Mexico: LGBTQI+ collective calls in congress to repeal HIV criminalisation laws in Tlaxcala

The Tlaxcala LGBTTTI+ Collective has called on the 65th Legislature to repeal Article 302 of the local Criminal Code, following the repeal of Article 160 in Baja California.

The repeal of criminal provisions penalising the so-called ‘risk of transmission’ in Baja California has reignited the call by the Tlaxcala LGBTTTI+ Collective to the local Congress to push for legal changes that protect the rights of people living with HIV.

The organisation welcomed the decision by the Baja California Congress to remove Article 160 from its Penal Code, considering it an important step towards combating the discrimination and stigma faced by those living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

In their statement, activists highlighted the involvement of civil society organisations and people living with HIV in the fight to amend laws they consider to be contrary to human rights. They also pointed out that addressing this issue must prioritise prevention, access to diagnostic testing, treatment and scientific information.

“Public health is strengthened through information, prevention and human rights, not through punishment”, they stated, acknowledging the work that made the reform in Baja California possible.

At the state level, the group recalled that it has on several occasions called on the Tlaxcala State Congress to repeal Article 302 of the local Criminal Code, as it considers that its continued existence contributes to the criminalisation of and prejudice against people living with HIV.

It therefore called on the members of the 65th Legislature to review the legal framework and promote the necessary reforms to ensure full respect for the rights of this section of the population.

The group maintained that legislative progress must be accompanied by public policies based on scientific evidence, prevention and medical care, rather than punitive measures that deepen social rejection.

Finally, it reiterated that the institutional response to HIV must focus on public health and human dignity, and therefore emphasised the need to remove legal provisions which, in its view, perpetuate stigma and discrimination.

El Colectivo LGBTTTI+ Tlaxcala pidió a la 65 Legislatura derogar el artículo 302 del Código Penal local, tras la eliminación del artículo 160 en Baja California.

La derogación de disposiciones penales que sancionan el llamado peligro de contagio en Baja California reavivó el llamado del Colectivo LGBTTTI+ Tlaxcala al Congreso local para impulsar cambios legales que protejan los derechos de las personas que viven con VIH.

La organización celebró la decisión del Congreso bajacaliforniano de eliminar el artículo 160 de su Código Penal, al considerar que representa un paso importante para combatir la discriminación y el estigma que enfrentan quienes viven con el virus de inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH) y otras infecciones de transmisión sexual (ITS).

A través de su posicionamiento, activistas destacaron la participación de organizaciones civiles y personas con VIH en la lucha por modificar leyes que consideran contrarias a los derechos humanos. Asimismo, señalaron que la atención de esta problemática debe priorizar la prevención, el acceso a pruebas diagnósticas, el tratamiento y la información científica.

“La salud pública se fortalece con información, prevención y derechos humanos, no con castigos”, expresaron al reconocer el trabajo que hizo posible la reforma en Baja California.

En el ámbito estatal, el colectivo recordó que ha solicitado en distintas ocasiones al Congreso de Tlaxcala la derogación del artículo 302 del Código Penal local, al considerar que su permanencia contribuye a la criminalización y al prejuicio contra las personas que viven con VIH.

Por ello, llamó a las y los integrantes de la 65 Legislatura a revisar el marco jurídico y promover las reformas necesarias para garantizar el respeto pleno a los derechos de este sector de la población.

La agrupación sostuvo que los avances legislativos deben acompañarse de políticas públicas basadas en evidencia científica, prevención y atención médica, en lugar de medidas punitivas que profundicen el rechazo social.

Finalmente, reiteró que la respuesta institucional frente al VIH debe centrarse en la salud pública y la dignidad humana, por lo que insistió en la necesidad de eliminar las disposiciones legales que, desde su perspectiva, perpetúan el estigma y la discriminación.

Mexico: Yucatán repeals HIV exposure law from its criminal code

State Parliament repeals “Crime of transmission” law that discriminated against people living with HIV

Translated with DEEPL – Scroll down for article in Spanish

The State Congress approved the resolution repealing the “crime of risk of infection” from the Criminal Code and amending Yucatán’s legal framework to combat the discrimination faced by people living with HIV. The proposal was spearheaded by Morena legislator Clara Paola Rosales Montiel, who drafted it in collaboration with civil society.

In calling for a vote in favour of this reform, the MP emphasised that living with HIV is not a crime and must never be grounds for discrimination.

“We cannot continue to allow stigma, prejudice and criminalisation to become obstacles preventing people from living with dignity and fully exercising their human rights. To talk about HIV is also to talk about people, stories, families and lives. It is to talk about those who, for years, have had to face the fear of being singled out, rejected or discriminated against,” she said.

She explained that it has been proven that maintaining provisions such as the offence of risk of transmission fuels stigma and prejudice, and becomes a barrier to prevention, detection and healthcare.

In this regard, he emphasised that laws must not perpetuate fear or discrimination, but must instead help to build a society where people can access information, prevention, diagnosis and treatment without fear of being singled out.

For this reason, he added, this ruling sends a clear message that the Yucatán Congress is listening to the public and that its members are committed to drafting laws that protect, support and respect the dignity of all people.

