are taking effective treatment against HIV (called antiretroviral treatment) the amount of HIV in their blood is at an undetectable level. There is broad scientific data that when people reach this undetectable level, they cannot transmit the virus to other people. The phrase U=U (undetectable = untransmittable) has been widely used based on extensive scientific data. So, when people are identified as HIV positive and stay in care and stay healthy, they will NOT transmit the virus to others.

“We should not subject people to laws that were enacted out of fear and reinforce stigma, and are not based on current scientific understanding.”

Ronda Goldfein addressed the impact of the stigma attached to HIV criminalization. “Over the years, the Pennsylvania Legislature has removed all but one reference to HIV in the criminal code. HB632 would remove the final reference, which is the felony enhancement for prostitution with HIV.

“This enhancement has never served an effective law enforcement purpose. In the 30 years since its enactment, it’s rarely been charged, and no credible research links harsher penalties with a reduction in HIV transmission.

“In 37 years, the AIDS Law Project has provided free legal services on 50,000 legal matters to 25,000 people living with HIV. We regularly hear from our clients how stigma impedes their life and dissuades them from seeking health care and sharing their diagnosis with others.

“To remove stigma, we need to root it out wherever it can be found, including in outdated legislation that doesn’t protect anyone.”

After listening to testimony and questioning the panelists, the committee adjourned without voting on the measure. That will happen at a future committee meeting, though supporters think it likely the bill will be approved. It then goes to the full State House for a vote; supporters are optimistic about passage. Then, it goes to the State Senate.

Humanising the Law: Harnessing Science and
Community Voices to End HIV Criminalisation

Speech delivered on the final morning plenary session of the 16th AIDSImpact Conference, Casablanca, 28th May 2025

Good morning.

I am deeply honoured to stand here with you today in Casablanca – a city whose name evokes stories of resistance and solidarity – to share our own story of resistance and solidarity: the global movement to end HIV criminalisation.

It’s especially meaningful to be back at AIDSImpact. Because, you see, this is where it all began for me. Eighteen years ago, in Marseille, I stood on a stage like this one, trembling slightly, as I spoke publicly for the very first time about HIV criminalisation.

I had no idea that moment would change the course of my life – or that it would help spark a movement that continues to grow today.

Later that same year, NAM – where I worked as an HIV treatment journalist – published my first book on the subject aimed at explaining HIV science and social science to the criminal legal system, and I started a blog – Criminal HIV Transmission – as a way of documenting the mounting number of unjust prosecutions and problematic new laws taking place across the world.

What started as a mostly solitary – and primarily UK-focused – effort quickly became a shared and surprisingly international one.

By AIDS 2008 in Mexico City, I began to understand that my blog was becoming a de facto global network, and many of the cases it documented were cited by South African Justice Edwin Cameron when, during his now-legendary plenary, he called for a global movement to end HIV criminalisation.

That same year UNAIDS and UNDP released guidance opposing overly broad criminal laws, and it was clear that something was shifting.

Two years later, at AIDS 2010 in Vienna we – that is NAM, GNP+, and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network – convened the first-ever pre-conference on HIV criminalisation. It brought together scientists, advocates, lawyers, and most importantly, people living with HIV. I had planned to start the HIV Justice Network then, but a consultancy job at UNAIDS, providing scientific and legal support for clear guidance to limit the overly broad use of the criminal law, kept me busy.

So it wasn’t until 2012, when we gathered in Oslo at a UNAIDS consultation on HIV and the criminal law, that the network finally came together. On the sidelines of the consultation, key representatives of civil society worked together to draft the Oslo Declaration on HIV Criminalisation – a ten-point call to action that was endorsed by more than 1700 individuals and organisations from 130 countries and, to my astonishment, also appeared as an appendix to the official UNAIDS guidance note that was published in 2013.

The Oslo Declaration became the founding document of the HIV Justice Network. From that point on, we were no longer reacting – we were organising.

By AIDS 2014 in Melbourne, with the support of several Australian and international HIV organisations, we held the Beyond Blame pre-conference, where our first major victory was announced: the repeal of the Australian state of Victoria’s HIV-specific criminal law. We knew then that change was possible.

In 2015, we joined forces with ARASA, the HIV Legal Network, GNP+, the Sero Project, and Positive Women’s Network–USA to form a powerful global consortium. With support from the Robert Carr Fund, we launched the HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE coalition in 2016, committing ourselves to collective action against the unjust criminalisation of people living with HIV.

Together, we developed a range of advocacy tools and resources, including the Expert Consensus Statement on the Science of HIV in the Context of Criminal Law, launched at AIDS 2018 in Amsterdam. The Consensus Statement translated complex science – about viral load, transmission routes, treatment effectiveness, and HIV forensics – into language that courts and lawmakers could understand.

Because the truth is: the law had not kept pace with science. Outdated laws continued to criminalise people living with HIV as though it were still the ‘90s. And behind each of these prosecutions was a human life: interrupted, humiliated, punished, often for simply living with a virus.

