China: People living with HIV in Chongqing to be held criminally liable in cases of alleged HIV transmission

Southwest China’s Chongqing steps up efforts to crackdown on intentional spreading of HIV/AIDS

Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality will accelerate the revision of the city’s regulations on the prevention and control of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS in addressing incidents of intentional spreading of the disease occurring from times in recent years, which has made the situation of the disease prevention and control grim.

Chongqing Municipal Health Commission recently replied to a proposal put forward by a local people’s congress deputy on the prevention and control of intentional spreading of HIV/AIDS.

According to the commission, the revised regulations put forward new requirements for HIV/AIDS prevention and control.

Statistics from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that China has 1.22 million people living with HIV/AIDS as of the end of 2022, reporting 418,000 deaths linked to the disease, with infection and mortality rates both at relatively low levels on the globe.

In China, AIDS transmission through blood transfusions has been basically blocked, and transmission through intravenous drug use and mother-to-child transmission have been effectively curbed, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).

The NHC has made arrangements for combating transmission through sexual contact, the main mode of transmission currently in China, vowing to step up cracking down on violations and crimes related to HIV/AIDS transmission, among other prevention and treatment measures.

Meanwhile, sporadic cases of intentional spreading of HIV/AIDS have been reported from across the country from time to time in recent years. In 2022, a court in Changsha, Central China’s Hunan Province announced a ruling on a case in which a woman surnamed Yin engaged in prostitution without taking any protective measures for all that she had known herself infected with HIV/AIDS. Her behavior was identified as spreading sexually transmitted diseases, and she was sentenced to one year and four months in prison and was fined 5,000 yuan ($690).

The Chongqing Municipal Government convened in December 2023 a meeting with multiple departments, proposing to expedite the revision of the “Chongqing Municipality Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV/AIDS.”

The local legislature has listed the revision of the regulation in its health legislation plan during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

The municipal health commission has conducted in-depth analyses of the HIV/AIDS prevention and control in Chongqing through questionnaire surveys and expert discussions. They formulated targeted recommendations from five aspects ranging from legislative framework, government department responsibilities, publicity and education, patient rights and obligations to the prevention and control system, compiling the background materials for the revision of the regulation.

Besides, the commission studied and drew lessons from the local regulations on HIV/AIDS prevention and control issued by other provinces including Yunnan, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. They also combined the exchanges between Sichuan and Chongqing on HIV/AIDS prevention and control work, and reviewed cases of combating intentional transmission of HIV/AIDS by infected individuals in cities such as Chengdu and Guang’an in Sichuan.

Next step, the municipal health commission will collaborate with relevant departments to conduct research and strengthen the demonstration during the legislation, expecting to enhance the standardization and legal management level of HIV/AIDS prevention and control.

The commission revealed that since efforts of HIV/AIDS testing for individuals involved in prostitution and drug-related activities vary across districts and counties, they will collaborate with the public security departments, strengthen HIV/AIDS testing for such personnel, and crack down on those suspected of intentionally spreading HIV/AIDS in accordance with the laws.

A campaign on prevention and control of HIV/AIDS launched in Chongqing between 2023 and 2025 has made it clear that the public security, judicial, and health departments should strengthen cooperation in the HIV/AIDS testing on all the individuals involved in prostitution and drug-related activities captured by the public security department at designated medical institutions. In 2023, a total of 4,341 suspects were tested, an increase of 37.2 percent on that of the 2022.

Chongqing has strengthened the HIV/AIDS testing at local medical institutions, with 12.75 million people tested in 2023 in accordance with provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling, a year-on-year increase of 93.6 percent from that of 2022. The city’s HIV/AIDS testing coverage rate for the entire local population was 39.7 percent, far exceeding its annual target.

Taking initiative to provide HIV/AIDS testing services by medical institutions at all levels is the main channel for identifying HIV/AIDS-infected individuals in the city, according to the municipal health commission.

In Chongqing, patients of or individuals infected with sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS patients who engage in prostitution, solicitation of prostitutes, or drug taking activities, leading to the spreading of sexually transmitted diseases or HIV/AIDS, shall be investigated and dealt with by public security organs in accordance with the law. They will be held accountable for criminal responsibility if their behaviors constitute crimes.

