USA: Clinton commits to work with advocates and HIV and AIDS organizations to reform outdated HIV criminalization laws

By Karen Ocamb

The history books will record that the 2016 presidential race produced the first woman and the first Reality TV star as nominees from the two major political parties. But while the world stares agog at the American political process following the Republican and Democratic conventions last month, a critical national issue is being depressingly overlooked—the dire impact of HIV on young gay and bisexual men of color.

In keeping with the spirit of her meeting with HIV/AIDS activists last May, Hillary Clinton’s campaign included Georgia HIV/AIDS activist Daniel Driffin on the roster of speakers at the DNC convention on Wednesday, July 27.

“Together with more than 1 million Americans, I’m living with HIV,” said Driffin, 30, the first HIV-positive speaker at the DNC since 2004. “Who is most at risk? Young, gay black men. Men like me. In fact, one in two black gay men will be diagnosed in their lifetime if the current rates continue. And if we had enough data, I’m sure black transgender women are more at risk, too.”

Stop. Think about that: “one in two black gay men will be diagnosed in their lifetime if the current rates continue.” Driffin did not speak in primetime so it is unclear how many were moved by his words.

But his was not a slap-dash rhetorical comment crafted for effect. These are statistics from the Centers for Disease Control. Last February, the CDC reported: “If current HIV diagnoses rates persist, about 1 in 2 black men who have sex with men (MSM) and 1 in 4 Latino MSM in the United States will be diagnosed with HIV during their lifetime.”

In fact, evidence presented at the 2016 International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa July 18-22 (during the Republican Convention) suggests that HIV is becoming a young person’s disease—worldwide.

“While all other demographics are in decline, more and more young people are being diagnosed with the disease. Globally, 11.8 million people ages 15-24 are currently living with HIV/AIDS, with this demographic also accounting for more than half of new infections. In the U.S., young Black, gay and bisexual men make up the largest population of people who are infected, and young women of color bear the largest burden of the disease among women in the U.S. Globally, adolescent and young women are fast becoming the most at risk: in Sub Saharan Africa, women ages 15 to 19 make up two thirds of the population of infected adolescents,” reports Kali Villarosa for The Black AIDS Institute.http://www.aids2016.org

Stigma is the key to the ongoing infections.

“Even among young gay and bisexual men, who initially bore the brunt of the disease and its associated deaths, discussion remains unsophisticated and un-textured. My friend Wen, an openly gay 20-year-old from Brooklyn, told me: ‘The disease is seen as a joke, but those diagnosed are shamed. There still remains a lot of stigma around the disease and people are scared to get tested,’” Villarosa wrote.

“But this stigma often perpetuates the risk of these already vulnerable communities,” she continued. “A study of over 15,000 high school boys released [at the IAC] by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this week found that gay and bisexual teen males were no more likely than their straight peers to engage in risky sexual behavior, but still had a higher chance of contracting HIV. It was actually homophobia, bullying and violence that spread the disease—not promiscuity, alcohol and drugs and avoiding condom use.”

That CDC report also reveal what many suspected but could not verify—the invisible gay/bi drug crisis and its connection to HIV infection. “Overall, MSM – including those who inject drugs – account for 60 percent of the 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States. In 2014, 13- to 24-year-olds accounted for more than one in five (22 percent) HIV diagnoses. Among the 13- to 24-year-olds diagnosed with HIV in 2014, 80 percent were gay and bisexual males.”

Gasps, anyone?

Having a long history of involvement with both young people and the AIDS crisis— including losing friends to AIDS such as Los Angeles-based Bob Hattoy who spoke at Bill Clinton’s nominating convention in 1992—Hillary Clinton may be starting to feel like an AIDS Movement mother herself after hearing Driffin and learning of the new International AIDS statistics.

Clinton’s Republican opponent Donald Trump, meanwhile, had an early history with AIDS, attending fundraisers thrown by his beloved socialite sister-in-law Blaine Trump, actively on the board of New York City’s “God’s Love We Deliver.” It is unknown if Donald Trump ever actually gave money or only showed up for appearances. He has not, however, offered any plans for ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic during his presidential campaign nor does he announce a position on his website.

Clinton, however, has a detailed AIDS platform on her website and added to her “comprehensive agenda” in a post-convention press release. She committed to:

•    Convene an “End the Epidemic” working group to adopt aggressive and attainable timelines for ending AIDS as an epidemic in the United States and globally. Clinton’s Office of National HIV/AIDS Policy will immediately begin to engage a wide range of experts, advocates, and stakeholders to adopt timelines for ending AIDS as an epidemic in the United States and globally.

•    Work to fully implement and strengthen the National HIV/AIDS Strategy to meet these timelines. Clinton’s Office of National HIV/AIDS Policy will work to fully implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, and strengthen it to align with the timelines developed for ending AIDS as an epidemic. Particular emphasis will be placed on expanding evidenced-based prevention, treatment, and community outreach initiatives for at-risk groups, including black men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender individuals, African American women, and injection drug users. She will also account for regional variations, like the particular needs of the southeast corridor of the United States.

