Mexico: Senator in Quintana Roo presents initiative to sentence people living with HIV to up to 25 years in prison in cases of alleged HIV transmission

PRD proposes 25 years of imprisonment to anyone who transmits HIV in Quintana Roo.

Laura Esther Beristáin Navarrete, a local senator from the PRD, presented an initiative to the Congress of Quintana Roo to sentence with up to 25 years in prison those who transmit HIV to another person.

The initiative has been described as stigmatising and a violation of the human rights of people living with the virus.

Faced with the proposal of the PRD, a group of civil organisations that fight against HIV, among them the Positive Network of Quintana Roo, ICW Mexico and Unayac, addressed a letter to the local congress in which they ask the Commission for Justice, Human Rights, Family Development and Vulnerable Groups to discard this initiative to criminalise people with HIV.

“We will not allow AIDS to be penalised by a party like the PRD, who claims to fight for the underprivileged and social causes” said Roberto Guzman, a member of the Positive Network of Quintana Roo.

The initiative seeks to reform Article 113 of the local Penal Code in order to include in the third section about “Crimes against Society”, a point that will detail crimes that threaten public health. In this way, those who transmit HIV to another person will be punished with a sentence of up to 5 to 25 years in prison.

The activists said that if this amendment to article 113 was approved, it would undermine the dignity of people living with HIV by listing them as alleged criminals, and warned that the initiative has as a background the promotion of stigma towards this population.

They also clarified that Mexico has signed international agreements in favour of the rights of people with the virus and against its criminalisation.

“The evidence points out that to prevent HIV, punitive measures are not recommended, but public health policies that promote structural changes are,” said Guzmán, who insisted that the penalty will directly affect other prevention strategies, as people will resist having an HIV test out of fear of stigma, which will interfere with the timely detection of the virus and its treatment.

In response to the demands of civil society, Beristaín defended her proposal and said that the initiative is not against people with HIV, but seeks to care for the health of the inhabitants of the state and punish those who pose a threat against it.

Finally she invited the activists to read the initiative in full. “The proposal has nothing against infected people. The only thing that seeks to take care of the health of the Quintana Roo society, it is not criminalising anyone, “said the deputy.

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Laura Esther Beristáin Navarrete, senadora local de la bancada del PRD, presentó una iniciativa ante el Congreso de Quintana Roo para castigar con hasta 25 años de prisión a quienes transmitan el VIH a otra persona. La iniciativa ha sido calificada de estigmatizadora y de ir en contra de los derechos humanos de las personas que viven con el virus.

Frente a la propuesta de la perredista, un grupo de organizaciones civiles que luchan en contra del VIH, entre las que se encuentra La Red Positiva de Quintana Roo, ICW México y Unayac, dirigieron una carta al congreso local en el que solicitan a las comisiones de Justicia, Derechos Humanos, Desarrollo Familiar y Grupos Vulnerables que descarten dicha iniciativa por criminalizar a las personas con VIH.

“No permitiremos que se penalice el Sida por un partido como el PRD, que afirma luchar por los desvalidos y las causas sociales, anunciaron que la propia sociedad de Cancún trabajará por los grupos de riesgo”, declaró Roberto Guzmán, integrante de la Red Positiva de Quintana Roo.

La iniciativa busca reformar el artículo 113 del Código Penal local con el fin de incluir en la tercera sección los “Delitos contra la Sociedad”, punto en el que se detallarán los crímenes que atentan contra la salud pública. De esta forma, se castigará con una pena de 5 a 25 años de cárcel a quienes transmitan el VIH a otra persona.

Los activistas señalaron que de ser aprobada esta reforma al artículo 113 se atentaría contra la dignidad de las personas que viven con VIH al catalogarlas como presuntos criminales, además, alertaron que la iniciativa tiene como trasfondo la promoción del estigma hacia este sector poblacional. Asimismo, aclararon que México ha firmado convenios internacionales a favor de los derechos de las personas con el virus y en contra de su criminalización.

“Las pruebas señalan que para que la prevención del VIH no se recomiendan medidas punitivas, sino políticas de salud pública que promuevan cambios estructurales”, comentó Guzmán, quien insistió en que la penalización afectará de forma directa otras acciones de prevención, pues las personas se resistirán a hacerse una prueba de VIH por temor al estigma, lo cual se interpondrá en la detección oportuna del virus y en su tratamiento.

Ante los reclamos de la sociedad civil, Beristaín defendió su propuesta y dijo que la iniciativa no está en contra de las personas con VIH, sino que busca cuidar la salud de los habitantes del estado y castigar a quienes atenten contra ella. Finalmente invitó a los activistas a leer de forma completa la iniciativa.

“La propuesta no tiene nada en contra de las personas infectadas. Lo único que busca es cuidar la salud de la sociedad quintanarroense, no se está criminalizando a nadie”, señaló la diputada.