US: Oklahoma looking at additional criminalisation of sexually transmitted infections

Oklahoma lawmakers want to criminalize spread of genital herpes, chlamydia, HPV and other STDs

Critics say bill will deter people from getting the necessary testing and treatment, which will increase the spread of sexually transmitted infections.

Oklahoma lawmakers are seeking to criminalize the spread of several more sexually transmitted diseases, a move critics say could turn nearly every resident into a felon.

House Bill 3098 adds chlamydia, Hepatitis B, genital herpes, trichomoniasis, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infections to the list of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that are illegal to knowingly or recklessly spread.

Anyone who does so would be guilty of a felony and could face between two and five years in prison. Previously only smallpox, syphilis and gonorrhea were on the list.

Rep. Toni Hasenbeck, R-Elgin, the bill’s House author, said she’s been studying domestic abuse. She said she heard from women who said men had knowingly infected them with several of the diseases.

Some of the STDs cause infertility, liver damage and miscarriage, Hasenbeck said.

“This particular piece of legislation is about putting a man in jail who chooses to knowingly and willfully infect a woman with a sexually transmitted disease,” Hasenbeck said.

She said the measure is not designed to impede any health or outreach efforts designed to stem the spread of STIs. Health experts said Oklahoma ranks No. 11 for rates of chlamydia and in the top five for gonorrhea and syphilis transmission.

“I’m not judge, jury and executioner,” Hasenbeck said recently as Democratic lawmakers peppered her with questions about the proposed criminalization expansion. “I’m a lawmaker, and we had a hole in our statute that I am trying to repair to protect Oklahomans.”

She said her measure could encourage people to get testing and treatment, or to practice abstinence if they’re “that worried about going to jail.”

But Jeff Burdge fears the bill would do the opposite.

The bill will deter people from getting the necessary testing and treatment, which is going to increase the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) because of fears that positive tests could open someone up to prosecution, said Burdge, a spokesman for H.O.P.E. Testing, a Tulsa-based nonprofit that provides education and low-cost testing for infectious sexual diseases.

He said 87% of Oklahomans will contract HPV in their lifetime, he said. No test exists to diagnose it in men, he said.

“That’s a bill that would potentially turn nearly every Oklahoman into a felon,” he said.

He said the bill doesn’t define “reckless,” opening the door to unnecessary prosecutions.

“Many Oklahomans aren’t even aware of what STIs are or how to best prevent them and what resources are available out there,” he said. “It’s not a good bill. Not well written. It’s not going to be good for the state.”

But he said the measure is part of a broader national trend attacking sexual health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 34 states had criminalized HIV or STD exposure in 2023. Laws targeting HIV transmission are often outdated and increase stigma and may discourage testing, the agency reported.

Rep. Mauree Turner, D-Oklahoma City, questioned why lawmakers are looking at additional criminalization instead of increasing access to health care or funding science-based research.

“You think the solution to that is criminalization, is putting people in prison, not making sure that we destigmatize health care so folks get access to it,” Turner said.

The measure cleared the House and is awaiting a vote by the full Senate.

Criminalizing people did not work to stop HIV transmission, and it will not decrease STIs.

Opinion piece from Taryn Norman and Nathan Cisneros – The Oklahoman – 21 April 2024

In 2022, over 30,000 Oklahomans — young and old, in cities and rural communities — received a sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnosis. Most STIs are common and easily treatable. Yet, Oklahoma is just one vote away from criminalizing the transmission of the most common STIs, including chlamydia, human papillomavirus (HPV) and herpes. People found guilty face two to five years in prison.

Criminalizing people did not work to stop HIV transmission, and it will not work if we expand it to STIs. As experts in public health and HIV, we call on Oklahoma lawmakers to learn from the data and the history of criminalizing STIs. House Bill 3098 will likely increase transmissions and decrease testing — exactly the opposite of the bill’s intent.

Every year, Health Outreach Prevention Education (HOPE) in Tulsa provides critical sexually transmitted infections testing and treatment for thousands of Oklahomans. The need is great because STIs are very common. For example, an estimated 85% of people will contract HPV in their lifetime. But we do not have a reliable test for HPV in cisgender men, which means the new law could only criminalize women — the group at highest risk for HPV-related cancers. (Fortunately, we have a vaccine for all youth that can provide good protection against the most common forms of HPV.)