During her address from the floor of the plenary chamber, Clara Rosales acknowledged the work of activists, collectives and civil society organisations which, for years, have raised their voices, stood alongside those living with HIV and insisted that this debate had to reach the Yucatán Congress.

“When a legislature dares to discuss what was once a taboo, when it listens to society and when it transforms those voices into rights, it is making history,” she declared.

It is worth noting that the ruling provided for the repeal of the offence of risk of infection, set out in Article 189 of the Criminal Code, as well as amending and strengthening the Yucatán Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination in relation to HIV and the Law on the Prevention and Control of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections.

“Let’s continue to make history: a history in which no one has to live in fear of being discriminated against, criminalised or stigmatised because of a health condition,” he concluded.

Deroga congreso del Estado “delito de contagio” que discriminaba a personas con VIH  

El Congreso del Estado aprobó el dictamen por medio de cual se derogó el delito de peligro de contagio del Código Penal y se realizaron modificaciones al marco normativo de Yucatán para combatir la discriminación que enfrentan personas que viven con VIH, propuesta que fue impulsada por la legisladora de Morena, Clara Paola Rosales Montiel, quien la construyó de la mano de la sociedad civil.

Al solicitar el voto a favor de esta reforma, la diputada recalcó que vivir con VIH no es un delito y nunca debe ser motivo de discriminación.

“No podemos seguir permitiendo que el estigma, los prejuicios y la criminalización se conviertan en obstáculos para que las personas puedan vivir con dignidad y ejercer plenamente sus derechos humanos. Hablar de VIH también es hablar de personas, de historias, de familias y de vidas. Es hablar de quienes durante años han tenido que enfrentar el miedo a ser señalados, rechazados o discriminados”, sostuvo.

Explicó que está comprobado que mantener este tipo de figuras, como el delito de peligro de contagio, alimenta el estigma y los prejuicios, y se convierte en una barrera para la prevención, la detección y la atención de la salud.

En ese sentido, enfatizó que las leyes no deben reproducir el miedo ni la discriminación, sino que tienen que ayudar a construir una sociedad donde las personas puedan acceder a información, prevención, diagnóstico y tratamiento sin temor a ser señaladas.

Por tal razón, agregó, este dictamen representa un mensaje claro de que desde el Congreso de Yucatán se escucha a la ciudadanía y que las diputadas y los diputados están dispuestos a construir leyes que protejan, acompañen y respeten la dignidad de todas las personas.

Durante su mensaje en la Tribuna del Pleno, Clara Rosales reconoció el trabajo de activistas, colectivos y organizaciones de la sociedad civil que durante años han levantado la voz, han acompañado a quienes viven con VIH y han insistido en que esta discusión tenía que llegar a este Congreso.

“Cuando una legislatura se atreve a discutir lo que antes era un tabú, cuando escucha a la sociedad y cuando transforma esas voces en derechos, está haciendo historia”, declaró.

Cabe mencionar que el dictamen estableció derogar el delito de peligro de contagio, previsto en el artículo 189 del Código Penal, además de que reformó y fortaleció la Ley para Prevenir y Eliminar la Discriminación de Yucatán en materia de VIH y la Ley para la Prevención y Control del Virus de Inmunodeficiencia Humana, Síndrome de Inmunodeficiencia Adquirida y Otras Infecciones de Transmisión Sexual.

“Sigamos haciendo historia: Una historia en la que nadie tenga que vivir con miedo a ser discriminado, criminalizado o señalado por una condición de salud”, finalizó

US: Ohio advocates launch first Advocacy Day for HIV law reform

HIV decriminalization supporters to hold first-ever Advocacy Day at Ohio Statehouse

Ohio still has six laws on the books that criminalize living with HIV. And the laws are actively enforced.

HIV decriminalization advocates will hold an inaugural Advocacy Day on November 17 at the Ohio Statehouse to put legislative pressure on lawmakers to modernize state laws that unnecessarily target and punish people living with HIV.

Ohio has six laws that criminalize certain acts – including sex – for people living with HIV, or that substantially increase sentences for them compared to people who do not have the virus. These laws impose stiff penalties – regardless of whether the virus is or can be transmitted, and even in some cases where transmission is not scientifically possible. In some situations, the law also requires sex offender registration.

Many states have taken steps to modernize their HIV laws.

“We’re been really inspired by some of the policy wins we’re seeing in other states like North Dakota, Maryland and Louisiana, and we think the environment is perfect right now to do the same in Ohio,” said Josh Meek, steering committee member of the Ohio Health Modernization Movement (OHMM), a coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to modernizing outdated HIV Laws in Ohio

According to a 2024 study released by OHMM and the Equality Ohio Education Fund, from 2014 to 2020, there were at least 214 confirmed HIV-related prosecutions in Ohio, of which over half (120 cases) came from the state’s “harassment with a bodily substance” law and about a third (77 cases) came under Ohio’s felonious assault law. The remainder (17 cases) were related to sex work.