•    Launch a campaign to end the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS. Nearly 40 years have passed since the HIV/AIDS crisis first began, and yet even with everything we have learned, intolerance and stigma still exist. This stigma manifests itself in our criminal laws, and also serves as a barrier to effective prevention and treatment. That’s why, as president, Clinton will launch a campaign to end stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. She will work to reform outdated HIV criminalization laws, aggressively enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act, and partner with advocacy groups and community organizations to conduct public education.

Indeed, stigma is like a boulder dropped in the middle of a lake—the ripple effects are large and possibly dangerous, especially to young black men and women “wrestling with the idea that people think you’re a threat . . . from the beginning,” says writer Kai Wright. “So that’s your starting point for many inside institutions. The harsh discipline that we’ve seen scale up in schools has been uniquely reserved for black students. We know that the harsh police policies have been uniquely reserved for black neighborhoods. So we know what it means for the system: this cultural idea that young black men, and again for women too, that they are disruptive threats, that people see you as a monster.”

Adding to the context of the real and perceived criminalization of black bodies and resulting internalized stigma that might inhibit HIV testing is the fact that two-thirds of American states and territories have laws criminalizing HIV.

“[P]eople with HIV are potentially subject to prosecution for non-disclosure, potential exposure or transmission in every jurisdiction under general criminal statutes,” including Texas and New York, that do not have HIV-specific statutes, says the Sero Project. That means that for people who are HIV positive, “a contentious relationship, a personal misunderstanding or even a minor infraction of the law can lead to a long jail sentence, public shaming and registration as a sex offender. HIV-specific criminal charges have been filed more than 1,000 times.”

A 2011 analysis by the CDC and Department of Justice researchers found that the laws vary by state, behavior and penalties. But the majority of laws were passed before antiretroviral therapy reduced HIV transmission and before studies indicated the success of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). According to an extensive, detailed 2013 ProPublica investigation, at least 35 states have laws that criminalize exposure of HIV or failure to disclose HIV status. That’s a felony crime in 29 states and 25 states criminalize one or more behaviors that pose a low or negligible risk for HIV transmission.

“People with HIV have even done time for spitting, scratching or biting. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, spitting and scratching cannot transmit HIV, and transmission through biting “is very rare and involves very specific circumstances” — namely, “severe trauma with extensive tissue damage and the presence of blood.” Many law enforcement officials and legislators defend these laws, saying they deter people from spreading the virus and set a standard for disclosure and precautions in an ongoing epidemic,” ProPublica reports.

ProPublica found and scoured a record 1,352 HIV-related criminal cases from 2003 to 2013, with 541 cases resulting in conviction.

The real shocker for those unaware of HIV criminalization laws is that most laws don’t require an actual transmission of or even an exposure to HIV for someone to be arrested, charged, prosecuted, convicted and receive a harsh sentence. Additionally, it isn’t a requirement for the HIV-negative partner to even file a complaint. According to a PBS report, “there have been cases of HIV-negative partners who go to the ER for PEP, don’t file charges, and their partner is still prosecuted under HIV criminalization laws.”

The issue of HIV criminalization came to national LGBT attention inJuly 2015 after Michael Johnson, a 30-year old, Black Missouri college student and star wrestler, was sentenced to 30 ½ years for the felony of having sexual contact without documenting that he had disclosed his HIV status.

“The criminal statute that Michael Johnson was convicted of violating was originally passed in 1988, at a time when HIV was considered a ‘death sentence.’ Today, with proper treatment, HIV is a chronic, manageable disease and those with HIV can expect to live a full, healthy life. Yet violation of the Missouri law is a class A felony, with a sentencing range of 10-30 years or life imprisonment. Other class A felonies include murder or child abandonment resulting in death.  Punishing Michael Johnson as if he is a murderer because state officials have failed to address a severely outdated, irrational criminal law is not only fundamentally unfair, it is barbaric,” said Mayo Schreiber, Deputy Director of The Center for HIV Law and Policy.

“HIV should be treated as a public health issue not as a criminal one. Legally requiring disclosure privileges the lives of White people not living with HIV over Black people who are living with HIV,’ wrote 89 Black gay men from The Counter Narrative Project.

A 2013 study by the National Institutes of Health in Nashville, Tennessee found that most of those convicted under prostitution and HIV criminalization laws were more likely to be black than white. “We conclude that enforcement of US HIV-specific laws is underestimated. Fifty-two arrests over 11 years were recorded in one jurisdiction. Over half of the arrests involved behaviors posing minimal or no HIV transmission risk. Despite concerns about malicious, intentional HIV transmission, no cases alleged malice or intention,” the abstract says.