We know where the criminalization of STIs leads. HIV criminal laws have increased fear and stigma and can decrease testing and treatment. This fear is often summarized as “Take the test, risk arrest.” But it gets worse. A felony conviction means a person can be barred from holding public office. They can be denied jobs or housing and lose access to social services. And Black people are disproportionately likely to be criminalized because of their HIV status.

Learning from past legislation

Oklahoma’s HIV criminal law has not prevented one of the highest rates of new rural HIV diagnoses in the country. Rates of late testing for HIV in Oklahomans are also high. Fortunately, today, HIV is now a manageable, treatable chronic disease, but only if people can access testing and treatment.

For these reasons, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Medical Association, National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO), U.S. Conference of Mayors, the U.S. Department of Justice, and many other organizations have all called for states to repeal or reform their HIV-related criminal laws.

Criminalizing STIs is also expensive. Oklahoma already has one of the nation’s highest incarceration rates, and the state spends $28,500 annually for every person incarcerated. Compare that to the cost of under $200 to treat many of the STIs HB 3098 seeks to criminalize. Those resources would be better spent on health care, including STI prevention, testing and treatment.

The Legislature’s goal should be creating healthier communities by removing barriers to prevention, testing and treatment for Oklahomans. Health care, not punishment, is the answer to treating and reducing the spread of STIs. Smart policies and investments in community health can help ensure we all have the health care we need, no matter who we are or where we live.

Taryn Norman is the executive director of Health Outreach Prevention Education Inc. (HOPE) in Tulsa. Nathan Cisneros is the HIV criminalization project director at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.

Death penalty for unintentional HIV transmission via same-sex sex struck down by Uganda’s Constitutional Court

The recent (April 3rd) ruling by Uganda’s Constitutional Court declaring that the Anti Homosexuality Act of 2023 complies with the Constitution of Uganda – except in only four aspects – was quite rightly roundly condemned by Amnesty International, the Global Fund, Human Rights Watch, International AIDS Society, and UNAIDS, as well as the US Department of State, amongst many others.

Rather than strike down every section of this heinous, draconian anti-gay law, the Court was unanimous in ruling that most of its dangerous, overly broad, and problematic provisions remain in place.

However, in its 200+ page ruling, the Court did find that Sections 3(2)(c), 9, 11(2d) and 14 did not “pass constitutional muster” and were struck down.

Sections 9 and 11(2d) refer to landlords allowing homosexuality to take place on their premises, and section 14 refers to a “duty to report acts of homosexuality” to the police.

But section 3(2)(c) was one of the most heinous of all of the Act’s horrendous provisions, proscribing the death penalty for someone living with HIV who engaged in same-sex sex and where HIV is allegedly passed on.

Aggravated homosexuality (1) A person who commits the offence of homosexuality in any of the circumstances specified in subsection (2) commits the offence of aggravated homosexuality and is liable, on conviction, to suffer death. (2) (c) the person against whom the offence is committed contracts a terminal illness as a result of the sexual act.

Read the full text of the law here

Both the Court, several petitioners, and UNAIDS – who provided an amicus brief to the Court – correctly interpreted this section as criminalising unintentional HIV transmission when two people of the same sex had sex.

In paragraphs 510-512, the Court referred to several key documents – including the 2011 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and UNAIDS 2013 Guidance Note, Ending overly broad criminalisation of HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission: Critical scientific, medical and legal considerations – and were persuaded that the section did not provide for “the element of criminal intent or mens rea, which is a vital component of the concept of crime.”

The Constitutional Court ruling went on to say:

“This indeed is the approach that was adopted in section 43 of the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act, 2015, which criminalizes the intentional transmission of HIV as follows: ‘a person who wilfully and intentionally transmits HIV to another person commits an offence.’

“Finding no justification for the criminalization of the unintentional transmission of HIV under section 3(2)(c) of the Anti-Homosexuality Act we take the view that it compounds the susceptibility of persons that are HIV+ to mental health issues and thus impedes their right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of mental health, with potential ramifications to their physical health as well. This is a violation of the right to health as envisaged under Article 12(1) of the ICESCR and is inconsistent with Articles 45 and 287 of the Uganda Constitution.”