Con información de Milenio y Noticaribe. Imagen tomada del Congreso del Estado de Quintana Roo.

US: Plus magazine journalist writes about the latest case of HIV criminalisation in Florida highlighting how the law discriminates against those living with HIV

Alcid Jean was charged with five felonies in the latest HIV criminalization overreach

By Desiree Guerrero
JUNE 07 2017 7:00 AM EDT

An Orlando, Fla. resident, Alcid Jean, was arrested last Thursday on five felony counts of an “unlawful act referencing sexual transmitted disease,” for allegedly not disclosing his HIV-positive status to sexual partners. Jean, 44, was arrested May 25th while working his shift at Walt Disney World’s Old Key West Resort, reports Orlando’s WKMG News 6.

Jean’s arrest highlights the ongoing controversy around laws that criminalize HIV or discriminate those living with HIV. The Florida law (penal code 384.24) that Jean was arrested under states that those with various other sexual transmitted infections—including syphilis—who do not disclose to their sexual partners can only be charged with a misdemeanor. The law singles out people with HIV by allowing them to be charged with a felony for not disclosing their status to partners.

Most of these types of laws were enacted decades ago when HIV was seen as a death sentence. They don’t reflect current medical and scientific realities and thus are discriminatory against people living with HIV. Especially since untreated syphilis can be equally harmful and potentially deadly (once curable, a strain of syphilis has emerged that is resistant to all current antibiotics).

Being able to charge HIV-positive people with a felony versus a misdemeanor under this law, means that much harsher sentencing applies. While first degree misdemeanors are punishable by up to one year in jail under Florida law; just one count of an unlawful act referencing sexual transmitted disease as a felony in the first degree in can result in a 30-year prison sentence. If convicted on all five counts, he would likely remain in jail for the rest of his life.

Racial and sex discrimination are significant factors in HIV criminalization. Research shows that African Americans, sex workers, and women significantly higher rates of conviction and jail sentences. In fact, those who aren’t white men are more likely to see these types of charges proceed to court—and in California, for example, prosecutors have won nearly every case that has gone to trial.

According to a study from University of California Los Angeles School of Law’s Williams Institute, 95 percent of the state’s HIV criminalization arrests involved sex workers. Black and Latinx people make up two-thirds (67 percent) of those who came into contact with the criminal justice system around these statutes. Across all HIV-related arrests, white men were significantly more likely to be released and not charged (60 percent were released).

Florida and California are not the only states that carry these types of HIV criminalization laws. In an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Justice, researchers found that, as of 2011, a total of 67 laws explicitly focused on persons living with HIV existed in 33 states.

Another disturbing factor of these laws is that many don’t specify a difference in charge or punishment even if the individual is unaware of their status, or if they have an undetectable viral load (which means one cannot transmit the virus). Partly, that’s because most of these laws were enacted during the 1980s and ‘90s, at the height of the epidemic in this country, when transmission was considered a death sentence.

The ideas that support these laws are grossly outdated in light of the advances in treatment and prevention options, such as antiretroviral therapy and the HIV prevention protocol, PrEP. Today, people living with HIV who are on ART can expect near-normal life expectancy rates, which supports the argument that these laws need serious reform. In February of this year, California has taken the first step in doing so, by introducing a bill to reform the state statutes that criminalize HIV.

Florida, however, has not taken similar steps. Although reports indicate Jean had “unprotected sex” it’s not yet known if he is on ART, or if his viral load is currently undetectable. Though Inside Edition reported that one of Jean’s past partners claims he transmitted HIV to her, but whether she is indeed positive hasn’t been officially confirmed. (It’s also very difficult to prove transmission has occurred between two people, even if both have the same strain of HIV.)

After several media outlets sensationalized the story by using headlines like, “Disney Worker Failed to Tell Women He Was HIV-Positive Before Sex: Cops” (thus connecting children, HIV, sex, and crime in readers’ minds), it should come as no surprise that a representative for Disney announced Jean has been placed on unpaid leave pending the outcome of the case.

US: Help stop criminalisation laws in Pennsylvania by signing petition to express your opposition to Bills proposing to expand the current laws criminalising people living with HIV

HIV Is a Medical Condition, Not a Crime. STOP HIV Criminalization Laws in Pennsylvania!

Target: PA Rep. Dom Costa and PA House Judiciary Committee

Dear Pennsylvania Community Members, Colleagues & Supporters:

We, the Positive Women’s Network-USA Pennsylvania Chapter, oppose all forms of criminalization against people living with HIV in our communities, including those who are currently incarcerated.

Two current PA House Bills, HB 305 & 306, if passed, will expand the current laws criminalizing people living with HIV or suspected of having HIV within the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

Please sign this petition to express your opposition to PA House Bills 305 & 306.