Additionally, the research shows that Ohio’s HIV criminalization laws disproportionately impact Black communities, with at least 36% of defendants identifying as Black. Statewide, 29% of all defendants (62 people) were Black men.

Advocacy Day will give supporters, individuals living with HIV and experts in health policy and criminal justice the opportunity to meet in groups directly with elected officials. A catered lunch will feature a speakers panel on the need for HIV decriminalization, rounding out the day that organizers say is as much about a learning opportunity as it will be about advocacy. 

“For some legislators, this might be their first time they’re ever knowingly meeting with someone living with HIV,” said Meek.

The ultimate goal of Advocacy Day is to bring about legislation that modernizes the outdated laws. Republican Rep. Sara Carruthers proposed a pair of modernization bills in 2024, but they did not make it past a first reading. 

Although advocates aren’t yet ready to identify the names of specific legislators who might champion new bills, they say the appetite for reform is definitely present. 

“There are both Democrats and Republicans who are interested in talking about HIV and who recognize that we have penalties on the books that are excessive,” said Meek. “They know we’re not trying to move heaven and earth but are just trying to create what is more sensible and equitable for all Ohioans.”

In addition to encouraging people to register for Advocacy Day, advocates are urging more Ohioans to get involved with OHMM – whether that’s through helping educate their community, reaching out to their elected representatives or writing an op-ed to their local newspaper.

“HIV is not a death sentence, and we’ve made great strides in science, technology and understanding what HIV really is,” said Meek. “More people need to know that before we can make some needed change.” 🔥

IGNITE ACTION
  • The Ohio Health Modernization Movements’s Advocacy Day will be held on Tuesday, November 17, at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. Register to attend here. 
  • Prior to Advocacy Day, OHMM will hold a “Speak Up With Confidence: Media Training and How to Talk to Legislators” virtual session on October 26 at 6 p.m. (register here) and an “Advocacy Day Q&A: What to Know Before You Go” virtual session on November 9 at 6 p.m. (register here). 

US: Pennsylvania’s HIV Decriminalization Law comes under fire from activists

“Profound Disappointment” at Pennsylvania’s Updated HIV Crime Law

UPDATE: Pennsylvania just passed a law to decriminalize being HIV positive, but AIDS activists say it harms another marginalized group.

UPDATE: As we reported earlier this week, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 45 (SB45) into law on July 20. The legislation eliminates harsher legal penalties for people simply because they are HIV positive, referred to as HIV criminalization. The law was promoted as a victory for HIV activists.

But now several HIV organizations are speaking out against aspects of the law. They point out that it targets sex workers. What’s more, the HIV advocacy groups clarify that they were not consulted in drafting the Pennsylvania legislation.

A Facebook post by HIV activist Waheeda Shabazz-El and several advocacy groups begins by stating:

The Pennsylvania HIV Justice Alliance goes on record expressing our profound disappointment with the passage of PA Senate Bill 45.

While the legislation modernizes portions of Pennsylvania’s criminal code related to HIV, it does so at the dangerously unacceptable expense of sex workers, who will face increased criminalization and harm under this law. Progress for one marginalized community should never come at the cost of another. Our celebration is tempered by the reality that this progress came at a devastating cost.

You can read the entire statement on Facebook:

In addition, an open letter was penned by CHLP (The Center for HIV Law and Policy), Positive Women’s Network–USA and the Sero Project. It reads in part:

SB45 was ultimately an overhaul of the Pennsylvania criminal code pertaining to “prostitution.” It transfers most “prostitution” related offenses out of the “public indecency” section and into the “human trafficking” section of the criminal code. It also reduces some criminal charges while increasing others.…

SB45 achieves important, positive outcomes. SB45 removed the HIV felony sentence for sex workers living with HIV. Previously, if a person living with HIV was convicted of “prostitution,” their penalty was upgraded to a felony simply because of their HIV status. It was HIV discrimination written into the Pennsylvania criminal code, and we are thrilled it was removed.…

SB45 shifts prosecutorial authority and conflates sex work and trafficking.…

SB45 increases penalties for “promoters” or “patronizers,” which can harm trafficking survivors or people in the sex trades.…

Our organizations have been involved in coalitions fighting HIV criminalization in Pennsylvania for years and we support, alongside others, the standalone HIV decriminalization bills, HB632 and SB647. SB45, however, is a substantially different piece of legislation. We were not included in the legislative process nor did any of our organizations endorse SB45. Some of our organizations have, nevertheless, been associated with the bill because of the HIV decriminalization components. SB45 has also been touted as a win for the HIV decriminalization movement in the Commonwealth and in the media. For all of these reasons, it is important to make our stance public: We believe a more nuanced perspective is needed.

To reiterate and celebrate: this bill achieves hard fought wins. People living with HIV and HIV advocates have worked for years to introduce legislation that would eliminate the HIV sentence enhancement from the Pennsylvania criminal code. In the past, we have worked alongside powerful HIV decriminalization coalitions and organizations in Pennsylvania, including the Pennsylvania HIV Justice Alliance, the AIDS Law Project, Positive Women’s Network-PA, Girl U Can Do It Inc., Philadelphia FIGHT and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. We celebrate this legacy and work.