However, people living with HIV are already over-criminalised in Uganda by various sections of the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act, as summarised in our Global HIV Criminalisation Database.

What is termed as “wilful and intentional” transmission of HIV is punishable by a fine and/or up to ten years’ imprisonment. Section 43 provides a defence if the accused’s partner was aware of, and accepted, the risk of transmission, or transmission occurred during sexual intercourse and protective measures were used. Attempted transmission is punishable by a fine and/or up to five years’ imprisonment. The scope of section 41 is undefined, but cases demonstrate that the law criminalises perceived HIV ‘exposure’ broadly.

Both Section 41 and 43 are known to have been used in a broad range of circumstances, including prosecution of a man for ‘defilement’ (2013), prosecution of a teacher for alleged transmission to his student (2013), the alleged injection of a toddler/needle stick injury (2014), alleged transmission by a woman to a number of young men (2014), alleged breastfeeding of an employer’s child (2018), the arrest, conviction and acquittal of a nurse wrongfully convicted of injecting a baby with HIV-infected blood (2018), and the alleged defilement of a boy by a woman (2019). An earlier prosecution from 2008 involved a man charged with alleged transmission. In the most recent case in 2023, a woman living with HIV pled guilty to charges under section 43 after injecting her 5-year-old son with her blood and was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. Cases have generally not used scientific evidence to prove allegations, with convictions at lower-level courts relying only on testimony.

Nevertheless, the recognition of key legal and rights-based arguments against punishing unintentional HIV transmission with the death penalty(!) as part of an otherwise anti-rights, morality-based ruling should be seen as a small but welcome victory. Although this might be seen as similar to the 2022 Lesotho High Court decision on the unconstitutionality of the death penalty in the context of HIV transmission following rape, the difference of course is that that rape is an act of violence that should be criminalised regardless of any other circumstances, whereas consensual sex between two men or two women should never, ever be a crime.

Zimbabwe: Bill includes HIV in expanded list of STIs with criminal penalties for “deliberate” transmission

Government criminalises deliberate HIV, STIs transmission

THE Government has listed HIV/AIDS as one of the sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), whose deliberate transmission to another partner will now be punishable under law.

The Criminal Laws Amendment (Protection of Children and Young Persons) currently before Parliament has a clause that includes HIV/AIDS as one of the STIs, whose wilful transmission can be charged as a criminal offence.

Other STIs that are punishable include syphilis, gonorrhoea and herpes, among others.

Another objective of the Criminal Laws (Protection of Children and Young Persons) Amendment Bill is to raise the age of sexual consent from 16 to 18.

Clause Eight of the Bill stipulates that a law that decriminalises deliberate HIV/AIDS transmission still stood after the Marriages Act repealed Section 79 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act that sought to impose heavy and long-term jail sentence on those convicted of wilful transmission of HIV/AIDS.

“Deliberately infecting persons with sexually-transmitted diseases was originally dealt with in two sections of the Criminal Law Code. Section 78 makes it a crime for anyone to deliberately infect another person with a sexually-transmitted disease other than HIV; section 79 made the same provision for those who infected others with HIV, but provided for a much heavier sentence to be imposed. Section 79 was repealed by the Marriages Act in 2022, which means that it is no longer a crime to infect other persons with HIV (because section 78 specifically excludes HIV),” reads Clause Eight of the Bill.

“This section will amend section 78 of the Code to include HIV among the sexually transmitted diseases covered by the section.”

In 2022, the Government decriminalised wilful transmission of HIV to a partner through the Marriages Act when it repealed a legal provision that made it an offence, as the Second Republic sought to move with international trends.

The repealed section provided for 20 years in prison for anyone convicted of deliberate transmission of HIV/AIDS, whilst Section 78 of the Criminal Code, which now includes HIV/AIDS as an STI, provides for a fine equal to Level 14 or five years in prison or both.

Section 78 of the Criminal Code (Codification and Reform Act reads as follows: “(2) Any person who (a) knowing that he or she is suffering from a sexually-transmitted disease; or (b) realising that there is a real risk or possibility that he or she is suffering from a sexually-transmitted disease; intentionally infects any other person with the disease, or does anything or causes or permits anything to be done with the intention or realising that there is a real risk or possibility of infecting any other person with the disease, shall be guilty of deliberately infecting that other person with a sexually-transmitted disease and liable to a fine up to or exceeding level fourteen or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or both.”