To: PA Rep. Dom Costa and PA House Judiciary Committee

From: [Your Name]

Pennsylvania House Bills PA-HB 305 and PA-HB 306, if passed, will expand the current laws criminalizing people living with HIV or suspected of having HIV within the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. HIV is a medical condition, not a crime. Laws criminalizing perceived HIV exposure are extremely damaging to efforts at prevention and treatment, are stigmatizing to people living with HIV, and violate the human rights of people living with HIV.

Our communities stand united as Pennsylvanians in our view that criminalization of people living with HIV is wrong. We, the Positive Women’s Network-USA Pennsylvania Chapter and allies, oppose all forms of criminalization against people living with HIV in our communities, including those who are currently incarcerated.

We urge you to reject HB 305 and HB 306.

US: California State Senate votes to make HIV-exposure a misdemeanour instead of a felony, in line with other communicable diseases

Knowingly exposing others to HIV should no longer be a felony, state Senate says

The state Senate on Wednesday voted to no longer make it a felony for someone infected with HIV to knowingly expose others to the disease by having unprotected sex without telling his or her partner about the infection.

The crime would be downgraded to a misdemeanor, and the bill would also apply to people who donate blood or semen without telling the blood or semen bank that they have acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, or have tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, the precursor to AIDS.

The measure, which next goes to the Assembly for consideration, was introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who said it is unfair to make HIV/AIDS the only communicable disease given such harsh treatment by prosecutors.

“These laws are irrational and discriminatory,” Wiener told the Senate, adding that the current felony status is “creating an incentive not to be tested, because if you don’t know your status you can’t be guilty of a felony.”

The measure was widely opposed by Republican lawmakers including Sen. Joel Anderson of San Diego.  “If you intentionally transmit something that is fundamentally life-threatening to the victim, you should be charged and go to jail,” he said.

Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Murrieta) said, “My friends, it’s not a gay issue. It’s a public health issue. We shouldn’t allow someone to play Russian roulette with other people’s lives.”

Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), a physician, voted for the bill and argued that it undermines public health to imprison those with HIV under the current law.

US: Lambda Legal describes California Senate Bill purpose to update HIV criminalisation laws

SB 239: A Long-Overdue Update of CA’s Discriminatory HIV Criminalization Laws

Lambda Legal | Scott Schoettes – California Senate Bill 239 is a long-overdue update of California’s outdated and discriminatory criminal laws targeting people living with HIV. As a co-sponsor of this important legislation, Lambda Legal wants to correct some misperceptions and clarify the purpose of this bill.

SB 239 was introduced to improve public health by creating an environment in which more people are willing to get tested for HIV, to obtain the medical treatment they need to protect their own health and the health of others and to discuss their HIV status with sexual partners.

By singling out people who know they are HIV-positive for severe criminal punishment as a result of sexual activity, regardless whether there was any real risk of transmission or any harm actually occurred, current law inhibits rather than encourages the exact practices that will help combat HIV/AIDS.

Let’s get the biggest misperception about SB 239 out of the way first.

SB 239 does not change California law with respect to disclosure of a person’s HIV status.

Current law does not require disclosure of one’s HIV-positive status prior to sexual activity. While it is true that the current HIV exposure statute applies only if the person did not disclose their HIV-positive status; mere nondisclosure isn’t a violation of the law. Rather, the person must also act with the specific intent to transmit HIV.

SB 239 would not change that.

Instead, SB 239 updates the law to incorporate the current scientific understanding of HIV.

For example, we now know that people living with HIV who are taking HIV medications—and therefore have a suppressed viral load—cannot transmit HIV to their sexual partners. With that in mind, SB 239 clarifies that activities undertaken to reduce the risk of transmission—such as using a condom or being on treatment—demonstrate a lack of intent to transmit HIV (or, for that matter, any other disease).

These refinements of the law help define the limited circumstances under which it is appropriate to penalize disease transmission.

SB 239 also eliminates the injustice in California criminal law for people living with HIV.

Under current law, HIV is the only medical condition that can result in a felony conviction. And individuals with HIV can be subject to a longer potential sentence than for certain types of manslaughter.

Exposure to all other infectious or communicable diseases—several of them also incurable or potentially fatal if untreated—would result in at most a misdemeanor conviction.

Given that HIV is now a manageable condition for people with access to care, it is time to stop putting it in a class all by itself. SB 239 would pull HIV out of its own separate statute and include it in the law that applies to every other serious communicable disease.

Eliminating this type of discrimination against people living with HIV is an important step in achieving the public health goals of SB 239.

Thanks to modern medical science, we now have the tools needed to make AIDS a thing of the past.

People who are diagnosed with HIV in a timely fashion and receive the necessary medical care can expect to lead long, healthy lives. But currently, approximately one in seven people living with HIV in the United States is unaware of their HIV-positive status, and only 40% of people living with HIV are engaged in medical care and have a suppressed viral load.