New data indicate that the US is second only to Russia in HIV criminalization cases from April 2013 to Oct 2015. Additionally, a new report issued Thursday, Aug. 4, entitled Unjust: How the Broken Criminal Justice System Fails LGBT People of Color, examines “how racism and anti-LGBT discrimination combine to make LGBT people of color particularly vulnerable to entering the system and facing unfair and abusive treatment once they are in it,” according to a press release from lead authors the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) and the Center for American Progress.

“Whether they are interacting with law enforcement, going to court, confined in prisons or jails, or preparing for re-entry into society, the story is the same: LGBT people of color face an extraordinarily high risk of discriminatory treatment and abuse in our criminal justice system,” said MAP Executive Director Ineke Mushovic.

In another startling statistic, the report says that “one in five young people in U.S. juvenile justice facilities identify as LGBTQ, and 85% of these individuals are youth of color.” The report also points out being treated unjustly by law enforcement, courts, immigration authorities and other programs puts LGBT people of color at grave risk.

“Statistically, it is quite clear that the criminal justice system has prospered from the disproportionate impact it has had on black and brown people. As LGBT people of color, this impact is twofold as our multiple identities too often represent threats and garner disrespect,” said Isaiah Wilson, External Affairs Manager of the National Black Justice Coalition. “If we are not resolute to acknowledge and address this reality, we will lose a generation of unapologetic, young LGBT people of color to the flaws of our justice system.”

The Unjust report specifically identifies three factors in creating the overrepresentation of LGBT people of color in the system: “racism combined with pervasive anti-LGBT stigma and discrimination in communities, schools and families; discriminatory enforcement of drug laws and HIV criminalization laws; and policing strategies and tactics that increase the likelihood of LGBT people of color being subject to police stops, arrest and incarceration.”

The report also focuses on the issues LGBT youth of color face at home, in school, or in their communities that result in them “spending some or all of their time living on the street, putting them at increased risk of encountering law enforcement and having their lives criminalized.”

The inequities of the criminal justice system regarding race, sexuality and HIV are stark—and political.

Through his appearance at the DNC and his work for LGBT equality and HIV awareness in Georgia, Driffin works hopes to help his peers.

“We know how to prevent the virus now. We know how to diagnose the virus now. We know how to treat it. We know how to suppress it,” Driffin said to millions watching the convention. “So as an organizer, as an advocate, as a black man, as a gay man, as a man living with HIV, I ask you: Go get tested, and then go vote.”

Originally published in EQ CA

HIV Justice Network presents important new HIV criminalisation data today at AIDS 2016

Today, at the International AIDS Conference in Durban, the HIV Justice Network and GNP+ will present important new data on HIV criminalisation based on updated research from our Advancing HIV Justice 2 report.

Global Trends in HIV Criminalisation (Download the pdf here)

HIV criminalisation is a growing, global phenomenon that is seldom given the attention it deserves considering its impact on both public health and human rights, undermining the HIV response.

In many instances, HIV criminalisation laws are exceedingly broad – either in their explicit wording, or in the way they have been interpreted and applied – making people living with HIV (and those perceived by authorities to be at risk of HIV) extremely vulnerable to a wide range of human rights violations.

Seventy-two countries currently have HIV-specific laws, rising to 101 jurisdictions when individual US states are included. Notably, 30 countries in Africa have such laws, including new overly-broad laws in Uganda (2014) and Nigeria (2015).

At least 61 countries have reported HIV-related criminal cases. This total increases to 105 jurisdictions when individual US states and Australian states/territories are counted separately.

However, not all countries have enforced HIV-specific laws and other countries have applied general laws: 32 applied general or public health laws, 26 used HIV-specific laws and 3 (Australia, Denmark and United States) have applied both.

During the 30-month period: April 2013 to October 2015, we found reports of at least 313 arrests, prosecutions and/or convictions in 28 countries.

The highest number of cases during this period were reported in:

• Russia (at least 115);

• United States of America (at least 104);

• Belarus (at least 20);

• Canada (at least 17);

• France (at least 7);

• United Kingdom (at least 6);

• Italy (at least 6);

• Australia (at least 5); and

• Germany (at least 5).

Global trends in HIV criminalisation

Uganda: Civil societies challenge HIV criminalisation

KAMPALA  – “Whereas the law might have potential to positively contribute to the current HIV/AIDS response efforts in Uganda, there are some contentious clauses that could deter all the benefits realized in the fight against the scourge.”

This is what activists and people living with HIV are saying.

The HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act came into effect on July 31, 2014 when President Yoweri Museveni assented to it. But people living with HIV, together with civil society organizations, say it presents a challenge for the human rights of infected people and also undermines several critical issues.

The salient features that are scanned out in the law are: Clauses 41 and 43 of the Act that provide for prosecution on grounds of attempted and intentional transmission of HIV, respectively. Among the provisions of the piece of legislation is criminal penalty for risk and intentional transmission of the virus.