Recently, President Mnangagwa invoked his powers under the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act to gazette Statutory Instrument 2 of 2024, in compliance with a Constitutional Court ruling that had declared a section of the law that sets sexual consent age at 16 as unconstitutional.

The Statutory Instrument invoked by the President raised the age of consent to sexual relations to 18, consistent with the Constitution which sets the minimum marriage age at 18 and defines all young people as below the age of 18, while the original law defined them as below the age of 16, so protection was withdrawn from 17 and 18-year-olds.

The Presidential Powers have a lifespan of just six months during which Parliament has to pass a substantive law if the desire is to make the measure permanent.

US: Louisiana HIV decriminalisation bill to be revisited at a later date

Lawmakers stall on bill to change state’s HIV law

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Some at the state legislature believe the penalty for intentionally passing it along to someone else should not be as harsh with HIV no longer being the death sentence that it once was.

“It really is now a chronic disease like diabetes, like hypertension even though the transmission is certainly not the same,” said Jennifer Avegno with the New Orleans Health Department.

A task force was recently created to review the current data we have around HIV and how our state can update its laws. Health professionals today claim the law deters people from getting tested or treated.

“Many states like Georgia, Texas, Florida, others like Virginia have updated their laws. So, we’re currently just trying to update the laws,” said Rep. Aimee Adatto Freeman (D-New Orleans).

Under HB436 Rep. Freeman, those convicted would have their fine be reduced from $5,000 to $1,000, reduce the amount of time behind bars from 10 years to 1 year, and also redefine the crime by calling it “intentional transmission of HIV” instead of “intentional exposure to HIV”. The argument is that transmission is specific to those who actually become infected, while exposure is too broad of a term that could result in someone who’s infected being arrested for exposure after they’ve spit on someone.

“In 2009 I was convicted of intentional exposure to the aids virus. Without my consent, my home was searched and ultimately, I was arrested at work. And I would add that I was an employee at the 2nd circuit court of appeal, so I was embarrassingly arrested in front of my co-workers and peers,” said Robert Suttle who has HIV.

However, some said the concerns about the laws vagueness was address in 2018 when the law was amended.

“And that is when spitting on someone and some of these other outdated methods of quote unquote transmission were repealed from our law. Those do not exist,” said Kathleen Barrios with the 19th J.D.

This caused some on the committee to take a pause on how they were about to vote. Before it got to that point Representative Freeman decided to pull her bill and bring it back for another try later after she’s had time to get on the same page with the district attorneys.

Brazil: Proposed bill seeks to increase penalties in cases of HIV transmission

Congressman from Mato Grosso do Sul wants to increase the penalty for those who intentionally transmit HIV

Translated via Deep.com – Scroll down for article in Portuguese

The Bill seeks to increase the penalty by up to two-thirds in cases involving marital relations
A bill presented by Mato Grosso do Sul Congressman Geraldo Resende (PSDB) is currently before the Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia, increasing the prison sentence for people who intentionally transmit HIV in marital relations.
The congressman’s proposal increases the penalty from one to two thirds if the exposure to contamination is carried out by the victim’s spouse or partner. Resende points out in the proposal that the intentional transmission of AIDS, as a result of the current stage of development of science, should be legally classified as the transmission of an incurable disease and the conduct should be classified as bodily injury of a serious nature with a penalty of two to eight years.
“We believe that free and knowing transmission by a spouse or partner, through unprotected sex, by someone who is aware of their infection with the disease and the notorious risk of transmitting it to their partner, should be punished more rigorously,” he said.
Bill 652/2024 is still being analysed by the Chamber of Deputies.

