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.

US: North Dakota Governor signs into law House Bill 1217 to reform outdated HIV criminalisation laws

North Dakota decriminalises State HIV laws

This week, Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed into law House Bill 1217, legislation to reform North Dakota’s outdated laws that unfairly criminalized and stigmatized people living with HIV. North Dakota is the fourth state in the country to fully repeal HIV criminalization laws and the first state in the Midwest to do so.

The ACLU of North Dakota, along nonprofit organizations like Shine Bright & Live and a bipartisan group of legislators, supported House Bill 1217.

“Laws that criminalize living with HIV fundamentally undermine the constitutional rights and dignity of individuals by penalizing them for a health condition rather than any criminal behavior,” said Cody Schuler, ACLU of North Dakota advocacy manager. “We are happy that North Dakota’s laws will now become more fair, less discriminatory and will promote treatment and prevention rather than criminalization. This is a huge step forward in reducing stigma, increasing HIV testing and humanizing those living with HIV,”

In the late 1980s and ‘90s at the height of the HIV epidemic, lawmakers throughout the country passed laws that criminalized otherwise legal behaviors of people living with HIV or added HIV-related penalties to existing crimes. These laws were based on fear and the limited medical understanding of the time. When most of these laws were passed, there were no effective treatments for HIV and discrimination against people living with HIV was rampant. Research now demonstrates that people living with HIV on effective treatment cannot transmit the virus to their partners. And HIV-negative individuals can take medication, known as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV by up to 99 percent.

“The criminalization of HIV has harmed communities in North Dakota state for decades. It has done nothing other than spread fear and stigma, and it discouraged people from getting tested or knowing their status,” said Jason Grueneich, executive director and founder of Shine Bright & Live, a nonprofit organization that provides resources, support and advocacy for North Dakotans affected by HIV and AIDS. “HIV is not a crime, and we should not be treating those living with it as criminals. As a person living with HIV, I am thrilled to have been a part of this monumental progressive move forward in this national movement started by so many a decade ago.”

About the ACLU of North Dakota

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Dakota is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights. The ACLU of North Dakota is part of a three-state chapter that also includes South Dakota and Wyoming. The team in North Dakota is supported by staff in those states.

The ACLU believes freedoms of press, speech, assembly and religion, and the rights to due process, equal protection and privacy, are fundamental to a free people.  In addition, the ACLU seeks to advance constitutional protections for groups traditionally denied their rights, including people of color, women and LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit communities. The ACLU of North Dakota carries out its work through selective litigation, lobbying at the state and local level, and through public education and awareness of what the Bill of Rights means for the people of North Dakota.

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.

[Update] US: After years of effort, HIV decriminalisation bill heads to Governor’s desk

State lawmakers vote to decriminalize HIV in North Dakota

BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) — It took years of effort, but one new bill that passed the senate on Thursday will head to Governor Kelly Armstrong’s desk.

House Bill 1217 removes the criminal penalty for people living with HIV in North Dakota. For years under North Dakota law, people could be charged with a felony if they knowingly gave someone else HIV.

Fargo democrat Gretchen Dobervich spent the last three legislative sessions trying to get the bill passed.

“Because the only way we can stop the spread of any infectious disease is by testing and treatment,” Rep. Dobervich said. “This bill has not stopped any transmission of any infectious disease at all. In fact, no one has ever been charged with this bill in the 30 plus years that it’s been on the books.”

Spokespeople with North Dakota’s health and human services department supported the bill, arguing that people who live with HIV can now receive anti-retroviral therapy or ART, where they can become undetectable for the virus and cannot give the virus to someone else sexually.

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.

New case study and documentary examines how Zimbabwe repealed its HIV criminalisation law

Today, the HIV Justice Network (HJN), supported by the International AIDS Society (IAS), released a video documentary, “It is Time!” – How Zimbabwe Decriminalised HIV, along with a case study report examining Zimbabwe’s successful repeal of its HIV-specific criminal law.

The report, Reforming the Criminal Law in Zimbabwe: A Case Study, explores how advocates, legal experts, and community leaders worked together to repeal Section 79 of Zimbabwe’s Criminal Code, which criminalised HIV non-disclosure, exposure, or transmission. It outlines key strategies used in the campaign and lessons for other countries seeking to end HIV criminalisation.