We must increase the number of people who know their HIV status and are on treatment, and SB 239 will help achieve that.

There is a tremendous amount of work to be done to eliminate public misconceptions about HIV, the routes and relative risks of transmission and the stigma that stems from these misconceptions.

But one thing California can do immediately is remove the discrimination in the law against people with HIV.

That is what SB 239 is designed to do and that’s why over 100 organizations support the bill, including APLA Health, the Black AIDS Institute, Equality California, Positive Women’s Network-USA, ACLU of California, National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), HIV Medicine Association, SF AIDS Foundation, Bienestar, Planned Parenthood of California, Transgender Law Center and Human Rights Watch.

Together, we can make California law on this subject a model for the whole country.

US: Law review article examines Louisiana's HIV-specific law and its discriminatory nature

This law review article summarizes the science of HIV and the historical background of HIV and HIV-related stigmas in the United States (“U.S.”). It delves into statistics about HIV diagnoses in the U.S. and Louisiana, and the disproportionate impact that HIV has on southern communities and communities of color. It then examines Louisiana’s HIV-specific law, introduced in 1987 and not updated since 1993, identifies the ineffectiveness and discriminatory nature of the law, how it is contrary to public health efforts, and calls for science and logic based revisions to it.  It also reviews several Louisiana HIV criminal cases.  Finally, the article acknowledges that solely changing the HIV criminal statute will not remove the stigma associated with HIV, and proposes mandatory public health training for law enforcement officers and prosecutors to combat implicit biases and HIV stigma.

The full article is availaible here

Norway: Activists concerned about latest proposals to change Norway's HIV law

Critical to changes in section 237 of the Criminal Code

Reidar Engesbak, April 26, 2017

(Google translation from http://blikk.no, original post below)

The government last week presented a proposal – Prop. 120 L (2016–2017) – for penalties on transmission of infection and endangered spread of infection.

The Ministry of Justice’s submitted to the Storting a proposal for amendments to section 237 of the Criminal Code, which mainly follows the recommendations of the statutory committee that were appointed on the basis of criticism of the current criminal law regulation.

The law committee resulted in the NOU “About Love and Cooling Tower – Criminal Justice in Major Infectious Diseases.”

“I am pleased that we now propose a regulatory framework that addresses the medical development,” said Per-Willy Amundsen, Deputy Minister of Justice, in a press release.

The proposal entails, among other things, clarification that criminal liability is not imposed when appropriate contingency measures have been observed. This includes, among other things, successful medical treatment of HIV infection. Emphasis has been placed on the fact that the knowledge base on the treatment of HIV infection has changed in recent years and that the infection risk from well-treated HIV-positive individuals must be considered minimal.

The government also proposes a change in the Criminal Procedure Act, which allows the police to routinely investigate the infectious status of persons suspected of rape or other serious sexual assault.

“The proposal means that we can be clarified faster than today if the victims have been exposed to a risk of infection. It is important for the government to strengthen the offender’s position in criminal matters, and this change will contribute to that, “Amundsen said in the press release.

Contrary to UNAIDS ‘recommendations

The user organization New Plus – Hivpositives National Association is not so excited. The proposals, according to New Plus’s view, involve a number of things that will worsen the legal situation of those living with HIV.

“What is positive with the bill is that it is suggested that you can not prosecute people who have been negligent and that it is now necessary to commit gross negligence in order to be prosecuted,” said Kim Fangen, Managing Director of New Plus.

New Plus nevertheless believes that the boundary is still unclear. “It is still not the case that actual transmission of infection will be required in order to be punished. Consequently, the provision will still violate UNAIDS ‘recommendations, which state that punishment can only be used where there is a person who is aware that he or she has HIV or with the knowledge and willingness to infect another and infection is actually transmitted.

A little impractical

The proposition is for people to be treated for successful treatment to be exempted from punishment. It’s a suggestion New Plus applaudes. “However, the proposal implies that one can only be exempted from punishment after successful treatment and has been with his partner for prior infection prevention guidance from healthcare professionals, as well as the consent of the partner after this. This scheme applies today only to persons living in marriage or marriage-like relationships. The Ministry therefore wishes to extend the personal circle that will be covered in principle, it will apply to all,” said Fangen to Blikk Nett.

New Plus believes the scheme is impractical. “We can hardly see for ourselves that you want to bring a man for two weeks to the GP to get such consent. It will soon become most relevant for those who have been together for so long that one will nevertheless be covered by today’s wording about marital-like relationships. In any event, this means that an obligation to inform sexual partners is forced for persons who are nevertheless not infectious. People who are on successful treatment will not be able to transfer infection to others, says Fangen, and refers to statements by Professor Jens Lundgren at Rigshospitalet in Denmark.