Deputado de Mato Grosso do Sul, quer aumentar pena para quem transmite HIV intencionalmente

Projeto de lei quer aumentar a pena em até dois terços em casos ocorridos em relações conjugais
Tramita na Câmara dos Deputados, em Brasília, um projeto de lei apresentado pelo deputado por MS, Geraldo Resende (PSDB), que aumenta a pena de prisão para pessoas que transmitam intencionalmente o HIV (sigla em inglês para Vírus da Imunodeficiência Humana) em relações conjugais.
A proposta do congressista aumenta de um a dois terços a pena se a exposição à contaminação for praticada por cônjuge ou companheiro da vítima. Resende pontua na proposta que a transmissão intencional da AIDS, em decorrência do atual estágio de desenvolvimento da ciência, seja enquadrada juridicamente como transmissão de enfermidade incurável e seja a conduta capitulada como lesão corporal de natureza grave com pena de dois a oito anos.
“Consideramos que a transmissão livre e consciente levada a efeito por cônjuge ou companheiro, por meio da prática de relações sexuais desprotegidas, por aquele que tem prévia ciência de sua infecção pela enfermidade e do notório risco em transmiti-la à parceira ou ao parceiro, deve ser punida de forma mais rigorosa”, disse.
O projeto de lei 652/2024 segue em análise na Câmara dos Deputados.

US: Bill to end felony charges for people with HIV in prostitution cases removes the last relic of HIV criminalization laws

Pennsylvania lawmakers introduce bills to repeal felony charge for HIV-related prostitution

HARRISBURG – March 21, 2023 – State Senator Vincent Hughes and Representatives Benjamin Waxman and Malcolm Kenyatta announced legislation on March 20, 2024 that will repeal Pennsylvania’s felony sentencing enhancement for people living with HIV who are charged with prostitution.

Removing the felony charge removes the last relic of HIV criminalization laws in Pennsylvania, one of nine states still subjecting people living with HIV to harsher penalties if charged with prostitution. In recent years other states including Georgia, Nevada, and California have modernized or repealed their prostitution laws.

“HIV is not a crime. This is 2024, not 1984,” said Senator Hughes. “We have evolved so much in the forty years since we were confronted with this virus. Stigma was wrong then, and it is wrong now. Let’s continue the journey of eliminating this issue of discrimination toward HIV from the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

HIV criminalization laws began to appear across the nation more than 30 years ago, and advocates have been pushing for reform ever since. Kenya Moussa, of the Pennsylvania HIV Justice Alliance, Positive Women’s Network – Pennsylvania Chapter, and Health Not Prisons Collective, said that “we should treat HIV like a health condition, not like a crime.”

The current law, according to Representative Waxman “does nothing for public safety. The only thing that the mention of HIV in the criminal code does is discriminate against people with a communicable disease and that is not right.”

“HIV is not a crime,” Representative Kenyatta emphasized. “When we criminalize a diagnosis, we encourage people to go untested and not seek treatment.” Kenyatta continued, “Pennsylvania has an opportunity to move the ball in the right direction and treat everyone, no matter what diagnosis with dignity and respect.”

Shekinah Rose, who has been “living, surviving and thriving with HIV/AIDS for 39+ years” and is a member of the Pennsylvania HIV Justice Alliance, Positively Trans, and Positive Women’s Network USA, said that “with the passage of this bill, we will remove stigma, encouraging people to get tested, get into care, and thrive!”

A September 2023 poll by Susquehanna Polling and Research shows that a majority of Pennsylvanians believe that the state’s HIV laws should be updated to reflect modern science. According to the poll, 76% of Pennsylvanians believe that current HIV laws should be modernized and updated. And 79% believe that people living with HIV should receive the health care they need, rather than face criminal charges that discriminate and discourage proper testing, treatment, and disclosure.

“Punishing people simply because they have a virus does not make anyone safe,” said Ronda B. Goldfein, executive director of the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania. “Instead, criminal penalties based on fear and misinformation contribute to the stigma fueling the HIV epidemic.”

US: Maryland lawmakers sponsor bill aiming to repeal HIV criminalisation law

Commentary: Maryland must stop criminalizing people living with HIV

State lawmakers moving to repeal law that stigmatizes people living with HIV, increases public health risk

Having a virus should not be a crime. Yet, in Maryland, people living with HIV can face prosecution and criminal penalties even when we have disclosed our status, used condoms or are virally suppressed through medication. Maryland has an outdated law from 1989 that makes it a misdemeanor for a person living with HIV who is aware of their HIV-positive status to “knowingly transfer or attempt to transfer” HIV to another person. A conviction under this law can carry a punishment of up to three years in prison, and the law has been used to charge people for behaviors that do not transmit HIV, such as spitting and biting.