The 24-minute documentary “It is Time!” brings this story to life through interviews with those involved in the multi-year effort. It also explores how advocates responded when a new law threatened to reintroduce HIV criminalisation.

Zimbabwe’s experience highlights several key strategies:

  • Coalition-building: Bringing together civil society, legal experts, and policymakers strengthened the advocacy effort.
  • Public health and human rights messaging: Advocates demonstrated how criminalisation undermined Zimbabwe’s HIV response.
  • Scientific evidence: Expert testimony helped policymakers understand the realities of HIV transmission.
  • Legislative strategy: Repealing Section 79 as part of a broader legal reform helped ensure success.

The documentary “It is Time!” is now available on the HIV Justice Network YouTube channel.

Reforming the Criminal Law in Zimbabwe: A Case Study (English, pdf, 9 pages) can be downloaded here.

The documentary and case study will also be added to the HIV Criminalisation Online Course, available for free as part of the HIV Justice Academy.

The case study and video were launched during a webinar co-hosted by HJN and IAS, featuring discussions on the significance of Zimbabwe’s law reform for the global movement against HIV criminalisation from:

  • Marlène​​​​ Bras, Director of HIV Programmes at the IAS;
  • Dr Ruth Labode, former legislator, and chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health in Zimbabwe;
  • Immaculate Owomugisha, a Ugandan lawyer and human rights activist who also sits on HJN’s Supervisory Board; and
  • HJN’s Senior Policy Analyst, Alison Symington.

A recording of webinar can now be viewed in English and in French on the IAS+ website.

US: Advocates hope report update will finally push Ohio to end HIV criminalisation

‘Guilty until our status is proven innocent’: Update on Ohio’s outdated HIV criminalization laws

With six Ohio decades-old laws still currently on the books that criminalize living with HIV, there is a new effort to give voice to the negative consequences ​and long-term impacts of the laws.

The Equality Ohio Education Fund and  Ohio Health Modernization Movement (OHMM) released an update last week to their 2024 report, “The Enforcement of HIV Criminalization in Ohio,”which documents the use of Ohio’s HIV criminalization laws from 2014 to 2020 and the consequences of HIV criminalization across the state.

Key findings of the 2024 report include:

  • 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.
  • The enforcement of Ohio’s HIV criminal statutes is geographically concentrated, with at least 26% (56 cases) of prosecutions occurring in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland). The other most-represented counties include Hamilton County (Cincinnati), with at least 26 cases, Lucas County (Toledo) with at least 16 cases, Franklin County (Columbus) with at least 15 cases and Montgomery (Dayton) and Warren counties, each with at least 10 cases.
  • 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.
  • In Cuyahoga County, 68% of HIV-related cases impacted Black Ohioans.

Most of the charges examined in the report fall under two Ohio laws.

One law makes it a crime for a person living with HIV (or hepatitis or tuberculosis) to “harass” someone with their bodily fluids. That would include spitting or throwing urine, feces or blood at another person.

Under the other law, a person can be charged with felonious assault if they have sex with another person without telling them that they are living with HIV.

The penalties for failing to disclose HIV status in Ohio are stiff regardless of whether the virus was actually transmitted or whether it was even possible for a person to transmit the virus. Possible sentences for individuals living with HIV can be anywhere from two to 29 times longer than those for Ohioans who are HIV-negative.

Most of the laws were passed decades ago, at a time fueled by fear and absent scientific understanding about how HIV is transmitted and before advancements in HIV-related treatment were widely introduced. Laws still remain in place in 34 states.

Giving voice

New to the report are the stories of three Ohioans who have been impacted by the state’s HIV criminalization laws.

Adam Reilly, OHMM legislative co-chair, said the goal of including these narratives is to humanize the laws to help Ohioans connect HIV criminalization to actual people.

“These are real people: your neighbors or even your family who have been directly affected,” said Reilly. “We hope that people finish reading the report, see the injustice and take action.”

One of those narratives came from Bryan C. Jones, a longtime HIV decriminalization advocate who lived with HIV for more than 42 years before passing away in December.

“To this day I’m still scared of having sex with someone,” Jones said. “The law says we are innocent until proven guilty, but for us [persons living with HIV/AIDS], we’re guilty until our status is proven innocent.”