“When you know at the same time how little knowledge exists in the society about HIV, this means that you can quickly find yourself in a very vulnerable situation to those you want to have sex with, without even jeopardizing the other.

Increased penalty frame

The Ministry of Justice’s proposal also wishes to raise the penalty frame for gross negligence from 3 to 6 years through a new provision in the Act. “This is very serious because it sends a signal about the severity of these actions and could make it even more stigmatizing to live with HIV,” Kim Fangen points out.

“We know that most infections occur when the person who has the virus does not even know that they are infected. These penalties will continue to hit people who have, in their ignorance, exposed others to infectious persons and people who can not actually infect anyone, but because they have not been open about status and conducted infectious guidance can be punished nevertheless. This is believed to mean that fewer will be open about HIV status and that people living with HIV will feel further stigmatized, “said Kim Fangen to Blikk Nett.

“We therefore see no reason to cheer over this and will continue the fight to completely decriminalize HIV.

Kritisk til endringer i Straffeloven § 237

Regjeringen la forrige uke fram et forslag til straffebestemmelser om smitteoverføring og allmennfarlig smittespredning.

Justisdepartementets proposisjon (Prop.120L) til Stortinget et forslag til endringer i Straffelovens paragraf 237, som i hovedsak følger opp anbefalingene til lovutvalget som ble oppnevnt på bakgrunn av kritikk mot den gjeldende strafferettslige reguleringen.

Lovutvalget resulterte i NOU-en «Om kjærlighet og kjøletårn — Strafferettslige spørsmål ved alvorlige smittsomme sykdommer.»

– Jeg er fornøyd med at vi nå foreslår et regelverk som tar opp i seg den medisinske utviklingen, sa justis- og beredskapsminister Per-Willy Amundsen (FrP) i en pressemelding.

Forslaget innebærer blant annet en klargjøring av at straffeansvar ikke pådras når forsvarlige smitteverntiltak er iakttatt. Dette omfatter blant annet vellykket medisinsk behandling av hivsmitte. Det er lagt vekt på at kunnskapsgrunnlaget om behandling av hivsmitte har endret seg de siste årene, og at smitterisikoen fra velbehandlede hivpositive personer må anses som minimal.

Regjeringen foreslår også en endring i straffeprosessloven som åpner for at politiet rutinemessig kan undersøke smittestatusen til personer som er mistenkt for voldtekt eller andre alvorlige seksuelle overgrep.

– Forslaget innebærer at vi raskere enn i dag kan få avklart om fornærmede har blitt utsatt for smittefare. Det er viktig for regjeringen å styrke fornærmedes stilling i straffesaker, og denne endringen vil bidra til det, sa Amundsen i pressemeldingen.

Strider mot UNAIDS’ anbefalinger

Brukerorganisasjonen Nye Pluss – Hivpositives landsforening er ikke så begeistret. Forslagene innebærer etter Nye Pluss sitt syn en rekke ting som vil forverre den juridiske situasjonen for de som lever med hiv.

– Det som er positivt med proposisjonen, er at det foreslås at man ikke kan straffeforfølge personer som bare har vært uaktsomme, og at det skal nå kreves grov uaktsomhet for å kunne straffeforfølges, sier Kim Fangen, daglig leder i Nye Pluss.

Nye Pluss mener likevel at grensegangen fortsatt er uklar.

– Det er fortsatt ikke slik at faktisk smitteoverføring vil kreves for at man skal kunne straffes. Følgelig vil bestemmelsen fortsatt stride mot UNAIDS’ anbefalinger, som statuerer at straff bare kan brukes der det er snakk om at en person enten er klar over at hen har hiv, eller med viten og vilje går inn for å smitte en annen og smitte faktisk overføres.

Lite praktisk

Proposisjonen går inn for at personer på vellykket behandling skal fritas fra straff. Det er et forslag Nye Pluss applauderer.

– Forslaget innebærer dog at man bare kan fritas fra straff om man er på vellykket behandling og har vært med sin partner til forutgående smittevernveiledning hos helsepersonell, samt fått samtykke fra partneren etter dette. Denne ordningen gjelder i dag bare for personer som lever i ekteskap eller ekteskapslignende forhold. Departementet ønsker dermed å utvide personkretsen som vil omfattes til at den i prinsippet vil gjelde alle, sier Fangen til Blikk Nett.

Nye Pluss mener ordningen er lite praktisk.

– Vi kan vanskelig se for oss at man vil ta med seg en man har datet i to uker til fastlegen for å få et slikt samtykke. Det blir fort mest aktuelt for de som har vært sammen såpass lenge at man uansett vil dekkes av dagens ordlyd om ekteskapslignende forhold. Uansett betyr dette at man tvinger frem en informasjonsplikt overfor seksualpartnere for personer som uansett ikke er smittefarlige. Personer som er på vellykket behandling vil ikke være i stand til å overføre smitte til andre, sier Fangen og viser til uttalelser fra professor Jens Lundgren ved Rigshospitalet i Danmark.