Today we know that people living with HIV on effective treatment cannot transmit the virus. U=U is not just a slogan – it’s a scientific fact. And that message has been useful in limiting unjust prosecutions, primarily in the global North.

But HIV criminalisation is a global phenomenon, and we cannot rely on science alone as an argument against HIV criminalisation, especially in places where access to treatment or viral load testing is limited or is being taken away; nor in this brave new world of integration, where treatment or prevention is only likely to be accessed by people who are not marginalised, stigmatised, or otherwise criminalised.

That’s why our key messaging must always be that making people living with HIV solely responsible – and criminally liable – for HIV prevention is simply wrong: it’s ineffective, counterproductive, and unjust. That’s where storytelling comes in – to shine a spotlight on the human cost. So over the years we made documentaries focusing on the impact of HIV criminalisation on people.

Documentaries like More Harm Than Good – which brought to life all the social science studies that overwhelmingly found mandating disclosure, criminalising non-disclosure, and sending people to prison for potentially exposing or allegedly passing on HIV did the opposite of what lawmakers intended.

And Mwayi’s Story, about a woman in Malawi unjustly prosecuted for briefly comfort-nursing another woman’s baby and the subsequent empowered movement of women living with HIV in Malawi who spoke truth to power and persuaded their Parliament not to pass an HIV-specific criminalisation law.

We wanted to show that these laws and prosecutions do nothing to protect public health – in fact, they undermine in, and they destroy lives in the process. They increase stigma, turning vulnerable people away from prevention, treatment and care services.

And we have never stopped centring the voices of those most harmed.

People like Rosemary Namubiru, a kind, elderly nurse in Uganda, who dedicated her life to caring for others. She was falsely accused of exposing a child to HIV while administering an injection – a claim later shown to be scientifically impossible. Yet she was arrested live on TV, vilified in the press, and imprisoned. Rosemary was a survivor, but she never recovered from what was done to her. When she passed away in 2022, she left behind not only grief and anger, but also a legacy – a reminder of why we do this work. To honour her. To fight for the dignity and rights of people like her. And to ensure that no one else is ever treated the way she was.

And here in Morocco – where people living with HIV and key populations still face stigma, criminalisation, and exclusion – we must also honour the rich legacy of resistance, solidarity, and resilience that continues to inspire advocates demanding justice, dignity, and change.

Throughout this movement, it has always been communities who’ve led the way: survivors who dared to speak their truths; advocates who pushed for reform; scientists who stood up for evidence-based policy; and networks like ours, who bring it all together.

I never imagined, back in 2007, that this would become my life’s work. But here I am, 18 years later, standing before you with immense pride in what we’ve achieved – and profound concern for what we’re up against. Because the truth is: we are facing an existential moment.

Globally, we’ve witnessed the rise of authoritarianism and the anti-rights movement, which along with the funding crisis is leading to a rollback of hard-won human rights, and the erosion of multilateral cooperation.

Some governments are already doubling down on criminalisation – of people and of NGOs – using stigma and fear to justify their repression. And I worry that punitive approaches to HIV prevention will become the new normal, including policing of the bodies and lives of people living with HIV that was considered acceptable in the ‘90s.

And people living with HIV – especially those who are Black, Brown, gay or queer, trans, migrants, sex workers, people who use drugs – will be the first to be caught in the crosshairs.

The HIV justice movement was born out of crisis, but it is sustained by hope. We know change is possible – because we’ve seen it, even under the most difficult conditions. In fact, over the past five years 25 jurisdictions in 11 countries have repealed or revised their HIV criminalisation laws based on a range of reasons – from futility to privacy rights, to recognising up-to-date science, to concerns over the financial, human or public health cost.

We have been making progress. But now we cannot take any of that progress for granted.

This movement belongs to all of us. And together, even with dwindling resources and some formidable enemies, I believe we can still create a world where justice is not just a concept, but a lived reality for every person living with HIV.

Thank you.

Mexico: LGBTI groups ask for the repeal of HIV criminalisation law

LGBT+ groups demand legislation to punish discrimination against people with HIV

Translated with Deepl. Scroll down for the original article in Spanish.

They demanded to eliminate article 302 of the Tlaxcala Criminal Code, which criminalizes people living with HIV under the figure of “danger of contagion”, considering it obsolete and stigmatizing.

LGBTTTI+ collectives showed that in the state of Tlaxcala there are still areas with high levels of discrimination against people of diverse sexual orientation or with sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV.

In the framework of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, the collectives demanded a halt to legislative omissions that result in criminalisation and hate speech that violate justice, equality and dignity of people of sexual diversity.