We remain deeply concerned, however, about how SB45 will make it harder for sex workers and trafficking survivors to survive by further criminalizing their networks of support. SB45 adopts key features associated with the End Demand model of sex work criminalization. This approach focuses on criminalizing the purchase and promotion of sex work – the “demand” side of the sex trades. It frames all people in the sex trades as “victims”, denies bodily autonomy, and ignores that people can consensually choose to engage in sex work. Ultimately, it aims to end sex work itself by policing and criminalizing people who support or pay sex workers and offers no economic alternative for sex workers. Research shows, however, criminalizing demand does not decrease demand. Instead it forces sex workers further into unsafe conditions, increasing sexual violence, exploitation, and decreasing access to support services.

Below is our original July 30 article about Governor Josh Shapiro’s signing Senate Bill 45 into law and eliminating harsher penalties for people living with HIV:

On July 20, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 45 (SB45) into law, eliminating felony charges for people arrested for prostitution while being HIV positive and removing HIV from the criminal code in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

 

Before the signing of SB45, when charged with a crime in Pennsylvania, people living with HIV—especially sex workers—could face harsher penalties because of their HIV status. In Pennsylvania, prostitution is classified as a misdemeanor, but people living with HIV could be charged with a felony and face up to seven years in prison, even when HIV transmission is not possible.

“Living with HIV is not a crime, and HIV criminalization laws have been proven, time and again, not to work for the benefit of the community or in the service of justice,” said Kathleen A. Brady, MD, director of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s Division of HIV Health, in a press release. “In fact, such laws prevent public health agencies from responding effectively to the HIV epidemic by perpetuating stigma, racism, xenophobia, social and economic injustice—while reducing willingness for people to participate in HIV prevention, testing and care.”

HIV criminalization refers to the use of unfair laws to target people who have HIV—notably, African-Americans, Latinos, LGBTQ people, and women—and to punish them because of their HIV status, not because of their actions. Under outdated laws, people with HIV can be sentenced to prison in cases where HIV was not transmitted and their only crime was allegedly not disclosing their status.

It should be noted that repealing HIV laws does not mean that people can’t be held accountable for intentionally transmitting HIV. Other laws may apply to the situation.

Many HIV laws were passed in the early days of the epidemic, when fear and lack of scientific knowledge about the virus reigned. Fast-forward four decades, and today we know, for instance, that people with HIV who take their meds and maintain an undetectable viral load do not transmit the virus sexually, a fact referred to as Undetectable Equals Untransmittable, or U=U.

In recent years, New Jersey modernized its HIV crime laws. And in 2021, Illinois became the second state to completely repeal its discriminatory HIV crime laws (California did so in 2017). Lawmakers in Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia have also updated similar laws. For related articles, see “Breaking HIV Laws: A Roundup of Efforts to Decriminalize HIV,” and “HIV Is Not a Crime Awareness Day 2026.”

“Criminal penalties for living with HIV have never served an effective law enforcement purpose,” Ronda Goldfein, executive director of the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, told Pennsylvania Capital Star. “No credible research has ever linked penalties with reduction in HIV transmission.”

“The signing of SB 45 is an important step toward ending outdated policies rooted in fear and stigma rather than science,” said attorney Tito Valdes, director of LGBTQ+ Affairs for the City of Philadelphia, in a press release. “No one should face harsher treatment under the law because they are living with HIV. We applaud Governor Shapiro and the advocates who worked for years to make this change possible and remain committed to advancing policies that promote dignity, equity and public health for all Philadelphians.”

Mexico: Campaigners press Baja California to vote on HIV law reform

LGBTQ+ collective seeks progress in reform to eliminate crime that criminalizes people with HIV in Baja California

The group called on the State Congress’s Diversity Committee to put the bill seeking to repeal the offence of “risk of transmission” to a vote.

Mexicali, B.C.–The reform to remove the offence of “risk of transmission” from the Baja California Penal Code has been stalled for almost a year, denounced the Arcoíris Collective, which is calling on the State Congress to put it to a vote, arguing that the current legislation criminalises people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Javier Russell, leader of the Colectivo Arcoíris, explained that the amendment was tabled last year and has already gone through the relevant legislative process; however, he stated that it only remains to be brought before the plenary session for a vote, and therefore called on members of the State Congress to stop keeping it “on ice”.

“It is essentially a request to the Baja California Congress’s Diversity Committee to put the bill repealing the ‘risk of contagion’ provision to a vote; this bill was tabled last year and has already gone through the legislative process; all that remains is for it to be voted on,” said the collective’s leader.

Russell pointed out that Article 160 of the State’s Criminal Code penalises people with infectious diseases, a provision which, he asserted, has been rendered obsolete by scientific advances and constitutes a form of discrimination against those living with HIV.

The group’s leader indicated that treatments are now available that enable a person with HIV to achieve an undetectable viral load, thereby reducing the risk of transmission; he therefore considered that maintaining such regulations contradicts scientific knowledge and human rights.