As people who have lived with HIV for decades, we know firsthand that Maryland’s HIV criminalization law discourages people from knowing their status, fosters stigma and creates barriers to lifesaving health care. It’s time for lawmakers to repeal this deeply unjust law.

Legislation (HB 485/SB 1165) sponsored by Del. Kris Fair (D) and Sen. Sen. Karen Lewis Young (D), both from Frederick County, aims to repeal this law that punishes people living with HIV. It is a law enforced on deeply racist lines. A recent analysis by the Williams Institute revealed our HIV criminalization law is used disproportionately against Black Marylanders and Black men in particular, driving increased incarceration rates and fostering stigma and shame around HIV and knowing one’s status. People living with HIV need health care, not the threat of prison cells.

This law was passed 35 years ago, when little was known about the virus. If that seems long ago, it was: George H.W. Bush was president, cellphones were the size of bricks, and Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul topped the music charts. At that time, there was little hope for people living with HIV. Thankfully, much has changed since then.

Today, we are just some of the many people with HIV who are living long and fulfilling lives. Those of us living with HIV who achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load — the amount of HIV in our blood — by taking medication as prescribed cannot sexually transmit HIV to our partners. Furthermore, people who don’t have HIV have even more effective prevention tools and can take medications such as PrEP and PEP. All of these advancements were unheard of in 1989, when lawmakers responded with fear by criminalizing HIV.

If you are surprised to learn about the incredible medical advancements in the treatment and prevention of HIV, you are not alone. Stigma and racism around the virus run so deep that many people have an outdated understanding of HIV. In fact, today our goal of ending the epidemic of HIV is achievable in the coming years if we focus on expanding access to testing, prevention and treatment.

All of us should know our HIV status, but stigma, lack of access to health care and fear of criminal penalties under Maryland law are barriers to testing for many. Our state laws and policies should remove barriers to health care and encourage Marylanders to know their status. The compounding tragedy of our HIV criminalization law is it deters people from seeking testing and treatment, thus prolonging the HIV epidemic and its toll on our communities.

Repealing the HIV criminalization law would make it safer for people unknowingly living with HIV to get tested and access needed treatment. Nationally, a recent study showed that approximately 80% of new HIV transmissions were from people who do not know their HIV status or are not receiving regular care. Expanding access to testing could have a profound effect in our state. The Maryland Department of Health estimates over 34% of young people living with HIV in the state remain undiagnosed. It is clear we cannot meet our public health goals without repealing this law.

As community caretakers in the movement, we are committed to doing everything we can to reduce stigma around HIV and increase access to care for all Marylanders. For years, we have joined other people living with HIV to share our personal stories with legislators in support of updating our law. HIV is preventable and treatable, and we hope one day to end the epidemic. However, to achieve that goal, we must first end the criminalization of HIV in the state we call home. Removing harmful, stigmatizing criminal punishments for knowing your HIV status is a commonsense update that is long overdue for the great state of Maryland.

US: Kentucky bill proposes downgrading HIV transmission charges from felony to misdemeanour

Kentucky lawmakers taking up HIV/AIDS transmission decriminalization measure

By Stu Johnson

HIV/AIDS is a disease that continues to affect thousands of people across the Commonwealth. It’s an issue getting attention in Frankfort as lawmakers consider legislation tied to the transmission of HIV. The focus is on decriminalization.

The AIDS epidemic came about more than 4 decades ago. Since that time, a great deal has changed regarding how the disease is managed, which in the early 1980’s was deadly. There are laws tied to the illness that are being updated. Kentucky lawmakers are taking up a bill that makes intentional transmission of HIV/AIDS a Class A misdemeanor. It’s currently listed as a felony. Russell GOP Representative Danny Bentley, a retired pharmacist, is sponsoring the bill.

“Most people don’t realize that HIV is not their number one STD today. It’s human papilloma, chlamydia, and gonorrhea. So, we’re putting it on the same level as the other ones and decreasing the penalty,” said Bentley.

Bentley said, quote, “having HIV is not a crime, it’s an infection.”

Morgan Cole is an advanced practice registered nurse and heads the Sexually Transmitted Infections Task Force at Louisville’s Norton’s HealthCare. Cole said it’s not about completely eliminating accountability.

