Livestream: HIV IS NOT A CRIME III National Training Academy: Opening Session (HJN, 2018)

Live from the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 3 June 2018

Live stream hosted by Mark S King www.myfabulousdisease.com

This live stream was brought to you by HIV Justice Network

Directed and produced by Nicholas Feustel

Running order (click on the time cues to jump there):

1) Pre-show with Mark S King and guests 00:09

2) Welcome 09:29 3) Intermission show 1:05:36

4) Thank you’s 1:09:25

5) Celebrating victories 1:11:40

6) After show 2:10:43

Facilitated by Tami Taught SERO Project IOWA With Melissa Williams Director of the Native American Indian Affairs and Commission INDIANA Carrie Foote HIV Modernization Movement INDIANA Mark Hughes HIV Modernization Movement INDIANA Sean Strub SERO Project PENNSYLVANIA Naina Khanna Positive Women’s Network – USA CALIFORNIA Waheedah Shabazz-El Positive Women’s Network – USA PENNSYLVANIA Arneta Rogers Positive Women’s Network – USA CALIFORNIA Stacy Jennings BULI participant SOUTH CAROLINA Cindy Stine SERO Project PENNSYLVANIA Robert Suttle SERO Project NEW YORK Edwin J Bernard HIV Justice Network UK Ken Pinkela SERO Project NEW YORK

[Update] Mexico: Activists Ask State congress to abide by Supreme Court ruling on HIV criminalisation statute

Veracruz government asked not to criminalise people with HIV (Google translate for original article in Spanish please scroll down)

August 3, 2018

The Multisectoral Group on HIV / AIDS and STIs of the State of Veracruz which asked the National Commission for Human Rights, the right to unconstitutionality, today demands the State Congress to comply with the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation that declared unconstitutional article 158 of the criminal code of the state of Veracruz that criminalizes people with HIV.

On April 30 of this year, with eight votes in favor, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation determined the invalidity of the amendment to Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the State of Veracruz made on December 1, 2015. This amendment adds to the article referring to the “crime of danger of contagion” the term “sexually transmitted infections” so that those who have them could be sanctioned “for putting in danger of infection other people”.

The sentence of the SCJN said:

The present constitutional challenge promoted by the National Commission of Human Rights is appropriate and well founded.
The invalidity of article 158 is declared in the normative portion “sexually transmitted infections or other” of the penal code for the free and sovereign State of Veracruz of Ignacio de la Llave, which will be retroactive in terms of what is specified in the last section of this enforcement, on the understanding that said effects will be supplied as a reason for the notification of the operative paragraphs of this ruling to the Congress of the State of Veracruz by Ignacio de la Llave.
Publish this resolution in the Official Gazette of the Federation, in the Gaceta del Estado de Veracruz, and the Judicial Weekly of the Federation and its Gazette.

On May 24 of this year, the president of the Board of Directors of the state of Veracruz, Deputy Maria Elisa Manterola Sainz, said in interviews conducted in Xalapa, Veracruz by the News AVC News and Format Sie7e, that the deputies were not obliged to abide by the resolution of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) that declared unconstitutional the reform of the Penal Code in the state that typifies the crime of “contagion by people with HIV”.

In these interviews, the deputy Manterola Sainz said “that once the SCJN notifies the Congress, the deputies should analyze in commissions whether or not to take into account the considerations of the Supreme Court, since they are not obliged to subject themselves to what they say “ “As a Legislative Power, we have to demonstrate autonomy first, and demonstrate what the Veracruzans demand of us (…) It has to be analyzed, there will have to be a response from us and the commissions in charge will present the proposal.”

Faced with this, at the time we stated that the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation is the highest Constitutional Court of the country, under which, it has as its fundamental responsibility the defense of the order established by the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States , in addition to solving, definitively other jurisdictional issues of great importance to society.

As stated by the Master in Constitutional Law and Human Rights Cuauhtémoc “the SCJN is the highest stabilizing body of public power, through its intervention in the resolution of constitutional disputes whose competence is exclusively attributed to Article 105 of the Constitution and , that its action in these matters is not in its character of ordinary jurisdictional organ of the Federation, but in its character of Constitutional Court above the own federal, state or municipal order, and therefore, its action rises above these three levels to be constituted and to function as supreme organ (that is to say as organ of the “global State”) in charge of determining the competence of the parties that come before it to solve their differences.

The Court is not in a simple jurisdictional body responsible for ensuring legality and justice, but a real body guarding the superlegality of the Constitution, that is, a body charged with preserving and validating the fundamental decisions that constitute the Mexican State “.

The ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation already declared the impugned rule invalid even with retroactive effects, for which reason the Congress of the State freely, but responsibly, in use of its legislative powers, must correct it.

The ordinary session of the Congress of Veracruz concluded without addressing the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation that declared unconstitutional article 158 of the criminal code of the state of Veracruz that criminalizes people with HIV.

For this reason, the Multisectoral Group on HIV / AIDS and STIs of the State of Veracruz, who requested the National Commission for Human Rights, the right to unconstitutionality, today demands that the State Congress comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling of Justice of the Nation.

And beyond that, to strengthen their competencies in the area of HIV, AIDS and STIs for the harmonization of legislation that favour pro-human and progressive principles of human rights, which are essential to consolidate the guarantee of protection of the dignity of the people.

Published in Almomento on August 3, 2018

Piden al gobierno de Veracruz no criminalizar a personas con VIH

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO, 3 de agosto (AlmomentoMX).- El Grupo Multisectorial en VIH/sida e ITS del Estado de Veracruz solicitó a la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos, el derecho a la inconstitucionalidad, hoy reclama al Congreso del Estado que cumpla con el fallo de la Suprema Corte de Justicia la de la Nación que declaró inconstitucional el artículo 158 del código penal del estado de Veracruz que criminaliza a las personas con VIH.

El pasado 30 de abril del presente año, con ocho votos a favor, la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación determinó la invalidez de la modificación al artículo 158 del Código Penal del Estado de Veracruz realizada el 1 de diciembre de 2015. Dicha modificación adiciona al artículo referente al “delito de peligro de contagio” el término “infecciones de transmisión sexual” a fin de que quienes las tuvieran pudieran ser sancionados “por poner en peligro de infectar a otras personas”.

La sentencia de la SCJN dijo:

Es procedente y fundada la presente acción de inconstitucionalidad promovida por la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos.
Se declara la invalidez del artículo 158 en la porción normativa “infecciones de transmisión sexual u otras” del código penal para el Estado libre y soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, la cual será retroactiva en términos de lo precisado en el último apartado de esta ejecutoria, en la inteligencia que dicho efectos se surtirán como motivo de la notificación de los puntos resolutivos de este fallo al Congreso del Estado de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave.
Publíquese esta resolución en el Diario Oficial de la Federación, en la Gaceta del Estado de Veracruz y, el Semanario Judicial de la Federación y su Gaceta.

El 24 de mayo del presente año, la presidenta de la Mesa Directiva del Congreso del estado de Veracruz, Diputada María Elisa Manterola Sáinz, aseguró en entrevistas realizadas -en Xalapa, Veracruz por los Diarios AVC Noticias y Formato sie7e-, que las y los diputados no están obligados a acatar la resolución de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) que declaró inconstitucional la reforma al Código Penal en el estado que tipifica el delito de “contagio para las personas con VIH”.

En dichas entrevistas, la diputada Manterola Sáinz afirmó “que una vez que la SCJN notifique al Congreso, los diputados deberán analizar en comisiones si toman en cuenta o no las consideraciones de la Suprema Corte, puesto que no están obligados a sujetarse a lo que digan”. “Como Poder Legislativo tenemos que demostrar primeramente la autonomía, y demostrar lo que los veracruzanos nos exigen (…) Se tiene que analizar, tendrá que haber una respuesta de nuestra parte y las comisiones encargadas presentarán la propuesta.”

Frente a ello, en su momento manifestamos que la a Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación es el Máximo Tribunal Constitucional del país, en virtud de lo cual, tiene como responsabilidad fundamental la defensa del orden establecido por la Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, además de solucionar, de manera definitiva otros asuntos jurisdiccionales de gran importancia para la sociedad.

Tal y como lo afirma el Maestro en Derecho Constitucional y Derechos Humanos Cuauhtémoc “la SCJN es el máximo órgano estabilizador del poder público, a través de su intervención en la resolución de las controversias constitucionales cuya competencia le atribuye de manera exclusiva el artículo 105 Constitucional y, que su actuación en estos asuntos no es en su carácter de órgano jurisdiccional ordinario de la Federación, sino en su carácter de Tribunal Constitucional por encima del propio orden federal, estatal o municipal, y por tanto, su actuación se eleva por encima de estos tres niveles para constituirse y funcionar como órgano supremo (es decir como órgano del “Estado global”) encargado de determinar la competencia de las partes que acuden ante ella para solucionar sus diferencias.