Similarly, Russell recalled that Mexico has made international commitments under the 2030 Agenda to achieve the 95-95-95 target, which aims for 95 per cent of people living with HIV to know their status, for 95 per cent of them to receive treatment, and for 95 per cent of those on treatment to achieve an undetectable viral load.

The activist pointed out that retaining the current laws criminalises people on the basis of their health status and runs counter to these objectives and to the national policies promoted to combat stigma and discrimination.

Finally, Javier Russell reiterated his call to the members of the Diversity Commission to ensure that the bill is debated and put to a vote, given that its approval would bring state legislation into line with scientific advances and the country’s commitments regarding health and human rights.

US: Pennsylvania approves bill to end HIV sentencing enhancement

Pennsylvania House unanimously passes bill ending HIV-specific criminal penalty enhancement

The Pennsylvania House voted unanimously to approve Senate Bill 45 on July 12, sending legislation that would remove an HIV-specific criminal sentencing enhancement from state law to Governor Josh Shapiro’s desk.

The bill eliminates a provision that allows people living with HIV to face more severe criminal penalties based solely on their HIV status, a policy that LGBTQ+ advocates and public health experts have long argued is outdated and unsupported by modern medical science.

Following the vote, the Pennsylvania LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus praised the legislation, calling it “an important step toward ending the criminalization of HIV status in Pennsylvania.”

The caucus also thanked Rep. Ben Waxman, who sponsored companion legislation in the House to advance the reform.

Under current Pennsylvania law, a person living with HIV can receive enhanced criminal penalties in certain cases regardless of whether HIV transmission was possible. One frequently cited example involves prostitution offenses, which are generally misdemeanors but can be elevated to felonies for someone living with HIV, even in situations involving no physical contact or conduct incapable of transmitting the virus.

Supporters of Senate Bill 45 argue those provisions reflect outdated understandings of HIV rather than current medical evidence.

Advances in HIV treatment have transformed the virus from a fatal diagnosis into a manageable chronic condition for most people with access to care. Antiretroviral therapy allows many people living with HIV to achieve an undetectable viral load, preventing sexual transmission of the virus while enabling them to live long, healthy lives.

The Equality Caucus said removing HIV-specific sentencing enhancements better aligns Pennsylvania law with contemporary science while helping reduce stigma surrounding people living with HIV.

“Senate Bill 45 brings Pennsylvania law into closer alignment with current science, reduces stigma, and creates a legal framework that can continue to evolve alongside future advances in HIV research and care,” the caucus said in a statement.

With final legislative approval complete, Senate Bill 45 now awaits Governor Josh Shapiro’s signature. If signed into law, Pennsylvania would join a growing number of states that have modernized or repealed HIV-specific criminal statutes in response to advances in HIV prevention, treatment, and scientific understanding.

 

US: Louisiana reform offers blueprint for ending HIV Criminalisation

Decriminalizing HIV: 3 moves that helped ETAF secure progress in Louisiana

More than 30 U.S.states still criminalize HIV under laws written decades ago, when far less was understood about how the virus is transmitted. These outdated statutes can mean prosecution or imprisonment for people living with HIV, despite scientific advances that have transformed both treatment and transmission risk. 

Louisiana just took a significant step toward changing that. On May 15, 2026, Governor Jeff Landry signed House Bill 808 into law, narrowing the state’s HIV exposure statute to conduct that poses a substantial likelihood of transmission and creating new protections for people living with HIV who disclose their status and maintain an undetectable viral load. HB808 passed both chambers unanimously, a first for an HIV criminalization reform measure in the South. 

The new law, which goes into effect August 1, reflects nearly a decade of work by advocates, people living with HIV, and partners across Louisiana supported in part by FCAA member Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF). The organization recognizes that criminalizing HIV impacts people’s ability to live a free and just life, find employment or housing, and stay healthy and undetectable — particularly for women, LGBTQ+ people, and the Black community. Through its HIV Is Not a Crimecampaign, ETAF is working to overturn these laws to support the freedoms of people living with HIV across the U.S. 

ETAF’s Jake Arman recently shared three strategies from their work that other funders can apply to their own efforts. 

  1. Provide flexible, long-term funding.

ETAF has restructured its grantmaking to “empower states to plan strategically for the long term, beyond just the immediate year or shifting political climates,” Arman says. In an environment where meaningful change can take years or even decades, that long-range perspective is key. ETAF’s funding approach allows coalitions to wait for the right legislative moment and invest in proactive education in the meantime.

  1. Invest in bipartisan relationship-building.

The campaign’s wins “are rooted in sustained trust-building efforts and internal strategies, enabling the community to work across political aisles to garner the support needed to change HIV laws,” Arman says. Louisiana’s unanimous vote shows what that kind of relational groundwork can produce, even on issues where consensus seems unlikely. 

  1. Celebrate incremental wins.

Big legislative wins are rare in this work. Yet even smaller legal successes can make a real difference for people living with HIV, which is why ETAF treats even smaller changes as cause for celebration. “Community input has helped us focus on deepening our impact, rather than chasing grand metrics,” Arman says.  “The incremental law changes of HIV Is Not A Crime have been vital for sustaining morale and purpose, and attracting new supporters of HIV-related issues, especially at the local level.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE CAMPAIGN

With outdated criminalization laws still on the books in more than 30 states, ETAF’s work is far from over. As shifting political tides create new risks for people living with HIV, ETAF sees these efforts as more urgent than ever — working toward a day where no person is subjected to unjust HIV laws.