“There absolutely is a need to not eliminate these laws altogether, but to modernize them to what we know now. Eliminating the laws kind of lets people who are out there doing things with ill intention. Those no accountability for those people and we definitely want to make sure that we have law in place that hold people accountable, if they’re putting people at risk intentionally,” said Cole.

Cole noted the criminalization of HIV is still widespread throughout the United States. She added 35 states including Kentucky criminalize actions involving HIV. The RN said the situation today is much different than in the 1980s.

“We have anti-retroviral therapy and if a person is virally suppressed and their viral load is zero they cannot pass HIV to other people. We didn’t have pre-exposure prophylaxis when these laws were written,” said Cole.

Cole said the laws need updating to make sure there aren’t convictions of people who are doing everything in their power to prevent transmission.

Chris Hartman is director of Kentucky Fairness and is spending a significant amount of time at the State Capitol during the current General Assembly session. He said the UCLA-based Williams Institute reports Kentucky saw 32 people arrested for HIV transmission since 2006. And although the numbers might be considered small, Hartman said the felony charge option carries a heavy weight.

“This is all about de-stigmatizing HIV and AIDS which more than 40 years after the original HIV pandemic and AIDS pandemic is the right and just thing to do,” said Hartman.

Hartman says most of the previous arrests occurred in Louisville, Lexington, and northern Kentucky. He says women in general have comprised of about two-thirds of those arrests.

Hartman said bringing HIV/AIDs transmission prosecution in line with other sexually transmitted infections could also increase testing.

“We know that right away when people learn that they are HIV positive that they change their behaviors and so the risk of transmission decreases first off because folks end up becoming safer, to disclose their status, to not engage in sexual activity, if they learn that they are HIV positive,” said Hartman.

Registered Nurse Morgan Cole said there have been increases in HIV cases. She said Kentucky has been identified by the CDC as a high risk of HIV outbreaks, linked to injection drug use. Cole said there are 54 counties in the Commonwealth with increased risks of having an outbreak. And Chris Hartman said it’s testing again that can make the biggest difference in bringing down HIV cases.

Singapore: People with undetectable viral load no longer required to disclose their HIV status under new law

HIV disclosure law to be amended

People with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) will no longer be legally required to disclose the risk of contracting the virus to their sexual partners as long as they have maintained undetectable viral loads for at least six months, under a Bill passed in Parliament on March 7.

They must also have test results showing that they have an undetectable viral load dated nine months or less before the date they have sex, and they must have adhered to their medical treatment during this time.

“Persons living with HIV who have met these criteria would have effectively zero risk of transmitting HIV to their sexual partner,” said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Rahayu Mahzam in Parliament.

Currently, those who have tested positive for HIV must not engage in sexual activity with another person unless they first inform the other person of the risk of contracting HIV, and the other person agrees to accept the risk. Those who fail to do so can be fined up to $50,000, jailed for up to 10 years or both.

Ms Rahayu said the changes align with medical advancements, as well as Singapore’s public health objective to curb transmission by shifting greater responsibility to individuals.

“The objectives of the amendments are to encourage individuals who are at higher risk of getting HIV to be tested regularly for HIV, and if possible to get treated early, so that they can achieve undetectable viral load as early as possible,” she said. She urged those living with HIV to adhere to treatment and monitor their viral load closely with their doctors to reduce the risk of transmission.

The amendments to the Infectious Diseases Act mean that laws on disclosure will no longer apply to such individuals if they have maintained an undetectable viral load for a prescribed period before having sex.

Ms Rahayu noted that Singapore is not the first jurisdiction to amend HIV disclosure laws. Sweden, Taiwan and the United States have also removed the disclosure requirement for persons living with HIV who have no risk of transmitting the virus.

“I would like to emphasise that in proposing the amendments, we are not relaxing the public health safeguards against HIV transmission, but encouraging infected persons to come forward to be tested and treated, thereby better protecting their sexual partners,” she said.

Ms Rahayu added that irresponsible behaviour that can lead to the transmission of HIV remains an offence and appropriate enforcement action will be taken.

It is still a criminal offence for any person who knows that he or she has HIV to donate blood at any blood bank in Singapore. Those who do so can be fined up to $50,000, jailed for up to 10 years or both.