They denounced that, according to the National LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health Survey 2024, more than 50% of the LGBT+ community in Tlaxcala have been victims of discrimination, mainly by public institutions and in legal spaces.
“There is a systematic resistance of the local Congress to legislate in favour of equality. This phenomenon translates into omissions, freezing of initiatives and evasive speeches in the face of the urgency of guaranteeing human rights”, they affirmed.

Among their demands, they demanded the elimination of article 302 of the Penal Code of Tlaxcala, which criminalises people living with HIV under the figure of ‘danger of contagion’, considering it obsolete and stigmatising.

They also requested to sanction and eliminate hate speech on digital platforms and to establish protocols for institutional response to digital violence against LGBTTTI+ people.

It is worth noting that Congresswoman Mí Pérez Carrillo presented an initiative to reform the local Penal Code to criminalise hate speech against the LGBTIQ+ community, which is expected to be taken up in the coming days.

Exigen colectivos LGBT+ legislar para castigar discriminación a personas portadoras de VIH

Exigieron eliminar el artículo 302 del Código Penal de Tlaxcala, que criminaliza a las personas que viven con VIH bajo la figura de “peligro de contagio”, por considerarlo obsoleto y estigmatizante.

Colectivos LGBTTTI+ evidenciaron que en el estado de Tlaxcala persisten zonas con altos niveles de discriminación hacia personas con orientación sexual diversa o con enfermedades de transmisión sexual como el VIH.

En el marco del Día Internacional contra la Homofobia, la Transfobia y la Bifobia, los colectivos exigieron un alto a las omisiones legislativas que derivan en la criminalización y en discursos de odio que vulneran la justicia, igualdad y dignidad de las personas de la diversidad sexual.

Denunciaron que, de acuerdo con la Encuesta Nacional de Salud Mental de Juventudes LGBTQ+ 2024, más del 50% de la comunidad LGBT+ en Tlaxcala ha sido víctima de discriminación, principalmente por parte de instituciones públicas y en espacios legales.

“Existe una resistencia sistemática del Congreso local a legislar en favor de la igualdad. Este fenómeno se traduce en omisiones, congelamiento de iniciativas y discursos evasivos ante la urgencia de garantizar derechos humanos”, afirmaron.

Entre sus demandas, exigieron eliminar el artículo 302 del Código Penal de Tlaxcala, que criminaliza a las personas que viven con VIH bajo la figura de “peligro de contagio”, por considerarlo obsoleto y estigmatizante.

Asimismo, solicitaron sancionar y eliminar discursos de odio en plataformas digitales y establecer protocolos de respuesta institucional ante la violencia digital contra personas LGBTTTI+.

Es de destacar que la diputada Madaí Pérez Carrillo presentó una iniciativa de reforma al Código Penal local para tipificar los discursos de odio contra la comunidad LGBTIQ+, por lo que se espera que sea retomada en los próximos días.

US: Governor signs bill to repeal HIV criminalisation statute in Maryland

Maryland Repeals HIV Criminalization Law

State advocates succeed in making Maryland the 5th U.S. state to repeal biased HIV criminalization laws

(Washington, DC) – Today, the governor of Maryland signed a bill repealing the state’s HIV criminal offense, making it the fifth state to do so and the second state to do so in the last 60 days.

The successful enactment of HB 39 resulted from the work of the Coalition to Decriminalize HIV in Maryland, a project led by FreeState Justice. CHLP supported the coalition’s repeal efforts through strategic contributions and collaborative engagement throughout the campaign.

“This victory reflects years of tireless advocacy by people living with HIV, legal experts, and public health leaders who know that criminalization undermines public health goals,” said Jada Hicks, PJP Senior Attorney at CHLP. “It is especially monumental to achieve this victory in a time when the very existence and rights of our communities are under attack. This is what resistance against systemic injustice and discrimination looks like in action.”

The bill was named to honor the legacy of Carlton R. Smith, a long-term HIV survivor, Baltimore-area activist, and member of the Coalition to Decriminalize HIV in Maryland, who passed away last year.

“At FreeState Justice, we are proud to stand with advocates, health experts, and lawmakers who worked diligently to advance this bill. The bipartisan support for the Carlton R. Smith Act is a testament to the power of education, research, and courageous leadership,” said Phillip Westry, Executive Director of FreeState Justice. “It sends a clear message: Maryland is committed to evidence-based policymaking and to ending the criminalization of people living with HIV. We honor the memory of Carlton R. Smith by continuing the work of building a more just, inclusive, and informed society,” he continued.

Sponsored by Delegate Kris Fair, the bill had broad bipartisan support. Senator Will Smith, Chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee and sponsor of the Senate counterpart bill, emphasized the discriminatory nature of the old law, noting that no other communicable disease was singled out in this manner. He stated in a news report that the law was“skewed towards, frankly, Black men,” underscoring the disparate impact of the law.

In Maryland, Black men are 14% of the state’s population, 44% of those living with HIV and 68% of those accused in HIV-related criminal cases As a result of this law’s passage, there are 14,837 Black men living with HIV in Maryland who will no longer live under the threat of being criminalized due to their health status as people living with HIV.