The Act would require mandatory disclosure of one’s HIV status, failure of which would be regarded as “criminal”, and attempting to or, intentionally transmitting the virus.

Failure to use a condom where one knows their HIV status would constitute a criminal offence, making them liable for prosecution.

The Civil Society HIV/AIDS Bill Coalition has been lobbying members of parliament to change the clauses in the Act that are construed to create negative effects in the national response to HIV/AIDS, but lawmakers have been  adamant about the issue.

It is against this background that people living with HIV under their umbrella organization the National Forum of People Living with HIV & AIDS Networks in Uganda (NAFOPHANU) together with Uganda Network on Law Ethics and HIV/AIDS (UGANET) and the International Community of Women living with HIV Eastern Africa (ICWEA recently petitioned the constitutional court to review the Act and amend the contentious clauses (41, 43 and 18).

“Honestly, if proven, such behavior cannot go unpunished. The question however is ‘How can it be proven that indeed the HIV of the accuser was got from the accused?’ There is fear that public knowledge of one’s HIV positive status would be used against them due to personal differences,” says Lillian Mworeko (pictured immediately below), regional coordinator for ICWEA.

She argues that this will ultimately discourage people from testing to know their status fearing that if found positive, their status could be used against them in courts of law at any point in time.

It should thus be noted that one who does not know their status cannot be held liable under this law.

“We should avoid creating scenarios where people living with HIV/AIDS are looked at as criminals or potential criminals,” warns Dora Musinguzi, executive director of UGANET.

Eventually, she adds, people will inadvertently live with the virus without accessing treatment and by the time they get to know their status it will be too late.

Stella Kentutsi, the executive director of NAFOPHANU, regrets that these clauses seem to target those already openly living with HIV and as such will affect disclosure, fuel stigma and discrimination thus increasing new infections and affecting access to already available services.

“To this effect, HIV infections and deaths will escalate thus watering down all the achievements so far attained in the fight against HIV. Partner and third party notification in clause 18(2) (e) is likely to breed domestic violence as a health worker is given a right to disclose to a partner without a client’s consent. It also infringes on the right to privacy as per our constitution- Article 27,” Kentutse. –

n their petition, the concerned groups give eight strong points on which they base their ground.

1. The law when enacted will drive people underground

In the face of possible prosecution and forced disclosure, most people will hide away; there would be no reason to take an HIV test in fear of prosecution.

2. It shall be counter-productive

As people shun HIV services and treatment for all possible fears that arise with the provisions of the law, prevention and control cannot be achieved.

3. Taking an HIV test is the beginning point for both control and prevention, however the ACT will deter this effort by empowering medical practitioners to release test results to third parties.

4. It will indiscriminately harass women

Most women get to know their HIV status before their male counterparts as they interface with medical facilities more often. Giving them an extra burden to disclose their status mandatory as a blanket requirement may subject them to violence, abandonment and abuse as they are usually blamed for bringing the virus.  In our societies, women cannot easily negotiate sex nor condom use, yet failure to use one while they know their status will warrant such a woman punishment for intentional transmission of the HIV virus.

5. May breakdown families who are already vulnerable

Opening a window for prosecution will encourage family breakdowns where one partner who gets to know their status, blames it on the other and files a case in court.  Intentional transmission may never get proved, but the family structure will have been distorted, partners desert each other with the consequent burden born by the poor orphans. HIV status is bad enough for the children but humiliating and sometimes vicious litigation between parents tears their lives apart.

6. Is not situation-specific or realistic

The conditions for this ACT to operate are not realistic, it is extremely difficult to prove who infected the other and therefore it is to no effect. The judiciary in this country is very much strained and it takes long to pass judgment.  How many lives would be destroyed if it takes an average five to seven years to get judgment?  Worse, the Police force is ineffective and is known to fail to comprehend and prosecute cases of this nature.

7. Selective prosecution

The ACT targets the 20% of Ugandans that have tested and know their status and presumes that some of those knowingly and intentionally transmit HIV. What about the rest of the population who do not know their status yet transmit and cannot be found in the ambit of this ACT? This is unfair, obnoxious and unreasonable and cannot possibly be regarded as an efficacious law.

8. Increased stigma and discrimination

The moment HIV is construed with criminalization and then people go into hiding, those living with HIV will suffer societal victimization since they would now be regarded as threats to public health. As a nation, we can still do better since on this one, we are all in it together.

Originally published in New Vision

AIDS 2016: UNAIDS reports on HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE's Beyond Blame pre-conference

On 17 July, some 200 people living with HIV, human rights activists and representatives of key populations gathered for a one-day meeting on challenging HIV criminalization under the title “Beyond blame: challenging HIV criminalization.” The event, a preconference meeting before the 21st International AIDS Conference, being held in Durban, South Africa, was organized by HIV Justice Worldwide, an international partnership of organizations, including the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, the Global Network of People Living with HIV, the HIV Justice Network, the International Community of Women Living with HIV, the Positive Women’s Network USA and the Sero Project.