– Når man samtidig vet hvor lite kunnskap som finnes i samfunnet om hiv, gjør dette at man fort setter seg i en veldig sårbar situasjon overfor de man vil ha sex med, uten at man selv utgjør noen fare for den andre.

Økt strafferamme

Justisdepartementets proposisjon ønsker i tillegg å heve strafferammen for grov uaktsomhet fra 3 til 6 år gjennom en ny bestemmelse i loven.

– Dette er svært alvorlig fordi det sender et signal om alvorlighetsgraden av disse handlingene og vil kunne gjøre det ytterligere stigmatiserende å leve med hiv, påpeker Kim Fangen.

– Vi vet at de fleste smitteoverføringer skjer der personen som har viruset ikke selv vet at hen er smittet. Disse straffebestemmelsene vil forsette å ramme personer som i sin uvitenhet har utsatt andre for smittefare og personer som i realiteten ikke kan smitte noen, men som fordi de ikke har vært åpne om status og gjennomført smitteveiledning vil kunne straffeforfølges likevel. Dette tror vi vil medføre at færre vil være åpne om hivstatus og at personer som lever med hiv vil føle seg ytterligere stigmatisert, sier Kim Fangen til Blikk Nett.

– Vi ser dermed ingen grunn til å juble over dette og vil fortsette kampen for å avkriminalisere hiv fullstendig.

US: HIV criminalisation laws are outdated, stigmatising and applied unfairly and it’s time to end the cycle says Erika D. Smith

The AIDS crisis is over. Why are people still going to jail over HIV? 

BY ERIKA D. SMITH

I’m not in the habit of quoting Ronald Reagan. But on Monday, as legislation that would greatly reduce the criminal penalties for transmitting HIV moved one step closer to a vote in the California Senate, I couldn’t help but think of words penned by the former president.

The year was 1990 and my teacher handed out a Washington Post article for the class to read.

“We owe it to Ryan to make sure that the fear and ignorance that chased him from his home and his school will be eliminated,” Reagan wrote. “We owe it to Ryan to open our hearts and our minds to those with AIDS. We owe it to Ryan to be compassionate, caring and tolerant toward those with AIDS, their families and friends.”

He was reacting to the death of Ryan White, a blond-haired boy from the Midwest who had contracted HIV during a blood transfusion for hemophilia and was diagnosed with AIDS. White wasn’t like the then-mysterious gay men in California and New York, or even the IV drug users in inner cities, who had been falling ill and dying by the thousands. He was an “innocent” victim.

At 13 years old, he got thrust into the national spotlight because he wanted to go to school with his friends. But because it was the height of the AIDS epidemic, an era when fear and willful ignorance regularly trumped facts, the school district fought his family at every turn.

As a 13-year-old girl in a Midwestern suburb, I identified with him.

Over time, that vague fear of AIDS that I once had has been replaced with an understanding that HIV is a chronic illness that can be easily managed with medication. It’s no longer a death sentence. What’s more, it’s highly unlikely that someone with an undetectable level of HIV in his or her blood, which is pretty common these days for undergoing treatment, will transmit the virus to anyone else.

Heck, hepatitis C kills three times as many people as HIV does.

But in California and more than 30 other states, dozens of laws remain on the books to punish people who willfully expose others to the virus. To this day, people still get charged with felonies over HIV and go to prison for five, 10 or even 20 years. In some states, those convicted must register as a sex offender for life.

These laws aren’t “compassionate,” “caring” or “tolerant” toward people with HIV or AIDS. They’re fear-based holdovers from the days of the “gay plague,” which in many ways, the Reagan administration callously let happen by ignoring the disease and its victims for far too long. Back in the 1980s, Reagan wasn’t “compassionate,” “caring” or “tolerant.”

San Francisco was ground zero, with three times as many AIDS cases per capita as New York and 10 times as many as Los Angeles. At one point, about half of San Francisco’s gay men were infected and most expected to die within 10 years. I’ve heard horror stories from gay men with gray hair, many of them tearing up just thinking about all the friends and partners they lost.

So it’s telling that it’s a gay man from San Francisco, Sen. Scott Wiener, who is pushing the bill that would greatly reduce the penalties for transmitting HIV.

Where California now has four felony offenses on the books for people who deliberately pass along the virus, Senate Bill 239 would repeal two of them and reduce two others to a misdemeanor, just like the intentional transmission of every other infectious or communicable disease.

The bill advanced out of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday and Wiener hopes to get it to the Senate floor by May or June.

So far, only the California Right to Life Committee has come out in opposition. Meanwhile, the list of groups in support is long, from the California Medical Association to Equality California to the ACLU.