In the United States, 32 states continue to criminalize people living with HIV and 28 states have harsh criminal penalty enhancements that elevate charges based on a person’s knowledge of their HIV status. In Maryland, the now-repealed law had imposed severe penalties on individuals “knowingly transmitting” or “attempting” to transmit HIV, including up to three years of imprisonment and fines up to $2,500. The law did not require actual transmission of HIV, intent to transmit, or even conduct that can transmit HIV.

The repeal of Maryland’s HIV criminal offense reflects the power of state-level advocacy to lead the way in the face of federal inaction and regression under the Trump administration. The process highlights the importance of advocacy and educating lawmakers about the impacts of overcriminalization on Black people and those living with HIV.

[Update]US: STD criminalisation bill withdrawn as advocates call for education and resources

Louisiana lawmakers shelve bill criminalizing ‘intentional exposure’ to STDs

A Louisiana House committee shelved a bill Wednesday that would have made it illegal for someone to “intentionally” expose another person to an “incurable” sexually transmitted disease after steep concerns that criminalization could worsen the state’s proliferating STD rates.

This was the second time Rep. Patricia Moore, D-Monroe, had introduced such a bill in five years, despite opposition from public and sexual health advocates as well as people living with STDs. Moore said at a House Administration of Criminal Justice committee meeting that she wants to create a law that offers people recourse for when someone “knowingly and intentionally” doesn’t disclose their STD status.

The bill would have created a new felony, carrying up to 10 years in prison and $5,000 in fines, for someone who knows they have an “incurable” STD and exposes someone else without their knowledge and consent. Those penalties would have increased if the person exposed to the STD is a minor, over 65 years old or has an intellectual disability. The exposure under either charge would have needed to come through sexual contact, donating bodily fluids such as blood or sharing needles.

After pushback during public testimony, Moore voluntarily deferred House Bill 76.

In 2023, Louisiana had the highest rate of chlamydia cases in the country and ranked in the top 10 for syphilis, HIV and gonorrhea, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The legislation comes as other states have repealed or modernized their own laws criminalizing STDs, especially HIV, over the past decade to align with the current medical landscape. An attempt to update Louisiana’s own law criminalizing HIV failed last year.

Before the bill was deferred, Moore amended it to just focus on “incurable” STDs, removing a proposal to create a new misdemeanor charge for exposing someone to a curable STD. The four most common incurable sexually transmitted infections are hepatitis B, herpes simplex virus (HSV), human papillomavirus (HPV) and HIV. While no treatments exist to eliminate these viruses, all are treatable and manageable with medication, and HPV can sometimes clear up on its own.

But the groups who opposed the bill, including several members of the Louisiana Coalition Against Criminalization and Health, said the bill would have the same problems as another state law on the books that criminalizes “intentional exposure” to HIV.

Data on how many people have been charged under the law is challenging to compile, but UCLA’s Williams Institute identified 147 allegations of HIV-related crimes between 2011 and 2022 in Louisiana, though researchers said that number could be higher.

Dietz, the coalition’s state coordinator, told the committee that said both the current law and bill contain “legal loopholes” that allow the law to be used against people living with HIV in their personal relationships, in part because it’s on the person living with the STD to prove they received the accuser’s consent.

In 2024, Dietz and other members of a state task force charged with researching the criminalization of HIV found that Louisiana’s current legal approach “can actually interfere with work to end the HIV epidemic,” according to its report.

“We’ve already made recommendations for the way the existing law allows for environments of coercion because again … proving that you disclosed your status is challenging,” Dietz said. “Even if you were to have proof in your hand, even if someone were to write it down, what if someone ripped it up? Or you lost it?”

St. Tammany Parish resident Katie Darling, who also serves as the vice chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party, shared the testimony of one of her residents who said she had been living with HIV for 25 years. Darling said the resident had her first husband sign an affidavit acknowledging that he knew she had HIV and consented, even though she was taking medication that prevented transmission. When the marriage turned physically abusive, the resident testified that her former husband threatened to take her to court over her HIV status.

“Thankfully, I had the document he signed on file at my doctor’s office. But what if I hadn’t?” Darling read from the testimony. The St. Tammany resident has now had her second husband sign a similar affidavit.

Those who opposed the bill also acknowledged that there is a need for people to have justice when they are unknowingly given an STD, whether that’s under new legislation or current laws around sexual assault.

Jennifer Tokarski, who is living with HPV, testified in support of the bill. She shared the story of her former husband who had sex outside of their marriage, refused to admit it and ultimately transmitted the virus to her.

“After five years in what I believed was a faithful relationship and Catholic marriage, I became severely ill,” Tokarski testified. “My husband attended appointments, rejected STD testing, reassuring doctors we were monogamous.”

When she learned of his infidelity, she said he battered her and filed for divorce.