The event was an opportunity for people working to end unjust HIV criminalization in all regions of the world to share recent developments, successful approaches and challenges. It also mobilized participants on the urgency to address unjust HIV criminalization as a violation of human rights and serious barrier to efforts to scale up HIV prevention, treatment and care services.

The meeting heard individuals who have face HIV criminalization recount the far-reaching personal, social and legal impacts of unjust prosecution on their lives and that of their families. Lawyers and civil society activists who have led successful efforts against HIV criminalization, including in Australia, Canada, Kenya, Sweden and the United States of America, shared their experiences and approaches. HIV scientists and clinicians were called upon to become more involved in efforts to ensure that the application of the criminal law is consistent with best available evidence relating to risk, harm and proof in the context of HIV. Similarly, members of parliament and the judiciary were highlighted as key stakeholders whose understanding and engagement is central to efforts to end unjust HIV criminalization.

QUOTES

“HIV-RELATED PROSECUTIONS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY COMMONPLACE. THE EVIDENCE THAT CRIMINALIZATION AS A PUBLIC HEALTH STRATEGY DOES NOT WORK IS TOO PLAIN TO CONTEST. IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO END IT.”

PATRICK HERMINIE SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF SEYCHELLES

“HIV CRIMINALIZATION IS PROFOUNDLY BAD POLICY. IT IS BASED ON FEAR AND OUTDATED UNDERSTANDING OF HIV RISK AND HARM. CRIMINALIZATION MAGNIFIES STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV. PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV HAVE BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF EFFORTS TO END UNJUST CRIMINALIZATION AND SHOULD BE COMMENDED FOR THEIR COURAGE AND COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE.” 

JUSTICE EDWIN CAMERON JUDGE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA

“MY LIFE WILL NOT BE THE SAME AFTER FACING HIV CRIMINALIZATION. MY 30 YEARS WORKING AS A NURSE AND DEDICATED TO SAVING LIVES HAVE BEEN ERASED. I HAVE SPENT ALMOST A YEAR IN PRISON. I HAVE BEEN BRANDED A CRIMINAL AND A KILLER EVEN THOUGH I HAVE HARMED NO ONE.”

ROSEMARY NAMUBIRU UGANDAN NURSE

Originally published by UNAIDS

BEYOND BLAME
Challenging HIV Criminalisation @ AIDS 2016, Durban

(29 min, HJN, South Africa, 2016)

On 17 July 2016, approximately 150 advocates, activists, researchers, and community leaders met in Durban, South Africa, for Beyond Blame: Challenging HIV Criminalisation – a full-day pre-conference meeting preceding the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) to discuss progress on the global effort to combat the unjust use of the criminal law against people living with HIV.

Attendees at the convening hailed from at least 36 countries on six continents (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America).

Beyond Blame was convened by HIV Justice Worldwide, an initiative made up of global, regional, and national civil society organisations – most of them led by people living with HIV – who are working together to build a worldwide movement to end HIV criminalisation.

The meeting was opened by the Honourable Dr Patrick Herminie, Speaker of Parliament of the Seychelles, and closed by Justice Edwin Cameron, both of whom gave powerful, inspiring speeches. In between the two addresses, moderated panels and more intimate, focused breakout sessions catalysed passionate and illuminating conversations amongst dedicated, knowledgeable advocates

Jamaica: Growing calls to make HIV transmission a criminal offense

Legal Loophole – Jamaica Has No Law To Charge Persons Who Wilfully Attempt To Spread HIV

There are growing calls in local legal circles to implement laws to make it a criminal offence for persons to wilfully and knowingly spread the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Although it is reported that Jamaica has an estimated 32,000 persons living with HIV, so far, no person has been charged and convicted of exposing another person to infection by engaging in unsafe sexual conduct.

“There is no clear law which makes it an offence,” said attorney-at-law Chukwuemeka Cameron, as he argued that someone should take a case to court to test the law.

According to Cameron, if someone should be brave enough to take such a case to the courts it may open a floodgate.

“It is a new disease which came about after the enactment of the Offences Against the Person Act, and so this is a perfect example of the need for the law to change with new circumstances,” agreed attorney-at-law Bert Samuels.

“We have kept abreast of the changes of computer technology to enhance commerce but we have failed to look at a problem that touches and concerns our health. Our Parliament is entrusted to pass laws for peace, order and good governance of the country, and must, as a matter of urgency, pass laws to punish those who knowingly pass a deadly disease,” added Samuels.

The debate on the wilful and knowing spread of HIV was sparked recently as the Supreme Court had to decide, in an extradition case, whether the transmission of HIV by sexual relations is an offence in Jamaica.

The court ruled that charges could only be brought in cases where the victim was infected with the virus. But attorney-at-law Peter Champagnie has a different view.

Champagnie argues that there should be specific legislation to deal with offences committed knowingly by HIV-infected persons, as he disagreed with the court’s ruling.