Mexico: National HIV agency backs repeal of HIV criminalisation offence

Censida welcomes the repeal of the offence of “risk of transmission” to strengthen the strategy against HIV

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

The organisation argues that criminalising the disease discourages voluntary testing.

The National Centre for the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis (CENSIDA) supported the repeal of the offence known as “risk of transmission”, considering it a step forward in terms of public health and human rights, as it removes a provision which, according to scientific evidence, fostered stigma and hindered timely access to HIV prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

The agency maintained that criminalising a health condition “does not reduce new infections or strengthen prevention strategies”.

On the contrary, it warned that the fear of legal consequences, combined with stigma and discrimination, can discourage people from undergoing voluntary diagnostic testing, limit access to preventive measures and delay people’s engagement with health services.

Recalls the work of institutions

In the statement, CENSIDA recalled that national and international bodies, including the National Council for the Prevention of Discrimination (Conapred), the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), the UNAM Institute for Legal Research, UNAIDS, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), have warned that the criminalisation associated with certain health conditions has adverse effects on prevention and epidemiological control strategies, by reinforcing stigma, discouraging testing and limiting access to medical care.

It also emphasised that the national HIV response policy is based on universal access to prevention, timely diagnosis and comprehensive treatment, whilst respecting people’s rights.

The agency highlighted that “the scientific evidence is conclusive: a person living with HIV who is receiving antiretroviral treatment and consistently maintains an undetectable viral load does not transmit the virus through sexual contact”, a principle recognised internationally as ‘Undetectable, Untransmittable’.

Call to provide prevention tools

The Ministry of Health stated that legal frameworks must be updated in line with scientific knowledge and not based on stigma. It added that decriminalisation will help strengthen a public health model based on shared responsibility, comprehensive sexual health education and access to prevention tools such as condoms, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), screening tests and timely treatment.

The agency, which reports to the Ministry of Health, indicated that this measure will also help more people to know their HIV status and access health services without fear of being stigmatised or criminalised, which will support the achievement of national and international targets to end HIV as a public health problem.

The agency reiterated that the response to HIV must place people at the centre of public policy, strengthen combined prevention strategies and reduce inequalities in access to health services free from discrimination.

“The protection of public health is strengthened through access to information, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and the unrestricted respect for human rights; not through the criminalisation of people on the basis of their health status.”

Censida reconoce derogación del delito de “peligro de contagio” para consolidar estrategia contra el VIH

La institución argumenta que criminalizar la enfermedad frena las pruebas voluntarias.

El Centro Nacional para la Prevención y Control del VIH/Sida y Hepatitis (CENSIDA) respaldó la derogación del delito denominado “Del peligro de contagio”, al considerar que representa un avance en materia de salud pública y derechos humanos, al eliminar una disposición que, de acuerdo con la evidencia científica, favorecía el estigma y dificultaba el acceso oportuno a la prevención, el diagnóstico y el tratamiento del VIH.

La dependencia sostuvo que penalizar una condición de salud “no reduce las nuevas infecciones ni fortalece las estrategias de prevención”.

Por el contrario, advirtió que el temor a consecuencias legales, sumado al estigma y la discriminación, puede desalentar la realización voluntaria de pruebas diagnósticas, limitar el acceso a herramientas preventivas y retrasar la vinculación de las personas con los servicios de salud.

Recuerda labor de instituciones

En el comunicado, CENSIDA recordó que organismos nacionales e internacionales, entre ellos el Consejo Nacional para Prevenir la Discriminación (Conapred), la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CNDH), el Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas de la UNAM, ONUSIDA, la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) y la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), han advertido que la criminalización asociada a determinadas condiciones de salud genera efectos adversos sobre las estrategias de prevención y control epidemiológico, al reforzar el estigma, desalentar la realización de pruebas y limitar el acceso a la atención médica.

Asimismo, enfatizó que la política nacional de respuesta al VIH se basa en el acceso universal a la prevención, el diagnóstico oportuno y el tratamiento integral con respeto a los derechos de las personas.

La dependencia destacó que “la evidencia científica es concluyente: una persona que vive con VIH, recibe tratamiento antirretroviral y mantiene de forma sostenida una carga viral indetectable no transmite el virus por vía sexual”, principio reconocido internacionalmente como Indetectable e Intransmisible.

Llaman a facilitar herramientas de prevención

La Secretaría de Salud señaló que los marcos jurídicos deben actualizarse conforme al conocimiento científico y no con base en el estigma. Agregó que la derogación del delito permitirá fortalecer un modelo de salud pública sustentado en la corresponsabilidad, la educación integral en salud sexual y el acceso a herramientas de prevención como el condón, la profilaxis preexposición (PrEP), la profilaxis postexposición (PEP), las pruebas de detección y el tratamiento oportuno.