“Only then did I learn he had infected me with a lifelong and incurable STD,” Tokarski said. “This is not just a private betrayal, this is a public health failure.”

Moore and Tokarski said they believed such a law would help promote honest conversations about sexual health that would lower the spread and give survivors a voice.

Studies have shown that criminalizing STDs do little to lower the number of cases and increase stigma. During testimony, public health advocates said Louisiana should invest more heavily in resources for testing and treatment as well as sexual health education, which isn’t required in schools.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Moore said she planned to work with the bill’s opponents to improve the language and possibly return the legislation to the committee if there’s time before the session. Otherwise, Moore said she will bring a form of the legislation back next year.

USA: Louisiana lawmaker renews push to criminalise STI exposure

Bill revives effort to criminalize non-consensual STD exposure in Louisiana

A Louisiana lawmaker has introduced a bill that would create new crimes for knowingly and intentionally exposing someone to a sexually transmitted disease without their informed consent.

House Bill 76, sponsored by state Rep. Patricia Moore (D-Monroe), would establish two separate offenses: felony intentional exposure for incurable STDs and misdemeanor intentional exposure for curable ones.

Felony Exposure (incurable STD)

Under the bill, a person could face felony charges if they knowingly have an incurable STD and intentionally expose someone without that person’s knowledge or informed consent through:

Sexual intercourse or sodomy.
Selling/donating blood, semen, organs, etc.
Sharing needles.

The proposed bill said the standard penalty includes up to 10 years in prison and/or up to a $5,000 fine.

There would be harsher penalties if:

The victim is under 13 and the offender is 17 or older: 25–99 years in prison, with at least 25 years served without parole.
The victim is under 18 with an age gap of over two years: 10–25 years, with at least 10 served without parole.
The victim is 65 or older: Up to 25 years
The offender has an intellectual disability: Up to 15 years’ sentence and up to a $10,000 fine

Anyone convicted would also be placed on lifetime electronic monitoring. Offenders must cover the cost of their monitoring unless deemed unable to pay, in which case the state may cover the expense. The Department of Public Safety and Corrections would be tasked with setting the payment rules.

The bill includes affirmative defenses:

If the exposed person knew the offender’s status, knew the risks, and gave informed consent.
If the offender disclosed their status and took preventative measures advised by a healthcare provider.

Misdemeanor Exposure (curable STD):

The bill also creates a misdemeanor offense for knowingly exposing someone to a curable STD without informed consent through the same methods listed above.

The penalty would be up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine.

The bill’s current status is pending before the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee.

Bill has faced past criticism

Rep. Moore filed similar legislation in 2021 (House Bill 238), which expanded an existing criminal statute that previously applied only to HIV exposure. The earlier bill drew criticism from some public health experts and LGBTQ advocates, according to a report from the Louisiana Illuminator. Opponents argued that the bill could discourage people from getting tested for STDs, since the enforcement hinges on the offender knowing their status. Groups like the HIV Medicine Association and the CDC have warned that criminalization laws can increase stigma, reduce screening, and undermine public health efforts.

Moore said at the time that her goal was to address high rates of infection in Louisiana and that she was open to amendments and input from healthcare professionals.

Canada: Canada’s broken promise on HIV criminalisation reform

HIV criminalization and the Canadian government’s failed law reform project: Another. Incredible. Disappointment. Surprise!

By Chad Clarke with contributions from Colin Johnson

The Government of Canada has broken its promise to reform the laws that criminalize people living with HIV. In November 2024, the Federal Justice Minister’s office informed the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization (CCRHC) that the federal government’s long-promised initiative addressing the “overcriminalization” (their term) of HIV was not going to move forward. This announcement came after almost a decade of difficult work on the part of the HIV community. Blood, sweat and tears and some lives were lost while we worked on developing a workable consensus statement that would satisfy a majority of Parliament.

The government squandered time, money, people’s energy and people’s lives. By conducting a public consultation on “reforming the criminal law regarding HIV non-disclosure” only to appear like they were doing something, when in fact they weren’t, the government failed to address the harms associated with stigma, discrimination and criminalization! It has failed to address the way our current Criminal Code harms people and communities affected by HIV. “Silence = Death” is an iconic slogan in the history of AIDS activism and we can not be silent on our incredible disappointment with the government’s inaction.

A backdrop of struggle

Back in July of 2024, I sat down with fellow CCRHC steering committee member Colin Johnson to discuss HIV criminalization and to urge the government to act. Our CATIE Blog article, entitled “HIV law reform”, began by listing some of the emotions that I was feeling at the time: “Anger! Disappointment! Betrayal!” I still feel these emotions as I write this follow-up blog post.

I feel like I’m playing a game of chess with this government and once again we’re locked in a stalemate. Our current feelings of disappointment are experienced against the backdrop of 44 years of struggle.