CULPABILITY

“Although a victim may not be infected by HIV from unprotected sex, I cannot understand why it could not be categorised as an attempt,” said Champagnie.

According to Champagnie, the fact that a victim is not infected does not absolve the infected person of culpability.

“To my mind, he would have known of his status and was reckless as to whether or not the persons contracted the disease,” said Champagnie.

Attorney-at-law Don Foote, who represented 47-year-old Jamaican, Alfred Flowers, had argued that he should not be extradited to Canada to face charges of aggravated sexual assault because there was no corresponding offence in Jamaica.

Flowers knew, since June 1996, that he was HIV-positive but he had unprotected sex with four women, including his wife who he married in 2002 without informing them of his status.

The women said if they knew he was HIV-positive, they would not have been intimate with him. Three of the women are now HIV-positive while the fourth is currently HIV-negative.

Director of state proceedings Althea Jarrett and senior deputy director of public prosecutions Jeremy Taylor could find no local case to use as a precedent, and had to rely on authorities from other jurisdictions to support their interpretation of the Offences Against the Person Act.

They relied on Section 22 of the act to oppose Flowers’ contention that there was no corresponding offence in Jamaica.

“Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously wound or inflict grievous bodily harm upon any other person with or without any weapon or instrument, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and being convicted thereof, shall be liable to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years,” the section reads.

EXTRADITION TO CANADA

The court comprising Justice Christine McDonald, Justice Sarah Thompson James, and Justice Kissock Laing, in agreeing that Flowers should be extradited to stand trial in respect of the three women who are now HIV-positive, said it was open for the court to find that a person who knows that he is infected with HIV and recklessly infects another may be guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm contrary to Section 22 of the Offences Against the Person Act.

But the court made it clear that if the victim of unprotected sex with an HIV-positive person is not infected, then that person cannot bring any criminal charges.

The court found that there was a grave lacuna in the Jamaican law, and said further that it was unfair that Flowers would only have to answer to charges in respect of three of the four complainants.

In explaining why Flowers cannot be tried in relation to the complainant who is not infected, the court said, “The infection would be a necessary ingredient were the accused to be charged in Jamaica for the offence under Section 22 of the Offences Against the Person Act.”

Canadian Groups Say No To HIV Criminalisation

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network that has been opposing HIV criminalisation for some time. It argues that:

– Canada is no model when it comes to HIV criminalisation where it has become out of control. With more than 180 people charged to date, Canada has become one of the world leaders in criminalising people living with HIV, with serious implications for human rights and public health.

– UNAIDS, the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health have all urged to limit HIV criminalisation to intentional transmission – which is far from being the case in Canada, where people can be convicted of extremely serious offence even if they had no intent to harm their partner, took precautions (used a condom or were on effective treatment) and did not transmit HIV.

“Countries may legitimately prosecute HIV transmission that was both actual and intentional, using general criminal law, but such prosecutions should be pursued with care and require a high standard of evidence and proof.”

Uganda: Civil society coalition file a constitutional petition against controversial HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act, 2015

KAMPALA – A network of civil society organisations has dragged the Attorney General to the Constitutional Court, querying the packaging of the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act, 2015.

Representatives of the CSOs filed a constitutional petition on Thursday, lamenting that the law is undermining efforts to fight the scourge.

“I believe the law will have the overall effect of undermining public health objectives of HIV prevention and control,” the petition reads in part. –

The petitioners are Uganda Network on Law, Ethics and HIV/AIDS (UGANET), Makerere law don Prof Ben Twinomugisha, and the International Community of Women Living with HIV in Eastern Africa (ICWEA).

Government’s chief legal representative and advisor the Attorney General is listed as the respondent.

Parliament passed the bill on May 13, 2014. President Yoweri Museveni assented to the bill in August of the same year. –

US: Democratic Party pledges to "address HIV criminalization laws" in its 2016 draft party platform

Democratic Party Comes Out Strong for LGBTQ Equality in 2016 Party Platform

HRC Blog by post by Stephen Peters

Today, the Democratic Party released its draft 2016 party platform, including key provisions that focus on improving the lives of LGBTQ people and advocating for full equality.

“This is the most LGBTQ-inclusive platform of any major U.S. party,” said JoDee Winterhof, HRC’s Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs. “We will continue to work with the Democratic Party to ensure the most robust platform for LGBTQ Americans. From protecting LGBTQ young people to ending the epidemic of violence against transgender people to passing an explicit and comprehensive federal non-discrimination law to bringing about an AIDS-free generation, the platform addresses many of the major challenges facing our community today.”