Another narrative came from Anna – a pseudonym to protect her – a 37-year-old Black trans woman from Cleveland who was arrested for solicitation by an undercover detective. During the arrest, she confirmed her status of living with HIV.

“They asked me, was I HIV positive? I told them, ‘yeah,’” Anna said. “And next thing I know, they just blew it all out of proportion. Transgender woman, HIV positive, soliciting. They was trying to give me five years in prison.”

Anna took a plea deal, was sentenced to 18 months in a men’s prison – without access to gender-affirming care – and had to register as a sex offender, a consequence of Ohio’s laws that does not exist as a penalty in other states.

A part of her plea deal included making a mandated statement about her HIV status to the media.

“I [felt] like I was nobody. I mean, it’s like they made a debacle out of me,” Anna said. “Could you imagine walking out the courtroom and there’s cameras everywhere?”

The third narrative came from Kelley, a 46-year-old woman in Warren living with HIV. Kelley was was arrested and charged with felonious assault after her ex fiance claimed that she did not disclose her HIV status to him, which she states is untrue.

Kelley served five years of an eight year prison sentence.

“To this day, I still don’t understand why this is felonious assault,” Kelley said.

The hope for new legislation

Two bills were introduced in the Statehouse in late 2024 by then-Rep. Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton) to bring the six laws more in line with modern science and research.

Although neither bill advanced beyond an initial November hearing, advocates are hoping future legislation is introduced to accomplish the same science-based approach.

“Spread the word about these narratives and contact your representatives,” the OHMM’s Reilly said. “The more that lawmakers hear from their constituents, the more that they will see that there is a want, a need and a desire to modernize these laws.”

At the very least, advocates hope the updated report educates more Ohioans and inspires strong emotion. In his other role as outreach and testing manager at Caracole – the Cincinnati-based AIDS-service organization – Reilly said he regularly speaks with clients who don’t know about the six laws, including those who are living with HIV.

“I have never had an experience of someone saying, ‘These laws sound like a good idea,’” Reilly said. “Maybe if people know more about the laws, they will become enraged and something can change.”

IGNITE ACTION

  • Read the updated report “The Enforcement of HIV Criminalization in Ohio” by going here.
  • To access The Buckeye Flame’s full 2025-2026 Guide to Ohio’s LGBTQ+ Legislation, click here.

Mexico: Legislative progress expected on HIV decriminalisation bill in the State of Mexico

Repeal of the offence of ‘Danger of contagion’ is still pending in the legislature

The repeal of the offence of risk of transmission in the state territory is still pending on the local legislative agenda, said the president of the Network of Diverse Defenders of the State of Mexico, Jorge Leonardo Espinoza López.

The activist recalled that last year, in the framework of the International Day of the Fight Against AIDS, the deputy Luisa Esmeralda Navarro Hernández, Meme Nava, presented to the local Legislature a bill to reform section V of article 238 and repeal the second paragraph of article 241 and article 252 of the Penal Code of the State of Mexico, related to the risk of contagion, which is the criminalisation or criminalisation of people living with HIV who, by omission or action, transmit the virus to another person.

They argue that people are stigmatised

Espinoza López said that several sexual diversity associations in the state are seeking the repeal of this article of the State of Mexico Penal Code, as it stigmatises people living with this condition ‘it inhibits people from wanting to be diagnosed because they will be criminalised, even stigmatised by their partner or family’.

The president of the Network of Diverse Defenders of the State of Mexico suggests that once the crime of danger of contagion has been repealed, it will be possible to improve sex education and more and more people from diverse communities will approach health services.

Espinoza López mentioned that the initiative presented by Meme Nava is already being analysed by the respective parliamentary commissions, so they hope that the issue can progress this legislative year, and that the crime of danger of contagion will soon be annulled, as happened in Mexico City in 2024.

There is a willingness to abort the issue of repealing the crime of ‘danger of contagion’.

He recognised that the legislators of the State of Mexico have shown a willingness to address this issue, and therefore said he was confident that, as in the previous legislature, the demands of the diversity community would be heard on issues that have been in dispute for many years.

Finally, Espinoza López said that in addition to the issue of repealing the crime of danger of contagion, there are other pending issues such as the recognition of trans children and adolescents, the recognition of non-binary people, the creation of a specialised prosecutor’s office to attend to people of sexual diversity and the trans labour quota.