While there have been notable improvements in Canada for people living with HIV/AIDS, for example in antiretroviral medicines, in some respects we are backsliding. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, we saw 2,434 new HIV diagnoses in 2023, a 35.2% increase from the previous year.

Consultation games

In the face of rising HIV cases, it makes sense to ask how the government is funding the HIV response. Short answer: it’s not funding it enough.

In 2003, more than 20 years ago, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health recommended that $100 million per year be allocated to support the HIV response in Canada. While funding did increase, it fell short of this recommendation. The government promised to spend $84.4 million annually as of 2008, but in reality, this figure has been frozen at about $73 million. This means over $123 million promised for the HIV response was never delivered. This lack of funding has had a crippling effect on the services and community organizations working to respond to and prevent HIV.

In 2019, the Standing Committee on Health, once again, recommended $100 million per year to fund the HIV response in Canada. But, we’re still waiting!

On the one hand, the government is clearly not spending enough on the HIV response. But on the other hand, how much money was spent on the nationwide consultation that was destined to go nowhere? We already had so much data showing that the criminal law needed to be changed. For example, back in 2019 the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights tabled a report calling on the government to change the criminal code.

The CCRHC even developed proposed language for reforming the Criminal Code. We didn’t need this expensive consultation.

A consequence of inaction

As I write this, people living with HIV are still being convicted of serious criminal offences and sentenced to years in prison for allegedly not disclosing their HIV status to sexual partners, even in situations where there was little to no risk of transmission.

Beyond the horrible, violent ways that HIV criminalization harms individuals—too numerous and too painful for me to recount here (see Alexander McClelland’s book on this topic)—we know that it has also caused significant harmful consequences for our wider communities. To quote a recent publication in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, HIV criminalization

“…is applied in uneven and discriminatory ways, hinders public health HIV prevention efforts, and has damaging effects on the everyday well-being, safety, security, and rights of people living with HIV. Studies also show that the mainstream press reinforces damaging, racist, stigmatizing messages about HIV in its coverage of criminal non-disclosure cases.”

If anyone reading this thinks they might be in favour of a criminal law response to HIV, let me ask you this: how many cases of HIV has the criminal law ever prevented? To answer this question, I’ll offer this quote from an article in the journal of Critical Public Health: “One of the defining features of the literature is the absence of a single study demonstrating that HIV criminalization has a positive impact on HIV prevention.”

HIV criminalization is killing people. I tell you this based on my own personal experience. As a criminalization survivor, I sometimes feel like I am being inexorably, slowly, killed by a brutal system that has abandoned me to poverty, precarious housing, stigma, discrimination and ongoing criminalization. I served my time, but there are so many other ways that my life is still criminalized today because of the unjust Criminal Code that persecuted me in the first place, and because of the government’s inaction and failure to right this historic wrong.

From inaction to action

I don’t want to end this piece with the government’s inaction. Instead, I want to leave us with a call to action. In the coming federal election, we can ask how parties and leaders will address community calls for criminal law reform. We can ask them to commit to taking real action: we don’t need another public consultation that goes nowhere.

Also, we can inform ourselves and others about the harms of HIV criminalization. I don’t know exactly where this quotation comes from, but it’s one that my friend, the late Cindy Stine, once told me: “If you don’t know your rights… you don’t have any!”

As we head into this next election, we as a community can keep HIV criminalization on the political agenda. We know that HIV criminalization harms public health—it harms everyone. Time to ACT UP!

I encourage you to stand with me by joining the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization. HIV IS NOT A CRIME!!

Chad Clarke has been living with HIV for more than 15 years. His personal experience of prosecution and imprisonment has transformed him into a passionate leader and activist working against the discriminatory criminalization of HIV non-disclosure. Chad’s voice has been a spark that has inspired many to get involved in the movement for change. He is a current member of the steering committee of the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization.

Colin Johnson is a Black gay man who has lived with HIV for the past 40 years. He has been an advocate for African, Caribbean and Black communities for decades, with a focus on queer folk and substance use. He is the co-chair of the Toronto Harm Reduction Alliance (THRA) and sits on the steering committee for the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization.

Zimbabwe’s victory:
A beacon of hope for HIV justice amid global challenges

In a landmark victory for human rights, Zimbabwe repealed its HIV criminalisation law in 2022, marking a significant step forward in the global fight for HIV justice. This historic reform, detailed in a new case study and documentary by the HIV Justice Network (HJN), was the result of years of dedicated advocacy by Zimbabwean activists, legal experts, and community organisations. Their success serves as both an inspiration and a blueprint for other nations still grappling with punitive HIV laws.

For decades, Zimbabwe’s Section 79 of the Criminal Law Code unfairly targeted people living with HIV criminalising alleged transmission without regard for intent, transmission risk, or scientific evidence. These laws, rooted in stigma rather than science, disproportionately harmed women, but mostly deterred men from seeking testing and treatment. The repeal of Section 79 was a hard-won victory that showcased the power of coalition-building and sustained advocacy.