Here are some of the highlights:

LGBT Rights

Democrats applaud last year’s decision by the Supreme Court that recognized LGBT people— like every other American—have the right to marry the person they love. But there is still much work to be done. LGBT kids continue to be bullied at school, a restaurant can refuse to serve a transgender person, and a same-sex couple is at risk of being evicted from their home. That is unacceptable and must change. Democrats will fight for comprehensive federal non- discrimination protections for all LGBT Americans and push back against state efforts to discriminate against LGBT individuals. We will combat LGBT youth homelessness and improve school climates, and we will protect transgender individuals from violence. We will promote LGBT human rights and ensure America’s foreign policy is inclusive of LGBT people around the world.

Civil Rights

Democrats will always fight to end discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. We need to promote civility and speak out against bigotry and other forms of intolerance that have entered our political discourse. It is unacceptable to target, defame, or exclude anyone because of their religion, race, ethnicity, national origin, or sexual orientation.

HIV and AIDS

Democrats believe an AIDS-free generation is within our grasp. But we know far too many Americans still suffer, which is why we will implement the National HIV and AIDS Strategy, increase research funding for the National Institutes of Health, cap pharmaceutical expenses for people living with HIV and AIDS, address HIV criminalization laws, and expand access for HIV prevention medications, particularly for the populations most at risk of infection. Abroad, we will make the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief more effective and increase global funding for HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment. Democrats will always protect those living with HIV and AIDS from stigma and discrimination.

Supporting our Troops

[…]Democrats welcome and honor all Americans who want to serve and will continue to fight for their equal rights and recognition. We are proud of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the opening of combat positions to women. Our military is strongest when people of all races, religions, sexual orientations, and gender identities are honored for their service to our country.

Racial Justice

Democrats will fight to end institutional and systemic racism in our society. We will challenge and dismantle the structures that define lasting racial, economic, political, and social inequity. Democrats will promote racial justice through fair, just, and equitable governing of all institutions serving the public and in the formation of public policy. We will push for a societal transformation to make it clear that black lives matter and there is no place for racism in our country.

Gun Violence Prevention

With 33,000 Americans dying every year, Democrats believe that we must finally take sensible action to address gun violence. While gun ownership is part of the fabric of many communities, too many families in America have suffered from gun violence. We can respect the rights of responsible gun owners while keeping our communities safe. We will expand background checks and close dangerous loopholes in our current laws, hold irresponsible dealers and manufacturers accountable, keep weapons of war—such as assault weapons—off our streets, and ensure guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists, domestic abusers, other violent criminals, and those with severe mental health issues.

US: Second HIV is not a crime training academy creates an important intersectional shift in the US anti-HIV criminalisation movement

The second HIV Is Not a Crime Training Academy, which took place in May at the University of Alabama, Huntsville, brought together more than 300 advocates from 34 US states, as well delegations from Canada and Mexico.

Organised jointly by two of our HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE partners, the Sero Project and Positive Women’s Network–USA, the meeting was a unique opportunity for the people most affected by HIV criminalisation to take centre stage and have their voices be heard.

As Mark S King’s blog post highlighted in his blog and video produced the week following the meeting:

The intersections of race, gender, and sexuality were given as much weight as strategy sessions on working with legislators and lawyers, and the program repeatedly drove home the fact that criminalizing behaviors related to specific groups of people is as American as apple pie. Plenary speakers included advocates for women (including transgender women), current and former sex workers, immigration reform and drug legalization advocates, and, most powerfully, people who have been prosecuted under HIV criminalization statutes.

The theme of intersectionality and what it means for HIV criminalisation advocacy was further explored in this thoughtful analysis from Olivia Ford at The Body.com.

At the first HIV Is Not a Crime gathering in Grinnell, Iowa, in 2014, the sessions focused largely on unpacking the process of mounting a legislative campaign. Huntsville attendees also received training on important skills such as using data and collaborating with attorneys. The dominant theme, however, was the mandate to understand and combat HIV criminalization as a component of the system of over-policing and mass incarceration that disproportionately and unjustly impacts black people, queer folks, immigrants, drug users, sex workers, transgender individuals and those living with and without HIV at the intersections of this constellation of experiences.

The meeting was also an opportunity to celebrate the recent modernisation of Colorado’s HIV criminalisation statutes by the Colorado Mod Squad and their political allies, notably Senator Pat Steadman; and to hear from HIV criminalisation survivors and their families about what the HIV criminalisation – and the movement to end it – means for them personally.

The biggest political coup of the meeting was a welcome video from Hilary Clinton who said that if she wins the Presidential election, she will work to “reform outdated, stigmatising” HIV criminalisation laws.

Aside from those highlighted above, a number of other blog posts and articles have been produced since the meeting.  As well as a fantastic Storify compilation by PWN-USA of social media produced during the four days, these include pieces from:

In addition, the HIV Justice Network was there with our video advocacy consultant, Nicholas Feustel of georgetown media, capturing the entire event on video, and we will be releasing a film providing a detailed overview of the entire meeting, as well as lessons learned, in the next few weeks.

Australia: Zaburoni v Queen legal analysis

This analysis is by David Buchanan SC, Barrister at Forbes Chambers, Sydney. It was originally published in LGBT Law Notes and is republished here with his permission.