Their reasoning is pretty plain. One is that threatening to punish people for transmitting HIV does absolutely nothing for public health. It only encourages people to hide their status or not get tested at all. You can’t be charged with infecting someone with something you didn’t know you had.

Another reason is that research shows that the laws are applied unfairly. White men, for example, make up 40 percent of the people diagnosed with HIV in California, but only 16 percent of the individuals who’ve had contact with law enforcement over it, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA.

Meanwhile, black women make up only 4 percent of the Californians diagnosed with HIV, but account for 21 percent of people who have gotten in trouble for it. A good number of them are sex workers, turning a potential misdemeanor prostitution charge into a felony.

Only about 1,260 people were accused of an HIV-related crime in California between 1988 and 2014. Of those who were convicted, 85 percent were sent to prison.

So far, only Iowa and Colorado have acted to repeal their laws. If California is next, it could potentially accelerate a fledgling national trend toward decriminalization.

There’s little hope of accomplishing change at the federal level, even though public health officials have been pushing for it for years. In Congress, Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., introduced the Repeal HIV Discrimination Act, but it’s likely to go nowhere. There has been resistance, particularly among Republicans.

Like the Reagan administration, red state lawmakers started paying attention to AIDS because of Ryan White, a boy unfairly marginalized by people who didn’t understand HIV or how it is contracted. Following an early provision in the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, which provided funding for education and treatment, they passed misguided laws to prosecute people over HIV or AIDS.

California just beat middle America to the punch.

Now the remnants of those laws are being used to marginalize a whole new group of people with HIV, many of them opioid addicts in red states spreading the virus through dirty needles. It’s time to be “compassionate,” “caring” or “tolerant.” It’s time to end the cycle.

Published in the Sacramento Bee on April 24, 2017

US: Senate bill aiming to update existing HIV criminalisation laws in Florida progresses to next stage

Bill to Modernize HIV Criminalization Makes Progress

On March 21, the Criminal Justice Committee of the Florida Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 628 (SB628). This bill would align Florida’s HIV criminalization laws with current science, modernizing them.

The Health Policy Committee of the Florida Senate will vote on this bill next. Three other Senate Committees and the Florida House still have to approve it, before it becomes law.

SB628 brings Florida’s HIV criminalization laws, written in the ‘80s, into this century. It requires proof of intent to infect and reduces the maximum sentence. Gender neutral, it replaces “sexual intercourse” with “sexual conduct.” SB628 treats HIV as one among many sexually transmitted infections.

A conviction under current law results in a felony with five-year maximum sentence. Under SB628, a conviction would result in a misdemeanor with a one-year maximum sentence.

SB628 requires proof of intent to infect. Use of a condom or compliance with a prescribed treatment would disprove intent to infect. As SB628 requires proof of “a substantial risk of transmission,” it would exclude spitting.

SB628 replaces the term “sexual intercourse” with the term “sexual conduct.” Sexual conduct would include both mixed- and same-sex sexual conduct. The bill defines sexual conduct to include anal intercourse, vaginal intercourse, and oral sex, including “rimming.”

This bill “normalizes” HIV as one of many bacterial, fungal, viral, or parasitic sexually transmitted infections. SB628 adds human papilloma virus and hepatitis to these infections.

Kamaria Laffrey, Florida Community Organizer for Sero Project, an HIV-criminalization reform group, defined modernization as “making the laws current.”  She referred to a growing consensus that people with a suppressed viral load cannot transmit the virus. She stressed the importance of keeping “your message clean and relatable to the legislators in your state.”

Some people associated with Black Lives Matter have criticized modernizing HIV Criminalization Laws. They charge that lawmakers, police, prosecutors, and judges target Black people for excessive punishment. They cite racial differences in mass incarceration and police violence as evidence. Even modernized HIV criminalization laws could still leave Black people vulnerable to police and prosecutorial excess. As a woman of color, Laffrey understands this criticism. She, however, remains focused on what can work to improve people’s lives now.

The first step to viral suppression consists in knowing one’s HIV status. Laffrey described HIV criminalization as punishing “those that know their status and privileging those that are ignorant.” As such, these laws discourage HIV testing.

Laffrey lauded SB628 as a bi-partisan effort. Rene Garcia, a Miami-Dade Republican has sponsored this bill. Daphne Campbell, a Miami-Dade Democrat, has cosponsored it. Laffrey described Garcia as “very straightforward on what’s possible and what’s not.” They have been able to talk about necessary compromises, but have focused on modernization.

She said, “We really lucked out with Garcia.” He has a history of supporting HIV issues in Florida. Garcia also chairs the Miami-Dade “Getting to Zero” Task Force. That group advises that county how to control HIV.

Laffrey also praised the Florida HIV Justice Coalition, the activists behind SB628. She described them as, “A passionate bunch of people that are excited about this process happening in Florida. Watching reform happen in Iowa and Colorado, I was on the edge of my seat wondering when this would happen in Florida. They’re just an amazing group of people that are in it for the long haul.”