Yet, as we celebrate Zimbabwe’s progress, we must confront a sobering reality: the global movement for HIV decriminalisation faces an existential crisis due to dwindling funding. Many donors are shifting priorities, putting essential advocacy work at risk. The HIV response itself is in peril, making it even more critical to sustain efforts to challenge unjust laws and protect the rights of people living with HIV.

The HIV Justice Network has been at the forefront of this struggle, playing an irreplaceable role in co-ordinating the global movement against HIV criminalisation. In a recent meeting, our HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE coalition partners re-affirmed the immense value of our work, emphasising our deep institutional knowledge, comprehensive legal monitoring, and convening power. Our two databases – the Global HIV Criminalisation Database and Positive Destinations – are vital resources for advocates, helping to expose patterns of injustice and build evidence-based arguments for reform.

Moreover, in environments where local organisations face political or legal risks, we serve as a powerful global voice, shining a spotlight on abuses and advocating for change. The network’s ability to bring together diverse stakeholders – activists, lawyers, researchers, and policymakers – ensures that no-one is fighting this battle alone.

Despite the funding crisis, the fight for HIV justice has never been more urgent. Punitive, discriminatory, outdated laws and policies continue to undermine public health efforts, fuel stigma, and violate human rights. The repeal of Zimbabwe’s HIV criminalisation law is a powerful reminder that change is possible, but it does not happen in isolation. It requires sustained, co-ordinated efforts – exactly the kind of work that HJN has championed for years.

The Zimbabwean victory is a beacon of hope, but it also serves as a call to action. We must not allow financial constraints to derail the progress we have fought so hard to achieve. Now, more than ever, we need to stand together to ensure that HIV criminalisation becomes a relic of the past. The future of HIV justice – and, therefore, the HIV response itself – depends on it.

Ukraine: Parliament approves bill removing HIV criminalisation article from criminal code

A separate article for HIV or other incurable infectious disease virus will be removed from the Criminal Code – the Verkhovna Rada has approved the changes

Translated with Deepl.com – Scroll down for original article

The Verkhovna Rada has approved a bill presented by Oleksandra Ustinova, which proposes to remove a separate article for HIV infection from the Criminal Code. According to the authors, the criminalisation of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases is a ‘Soviet tradition’.

The Verkhovna Rada has passed in the first reading a bill that proposes to exclude Article 130 from the Criminal Code, which provides for criminal liability for infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or other incurable infectious disease.

The corresponding draft law No 9398 was introduced by MPs Oleksandra Ustynova, Mykhaylo Radutskyy and others.

The bill also proposes to remove from Article 131 of the Criminal Code the responsibility of medical workers for improper performance of their duties, which led to the infection of a person with another incurable disease.

As the authors note, ‘the Criminal Code of Ukraine, preserving the Soviet tradition of criminalising infection with only sexually transmitted diseases, actually provides liability for infection with HIV/AIDS (Article 130 of the Criminal Code) and venereal diseases (Article 133 of the Criminal Code).’

‘This situation leads, on the one hand, to the existence of a gap in the criminal-legal protection of a person from guilty actions resulting in the infection of a communicable disease, on the other hand, to the stigmatisation of persons on the basis of their health condition.

The said stigmatisation consists in the fact that primarily HIV-positive people, as well as people suffering from venereal diseases are under the threat of criminal liability and are regarded as potential criminals,’ the people’s elected representatives point out.

However, it is not clear enough why the authors decided to remove liability for medical workers as well, and whether this is a ‘Soviet tradition’ or just a simplification of life for negligent doctors who infected a healthy person.

The proposed changes, according to the MPs, ‘will enable HIV-positive people, people suffering from AIDS or venereal diseases to focus their efforts on treatment and the quality of their own lives, rather than fighting fears of being punished’.

At the same time, the MPs also point out that ‘Ukraine is currently facing the challenge of a new wave of HIV epidemic’ and ‘one of the effective mechanisms to reduce the spread of HIV is decriminalisation of contact and transmission of the disease’.

‘According to estimates by international organisations, there were more than 240,000 HIV-infected people in Ukraine at the time of the full-scale invasion, each of whom is already potentially the subject of an offence under Part 1 Article 130 of the Criminal Code.

Given the manifestation of HIV in the temporarily occupied territories, the state and society as a whole should already create conditions to prevent HIV epidemics after their de-occupation. People’s fear of potential criminal liability will lead to reluctance to undergo screening, which will have a negative impact on the epidemic situation. In addition, the existence of liability for knowingly putting another person at risk of HIV infection makes it possible to interfere in a person’s private life, restrict his or her right to reproduction and normal coexistence with the outside world,’ the authors of the bill believe.