El organismo, dependiente de la Secretaría de Salud, indicó que esta medida también contribuirá a que más personas conozcan su estado serológico y accedan a los servicios de salud sin temor a ser estigmatizadas o criminalizadas, lo que favorecerá el cumplimiento de las metas nacionales e internacionales para poner fin al VIH como problema de salud pública.

La dependencia reiteró que la respuesta frente al VIH debe colocar a las personas en el centro de las políticas públicas, fortalecer la prevención combinada y reducir las desigualdades en el acceso a servicios de salud libres de discriminación.

“La protección de la salud pública se fortalece mediante el acceso a la información, la prevención, el diagnóstico, el tratamiento y el respeto irrestricto de los derechos humanos; no mediante la criminalización de las personas por su condición de salud”.

Mexico: Bill seeks to remove HIV transmission from the Criminal Code in Sinaloa

Translated with DeepL.com (free version), scroll down for original article in Spanish

Sinaloa +Incluyente is promoting a bill to repeal Article 149 of the Criminal Code and remove the criminalisation of HIV transmission.

Culiacán, Sinaloa – The civil society organisation Sinaloa +Incluyente has begun drafting a bill to amend Article 149 of the Criminal Code, which would remove criminal liability for the transmission of HIV.

According to Tiago Ventura, a member of the Sinaloa +Incluyente committee, this situation stigmatises people living with HIV, as well as fuelling hate speech and acts of hatred, such as discrimination and rejection towards HIV-positive people.

The civil society organisation maintains that this is a shared responsibility.

“The main aim is to decriminalise. In other words, there is a view that if a person contracts HIV, the blame lies with the other person (with whom they had sexual relations), and there are criminal grounds for prosecution in such cases,” Tiago told the media.

Although the draft bill is currently undergoing review and amendments by the legislature, it has already yielded positive results in states such as Tlaxcala and Mexico City.

What do the law and the initiative say?

The initiative drafted by the group seeks to repeal Article 149 of Chapter Three of the Penal Code of the State of Sinaloa, ‘Provisions common to homicide and bodily harm’, which specifies a penalty for any person who, knowing their condition, infects another person with a disease – an act punishable by at least six months’ imprisonment:

ARTICLE 149. Any person who, knowing that they are suffering from a serious and communicable disease, by any means endangers the health of another by risking infection, shall be sentenced to between six months and one year’s imprisonment; if, as a result of the infection, the victim’s life is endangered or they die, the relevant legal provisions shall apply.

Where transmission occurs between spouses or cohabiting partners, proceedings shall only be brought upon the complaint of the affected party.

For the community, this represents a constant violation of human rights and the criminalisation of people living with HIV; furthermore, they consider the penalty to be excessive.

According to the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination (COPRED) in Mexico City, these practices and legal provisions constitute a violation of the human dignity of people living with HIV, AIDS or other sexually transmitted infections.

The group therefore maintains that this is a social and health issue that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

They hope to resubmit the bill, with the required amendments incorporated, during the month of July.

Con iniciativa de ley, buscan quitar del Código Penal el contagio por VIH

Sinaloa +Incluyente impulsa una iniciativa para derogar el artículo 149 del Código Penal y eliminar la penalización por contagio de VIH.

Culiacán, Sinaloa.- La asociación civil Sinaloa +Incluyente ha comenzado a redactar una iniciativa de ley para modificar el artículo 149 del Código Penal, la cual evitaría la penalización por el contagio del virus del VIH.

Según Tiago Ventura, miembro del comité de Sinaloa +Incluyente, esta situación estigmatiza a las personas que viven con VIH, además de promover discursos y actos de odio, como la discriminación y el rechazo hacia las personas VIH positivas.

La asociación civil sostiene que se trata de una responsabilidad compartida.

“El propósito principal es despenalizar. O sea, hay uno que dice que si una persona se contagia de VIH, la culpa sería de la otra persona (con la que tuvo la relación sexual), y hay causales penales en ese caso”, dijo Tiago para los medios.

Aunque la iniciativa de ley se encuentra en revisiones y correcciones por parte del Legislativo, esta ya ha tenido resultados positivos en estados como Tlaxcala y la Ciudad de México.

¿Qué dice la ley y la iniciativa?

Con la iniciativa redactada por el colectivo se busca derogar el artículo 149 del tercer capítulo del Código Penal del Estado de Sinaloa, “Disposiciones comunes al homicidio y lesiones”, que especifica una pena para cualquier persona que, conociendo su condición, contagie a otra de una enfermedad, acto que se castiga con, por lo menos, seis meses de prisión:

ARTÍCULO 149. Al que, sabiendo que padece algún mal grave y transmisible, ponga por cualquier medio en peligro de contagio la salud de otro, se le impondrá de seis meses a un año de prisión; si con motivo del contagio se pone en peligro la vida o fallece la víctima, se atenderá a las disposiciones legales respectivas.

Cuando el contagio se dé entre cónyuges o concubinos, solo se procederá por querella de parte.

Esto, para el colectivo, representa una constante violación a los derechos humanos y una criminalización hacia las personas que viven con VIH; además, consideran que la penalización es excesiva.