In a case that should reduce the extent of overcharging in HIV criminal cases, the High Court of Australia (Australia’s apex court) has emphasised the importance of distinguishing between reckless behaviour and behaviour involving intention to transmit HIV.

In Zaburoni v The Queen [2016] HCA 12, a man was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for unlawfully transmitting a serious diseases with intent to do so.  The evidence was that Zaburoni frequently had unprotected sex with his girlfriend, knowing that he had HIV, and that he lied to her, and later to investigating police, about his status.  However, the offence required proof of actual intention.  The High Court held that, if the evidence had established Zaburoni’s awareness of the probability that his conduct would result in his girlfriend contracting HIV, it would have been open to the jury to infer that Zaburoni meant to bring about that result.  However, the evidence did not rise to that level.

The Court distinguished between intention, on the one hand, and desire or motive, noting that a person can intend a result without desiring it.  Thus a person can have the infection of their sex partner as a purpose of their conduct whilst regretting that consequence.  The plurality observed “(t)he complainant said the appellant preferred unprotected sexual intercourse because it was more pleasurable.  Accepting that the appellant engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse because it gave him pleasure is not necessarily inconsistent with proof that he also had the intention thereby of transmitting HIV to the complainant.   It is the identification of evidence from which the latter inference could be drawn to the criminal standard that is the issue in this appeal.”

Zaburoni had tested positive to HIV and been told he must use condoms for sex.  The evidence was that he understood that advice.  But when he took up a relationship with a woman he told her he had been tested for HIV and was not HIV positive.  He had unprotected intercourse with her, telling her that he found condomless sex more pleasurable.  The complainant suffered seroconversion illness.  Zaburoni told her his brother had died from AIDS.  When the woman asked Zaburoni whether he had HIV, he said he did not.

The relationship later broke down.  About a year afterwards, the woman was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and when she tackled Zaburoni about it, he admitted he was infected and said he found out after they had broken up.  She asked why he had failed to tell her of his condition.  He replied that he had not wanted to make her unhappy and that he thought that she was having a good time.  He said that he had been told by the doctors that he had had HIV for two years.  A friend of the complainant asked Zaburoni why he had not told the complainant and he responded that “I didn’t want to ruin her life”.

Later, in both a conversation with the complainant monitored by police and in interviews with police, Zaburoni lied about when he knew he was infected and the extent of his unprotected sex with the complainant.  Later Zaburoni, who had migrated to Australia many years previously, admitted having submitted a blood sample from an uninfected friend in order to satisfy Immigration authorities that he did not have HIV.

Although there was evidence that, given the length of the relationship (21 months), the risk of the complainant contracting HIV were about 14 per cent, there was no evidence that Zaburoni knew what the statistical likelihood was of the transmission of HIV as the result of unprotected heterosexual sex.  The plurality said “To the extent that the inference of intent depends upon foresight of the risk of the sexual transmission of HIV, it is the appellant’s understanding, whether informed or otherwise, that is material.  There was ample evidence from which to find that the appellant was aware of the risk of transmitting HIV to the complainant through unprotected sexual intercourse.  Apart from the medical advice that the appellant was given by several doctors in 1998 after he learned of his HIV positive status, his lies to the complainant about that status before their sexual relationship commenced, and during the course of it, point to his awareness of the risk of sexual transmission.  So, too, do his lies to the police about the number of times they engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse.”

The plurality concluded that “(a) rational inference open on the evidence is that the appellant engaged in regular unprotected sexual intercourse with the complainant because it enhanced his sexual pleasure and he was reckless of the risk of transmitting HIV to her.   The existence of that inference lessens the force of reasoning to a conclusion that the appellant intended to transmit the disease from the fact of frequent unprotected sexual intercourse.   Apart from frequent unprotected sexual intercourse, there is no evidence to support the inference that the appellant had that intention.  And the evidence fell well short of proving that the appellant believed that it was virtually certain that he would pass on HIV by regular unprotected sexual intercourse.”   In particular, none of the lies proved that Zaburoni knew that it was virtually certain that he would infect his partner with HIV if he had unprotected sex with her.

Whilst Zaburoni’s conduct was described as a form of “callous deception”, what this meant (as another judge put it) was that the evidence left open “a reasonable hypothesis that the appellant, not knowing the degree of risk, was extremely reckless and also callous.  As appalling as his selfish recklessness was, it cannot be equated with a subjective, actual intent to transmit the HIV virus.  In the absence of evidence of malice or knowledge of the degree of risk, a subjective intent to inflict the HIV virus was not proven beyond reasonable doubt.”

The conviction for intentionally transmitting a serious disease was quashed and a verdict of guilty of unlawfully doing grievous bodily harm substituted.

The full High Court decision can be accessed here.

A number of news reports and other analyses of the Zaburoni case can be found here.