The Florida HIV Justice Coalition meets once per month via webinar. Between meetings, people communicate via email. If someone wants to know more about this group, they can email Laffrey at Kamaria.laffrey@seroproject.com. If they would like to join, they can ask Laffrey to add them to the listserv.

Published in SFGN on April 14, 2017

US: Michigan candidates for the governor's office call for State's HIV felony law to be repealed

Dem Gubernatorial Candidates Call for Reform of State’s HIV-Specific Law

Advocates Applaud Move, Encourage Legislative Action Before New Governor Takes Office in 2019

LANSING – Calling Michigan’s HIV-specific felony law “discriminatory” and “wrong to criminalize sickness,” the two declared candidates for the governor’s office say it’s time to reform the law.

“I’m a strong believer in science, and in the years this law has been on the books, significant strides have been made in HIV treatment and prevention,” said Gretchen Whitmer, the former State Senate Minority Leader and Ingham County Prosecutor. She’s declared her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2018 earlier this year. “Yet prosecutions are often driven by fear and stigma, not science, just as the legislation itself was when it was passed. It’s wrong to criminalize sickness, which is what this law has effectively done. It absolutely should be revisited.”

Last month, Abdul El-Sayed, the former director of the City of Detroit’s Department of Health and Wellness Promotion, told Between The Lines that Michigan’s law “absolutely” should be repealed.

“You should not be criminalized for a disease,” he said. The 32-year-old doctor was a Rhoades Scholar and in his role as the director of Michigan’s most populous city’s health and wellness promotion, he dealt first hand with the ongoing HIV crisis in Detroit. “That is absolutely wrong. It’s hateful. It’s discriminatory, and we can, as a state, do better. You can count on me for that.”

Michigan passed the AIDS-Penetration with Uninformed Partner Law in 1988. Former lawmaker Susan Grimes Gilbert (formerly Grimes Munsell) lead the charge to pass Michigan’s law as well as participated in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) working group on the subject. That group recommended the development of HIV Assault laws in all 50 states

In an interview presented in a report in The Advocate and The American Independent News Network in 2013, she acknowledged that the law was driven by fear.

“At that time people were scared to death of [AIDS],” Grimes Munsell told the news outlets. She acknowledged much had changed since that time.

“I think it is time to repeal the [felony] law,” she said in 2013. “In fact, I don’t do this very often, but I am willing to lobby for that change.”

Her voice added to an already growing chorus calling for reform. Among them, the former staffer from ALEC who wrote the group’s draft legislation and policy recommendations and a member of President Ronald Reagan’s Commission on HIV, commonly called “The Watkins Commission.”

Social scientists and activists have criticized the laws for years as unfairly stigmatizing those living with HIV as people hell bent on transmitting their infection to others. They’ve noted the laws have little impact on behavior and at least one study has found that high profile prosecutions for HIV nondisclosure lead those most at risk of HIV infection to decline HIV testing and sexual health counseling from healthcare providers.

State Rep. Jon Hoadley (D-Kalamazoo) has been floating draft legislation for the last six months to modernize Michigan’s HIV law. Specifically, his proposal would eliminate the current felony law, and create in its stead two misdemeanor laws.

Both misdemeanor laws would require prosecutors prove beyond a reasonable doubt the accused not only had HIV, but intended to transmit the infection and took actions that had a likelihood of transmitting the virus. The lower of the two misdemeanors -which would carry up to 93 days in jail – would be used if there was no transmission. The one-year misdemeanor would be used if there was transmission of the virus.

The legislation garnered a number of co-sponsors last session, but Hoadley did not introduce it.

Activists supporting modernizing Michigan law say they are pleased the two Democratic gubernatorial candidates are raising the issue.

“We are very pleased to see the issues related to the unjust, unscientific law criminalizing HIV being taken up by candidates for the top office in the state,” says Kelly Doyle, the coalition manager for the Michigan Coalition for HIV Health and Safety. “This is about fairness and reducing stigma, and having top candidates talking about this issue helps reduce the stigma and highlight the problems.”

She was joined in that praise by Curtis Lipscomb, executive director of LGBT Detroit. He released a statement to BTL saying his group was “pleased” that the candidates “reject Michigan’s outdated HIV criminalization laws and the notion of criminalizing disease.”

“We must get rid of stigma around HIV/AIDS, testing, prevention and treatment – and listening to science is the only way to do that,” Lipscomb said.

He said his group is eager to continue discussions with the legislature “to move to repeal this dangerous law.”

Doyle echoed that sentiment, “Of course, this legislature could check one item off the beginning of the 2019 gubernatorial term by passing legislation now which brings Michigan in line with common sense public health approaches which ensure of the safety of all Michiganders.”

Published in PrideSource on April 13, 2017