US: Lawmakers approve bill to reform HIV transmission laws in Maryland

Bills to repeal ‘antiquated’ law criminalizing transfer of HIV sail through House, Senate

Repeal supporters call current law discriminatory and ineffective at stopping spread of HIV.

Legislation that would remove a criminal penalty for intentionally transferring HIV to another person sailed through both the House and Senate chambers this week, garnering bipartisan support in the process.

That might be a surprise to some. In fact, Sen. Will Smith (D-Montgomery), who chairs the Judicial Proceedings Committee, said he was skeptical of the legislation when it first came to his committee last year. He ended up sponsoring the Senate version this year.

“I’ve had reservations on it. I, frankly, was not comfortable with it initially, and that’s because I didn’t understand the scope of how things are actually playing out,” Smith said Tuesday, after the Senate passed Senate Bill 356.

Smith and other supporters say the current law is counterproductive, antiquated and discriminatory. Repealing it would not only help destigmatize those living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but could actually help improve public health, they say.

“The law was, for right or wrong, thought to help curb the transmission of HIV,” said Del. Kris Fair (D-Frederick), who sponsored House Bill 39. “What public health experts and criminal justice organizations have taught us … is that we’ve actually seen the exact opposite.”

The Senate passed its version of the bill 33-11 on Tuesday, picking up two Republican votes. The House version passed 100-36 on Thursday, also picking up a couple Republican votes. One of the bills must still be passed by the other chamber before it can be sent to the governor for his signature, but with each chamber already passing a bill, the legislation is in good shape.

Since 1989, during the height of the AIDS crisis, Maryland has said that “an individual who has the human immunodeficiency virus may not knowingly transfer or attempt to transfer the human immunodeficiency virus to another individual.” A violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $2,500 or up to three years in prison.

Fair says the law actually hinders public health efforts, “causing people not to get tested, to stigmatize people living with HIV, criminalized otherwise rather innocuous behavior … that would have nothing to do with the transmission or potential transmission of HIV.”

Currently, people living with HIV “walk around on a day-to-day basis with this weird Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. This code basically dictates their day-to-day lives,” Fair said.

“Because of the way that it’s written, because of the way it’s interpreted and because of the way it’s used by law enforcement and by the criminal justice system, innocuous day-to-day interactions that could be physical in nature or not, suddenly get applied to this code,” he said.

Fair said that the charge can be misused. He said that there have been situations where people with HIV have been charged after spitting on or biting someone, even though HIV does not spread through saliva. He also said that people can weaponize the law.

“A few examples include relationships that have soured – two consenting individuals were in a consensual sexual relationship,” he said. “But they had some kind of falling out, and then one person goes and files charges against their former partner because they’re mad at them … they’re stuck having this criminal charge levied against them.”

According to a report from the Williams Institute, there have only been 148 HIV-related charges in Maryland from 2000-2020, when the first HIV-related charge was issued in Maryland to the most recent charge as of 2024. The Williams Institute reports that more than 80% of the cases in that timeframe were dropped.

“It’s such an ineffective and misused tool,” Fair said. Despite that, efforts to repeal the law have been more than a decade in the making. Del. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam (D-Baltimore City and Baltimore County) introduced the first version of the bill in 2013.

“As a nurse, she recognized the way that this kind of criminalization of the day-to-day lives of Marylanders further stigmatizes the issue around HIV and actually frustrated public health efforts to reduce the transmission,” Fair said.

Fair took up the effort in 2023, when it passed the House for thei first time, but did not move in the Senate.

When the bill came up last year, Smith let it die in his committee.

“I was uncomfortable with it,” he said. “This was just not high up on the ledger. So I didn’t move on it.”

A year later, Smith is on board with the legislation and agreed to sponsor it because he believes the current law is “very discriminatory.”

“No other communicable disease was pulled out separately,” he said of the law that he said was “skewed towards, frankly, Black men.”

He also added that there are other charges, such as reckless endangerment, that are more appropriate to use in the case of someone maliciously spreading HIV.

“For me it was a way to say, ‘We can get rid of this antiquated thing that was really created for discriminatory practice,’ and also treat all of these dangerous communicable disease the same way,” Smith said.