Según el Consejo para Prevenir y Eliminar la Discriminación  de la ciudad de México (COPRED), estas prácticas y disposiciones legales conllevan una violación a la dignidad humana de las personas que viven con VIH, SIDA u otras infecciones de transmisión sexual.

Por tanto, asegura el colectivo, se trata de un problema social y de salud que necesita atenderse con la mayor prontitud.

Esperan poder volver a presentarla, con las revisiones atendidas, durante el mes de julio.

US: Lawmakers divided as New York revisits HIV criminalisation

HIV decriminalization bill to wait another year

Nearly 30 years after a rash of HIV cases made Chautauqua County national news, some state legislators are pushing to decriminalize people living with sexual transmitted infections who engage in consensual sexual activity.

It’s a debate that isn’t falling entirely along party lines in the state Senate. And, with the state legislative session ending before S.9822 could be taken up in the state Assembly, it’s a debate that will likely continue next year. The legislation has passed the Senate before in 2023-24 and again in 2025, but has yet to make it to the Assembly floor for a vote. That hadn’t changed through Thursday; the Assembly had yet to take the bill up before the end of the legislation session on Friday.

State Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, railed against the legislation during a recent Senate debate while acknowledging Chautauqua County’s experience with criminalization of sexually transmitted diseases during consensual encounters, namely the 1990s controversy of Nushawn Williams. The former Jamestown resident, imprisoned after knowingly infecting at least a dozen women with HIV in the 1990s, is one of hundreds of sex offenders in New York still in custody despite – in Williams’ case – completing a 12-year prison sentence in 2010.

Under civil commitment laws, a judge or jury is able to determine whether a sex offender who meets the definition of a “sexually violent predator” should be released following their imprisonment or be placed in a secure facility for further supervision.

“His sexual conduct was intentional to infect more and more women,” Borrello said. “That’s what he did. He was finally convicted, but he created a public health crisis. One man created a public health crisis in Chautauqua County and went to prison for his actions. But this bill would no longer find him guilty.”

Sen. Julia Salazar, D-Brooklyn, took up sponsorship of S.9822 after the retirement of Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal. She said in her legislative justification that the state’s HIV and STI criminalization law found in state Public Health Law Section 2307, is at odds with modern public health policy. The section was first passed in 1909 to control the spread of venereal disease solely within the armed forces. During the World War II era combatting sexually transmitted infections became a national priority because, at the time, medical treatment took soldiers out of commission for months. In 1946, the legislature made the law applicable for the first time to the entire public. It hasn’t been changed since, and Salazar and other advocates to change the criminalization statute say criminalizing HIV and sexually transmitted infections make people fearful to get tested.

“We’ve heard many times appeals to false hypotheticals in arguments made in this chamber, but I’ve got to say the idea that any person would intentionally, deliberately seek to hurt another person solely by attempting to spread an STI strains credulity,” Salazar said. “It is absurd and cruelty to individuals living with an STI to suggest this. It is not actually possible any more than it would be for me if I were to contract COVID to deliberately direct that virus to attack another person. … Additionally, we know this cruel law harms women, particularly survivors of intimate partner abuse. Abusers frequently weaponize HIV, criminal laws like this existing law, that we’re repealing by threatening false exposure claims to control or punish their partners. This is well documented.”

Williams’ case is often discussed by advocates including by organizations like the Center for HIV Law, which noted on its website that Williams’ case marks the first and only time in New York state, and possibly the country, that a person has been civilly confined based largely on HIV status. That is partially true, though the case law doesn’t mention Williams’ HIV status or the fact that Williams infected so many girls with HIV in the 1990s. The Fourth Department Appellate Division has ruled several times over the past 10 years that the evidence used to convict Williams is legally sufficient to support the verdict that Williams has a mental abnormality that predisposes him to the commission of conduct constituting a sex offense and that results in him having serious difficulty controlling that conduct. That opinion was upheld in 2021 and again in 2023, when the Fourth Department Appellate Division confirmed the state “presented legally sufficient evidence that petitioner has serious difficulty controlling his behavior within the meaning of the Mental Hygiene Law. Respondents’ expert testified that petitioner had not made sufficient progress in treatment; that he failed to address his sexual deviance, which included a desire to have sex with underage girls; and that he failed to recognize how his substance abuse was related to his sexual offenses.”

Salazar counters that there are no research or data supporting the idea that laws criminalizing diseases do anything to lower transmission rates or encourage treatment or disclosure of one’s status. She also argues that Public Health Section 2307 has had a disproportionate effect on communities of color, particularly LGBTQ communities of color.

Senator Stephen Chan, R-Brooklyn, wasn’t convinced. He said during his career as a police officer he and his partner charged a man who had been released from jail after serving 17 years for a manslaughter conviction. The man was charged with first-degree rape, and then told Chan and his partner that the man had AIDS, a diagnosis that was confirmed after a court-ordered test.

“So yes, the notion of somebody that wants to intentionally give something these sexually transmitted diseases are real, and I will be voting down on this bill,” Chan said.