Из Уголовного кодекса уберут отдельную статью за заражение ВИЧ или вирусом другой неизлечимой инфекционной болезни – Верховная Рада одобрила изменения

Верховная Рада приняла за основу законопроект Александры Устиновой, которым предлагается исключить из Уголовного кодекса отдельную статью за заражение ВИЧ, ведь, по мнению авторов, криминализация заражения ВИЧ/СПИДом и венерическими заболеваниями – это «советские традиции».

Верховная Рада приняла в первом чтении законопроект, которым из Уголовного кодекса предлагается исключить статью 130, предусматривающую уголовную ответственность за заражение вирусом иммунодефицита человека (ВИЧ) или другой неизлечимой инфекционной болезни.

Соответствующий законопроект №9398 внесли народные депутаты Александра Устинова, Михаил Радуцкий и другие.

Также законопроект предлагает убрать из статьи 131 УК ответственность медицинских работников за ненадлежащее исполнение их обязанностей, что привело к заражению человека другой неизлечимой болезнью.

Как отмечают авторы, «Уголовный кодекс Украины, сохраняя советские традиции криминализации заражения только болезнями, передающимися половым путем, фактически предусматривает ответственность за заражение ВИЧ/СПИДом (статья 130 УК) и венерическими заболеваниями (статья 133 УК)».

«Такая ситуация приводит, с одной стороны, к существованию пробела в уголовно-правовой защите человека от виновных действий, повлекших заражение инфекционной болезнью, с другой – к стигматизации лиц по состоянию здоровья.

Указанная стигматизация заключается в том, что под угрозой уголовной ответственности находятся, в первую очередь, ВИЧ-позитивные люди, а также люди, страдающие венерическими заболеваниями, которые рассматриваются как потенциальные преступники», – указывают народные избранники.

Впрочем, недостаточно понятно, почему авторы решили убрать ответственность и для медицинских работников, и является ли это «советскими традициями» или просто упрощением жизни для нерадивых медиков, повлекших заражение здорового человека.

Предложенные изменения, по мнению народных избранников, «дадут возможность ВИЧ-позитивным людям, людям, страдающим СПИДом, или страдающим венерическими болезнями, сосредоточить свои усилия именно на лечении и качестве собственной жизни, а не борьбе со страхами быть наказанными».

При этом одновременно народные депутаты также указывают, что «в настоящее время Украина стоит перед вызовом новой волны эпидемии ВИЧ» и «одним из действенных механизмов уменьшения распространения ВИЧ является декриминализация контактов и передачи заболевания».

«По оценочным данным международных организаций, в Украине на момент полномасштабного вторжения находились более 240 000 ВИЧ-инфицированных, каждый из которых уже потенциально является субъектом преступления, предусмотренного ч. 1 ст. 130 УК.

Учитывая проявление ВИЧ на временно оккупированных территориях, государство и общество в целом уже должны создать условия для недопущения эпидемии ВИЧ после их деоккупации. Страх людей перед потенциальной уголовной ответственностью приведет к нежеланию проходить обследование, что негативно повлияет на эпидемическую ситуацию. Кроме того, наличие ответственности за сознательное поставление другого лица в опасность заражения ВИЧ делает возможным вмешательство в частную жизнь человека, ограничение его права на репродукцию и нормальное сосуществование с окружающим миром», – считают авторы законопроекта.

Mexico: Activist calls for end to HIV criminalisation in Tlaxcala congress

Collective of the LGBTQI + community pronounces against the criminalization of HIV in Tlaxcala

Translated from Spanish with Google Translate – Scroll down for original article

Antonio Escobar Muñoz, activist and director of the HIV and Human Rights Program of the LGBTQI+ Tlaxcala Collective, made a statement at the state congress against the criminalization of HIV. This practice has been widely criticized by international organizations due to its negative impact on human rights and public health.

It is important to note that the criminalization of HIV is a global phenomenon that undermines both human rights and public health efforts. In Mexico, there are laws that criminalize the exposure or transmission of HIV, which has generated a debate about the need to reform or repeal these provisions.

This initiative seeks to eliminate stigmatisation and discrimination against people with HIV and ensure their access to health and justice services.

Se pronuncia colectivo de la comunidad LGBTTIQ + ante rechazo de la criminalización de VIH en Tlaxcala

Antonio Escobar Muñoz, activista y director del Programa de VIH y Derechos Humanos del Colectivo LGBTTTI+ Tlaxcala, realizó un pronunciamiento en el congreso del estado en contra de la criminalización del VIH. Esta práctica ha sido ampliamente criticada por organismos internacionales debido a su impacto negativo en los derechos humanos y la salud pública.

Es importante destacar que la criminalización del VIH es un fenómeno mundial que socava tanto los derechos humanos como los esfuerzos de salud pública. En México, existen leyes que penalizan la exposición o transmisión del VIH, lo que ha generado un debate sobre la necesidad de reformar o derogar estas disposiciones.

Esta iniciativa busca eliminar la estigmatización y discriminación hacia las personas con VIH y garantizar su acceso a servicios de salud y justicia.