La Corte no en un simple órgano jurisdiccional encargado de velar por la legalidad y la justicia, sino en un auténtico órgano guardián de la superlegalidad de la Constitución, es decir, en un órgano encargado de preservar y dar valida las decisiones fundamentales que constituyen al Estado Mexicano”.

La sentencia de la Suprema Corte de la Justicia de la Nación ya declaró la invalidez de la norma impugnada incluso con efectos retroactivos, por lo que el Congreso del Estado de manera libre, pero responsablemente, en uso de sus atribuciones legislativas deberá corregirla.

El periodo ordinario de sesiones del Congreso de Veracruz concluyó sin atender el fallo de la Suprema Corte de la Justicia de la Nación que declaró inconstitucional el artículo 158 del código penal del estado de Veracruz que criminaliza a las personas con VIH.

Por ello, el Grupo Multisectorial en VIH/sida e ITS del Estado de Veracruz que fue quien solicitó a la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos, el derecho a la inconstitucionalidad, hoy reclama al Congreso del Estado que cumpla con el fallo de la Suprema Corte de Justicia la de la Nación.

Y más allá de eso, que fortalezcan sus competencias en materia del VIH, el sida y las ITS para la armonización de la legislación que favorezcan los principios pro persona y de progresividad de los derechos humanos, los cuales son indispensables para consolidar la garantía de protección de la dignidad de las personas.

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Local Congress will modify statute that criminalizes people with HIV

Monday, May 28, 2018

After the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation determined this unconstitutional issue, the Chamber of Deputies must abide by it.

After the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) determined it was unconstitutional to criminalize people living with HIV-AIDS, the Congress of Veracruz will amend the law, because being a failure of the SCJN is forced to comply, said deputy Gregorio Murillo Uscanga, president of the Commission for Human Rights and Care for Vulnerable Groups.

On December 1, 2015, Article 158 of the Veracruz Criminal Code was amended, including the “crime of transmission risks” in “sexually transmitted infections” which allows those who could “put themselves at risks of infecting others”.

The Mexican Network of Organizations against the Criminalization of HIV, which is composed of 44 civil society organizations, demanded that the local Chamber of Deputies strengthen their competencies in this area, as well as in other Sexually Transmitted Infections ITS to favor the principles of people and the progressivity of Human Rights.

Faced with the determination of the SCJN, the local congress must make the appropriate adjustments to address the ruling.

Published in e-consulta on May 28, 2018

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Congreso local modificará artículo que criminaliza a personas con VIH

E-consulta Veracruz |

Lunes, Mayo 28, 2018

Luego de que la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación determinara este tema inconstitucional, cámara de diputados debe acatarlo

Xalapa, Ver. – Luego de que la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) determinara inconstitucional criminalizar a las personas que viven con VIH-Sida, el congreso de Veracruz modificará la ley, pues al ser un fallo de la SCJN se está obligado a acatarlo, señaló el diputado Gregorio Murillo Uscanga, presidente de la Comisión de Derechos Humanos y Atención a Grupos Vulnerables.

El primero de diciembre de 2015, se reformó el artículo 158 del Código Penal de Veracruz, donde se incluyó el “delito de peligro de contagio” en “infecciones de transmisión sexual” el cual permite sancionar a quienes pudieran “poner en peligro de infectar a otras personas”.

La Red Mexicana de Organizaciones contra la Criminalización del VIH, la cual está integrada por 44 organizaciones de la sociedad civil, exigió a la cámara de diputados local fortalecer sus competencias en esta materia, así como en otras Infecciones de Transmisión Sexual ITS para favorecer a los principios de las personas y la progresividad de los Derechos Humanos.

Ante la determinación de la SCJN, el congreso local deberá realizar las adecuaciones correspondientes para atender el fallo.

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NGO urges local congress to abide by SCJN’s ruling on HIV (Google translation, for original article in Spanish, scroll down)

Xalapa, Ver.- The Mexican Network of Organizations against the Criminalization of HIV, through its coordinator Patricia Ponce Jiménez, called on the Local Congress and its president, María Elisa Manterola Sáinz, to abide by the Nation Supreme Court’s ruling regarding the declaration of unconstitutionality of the stature that criminalizes people living with HIV.

Through a communiqué issued this Friday, the Network recalled that on April 30 the SCJN ruled in favour of the appeal presented by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), at the request of the HIV Multisectoral Group, which was presented two years after the reform that the Congress approved to the Penal Code.

Article 158 of the Penal Code provided for a prison sentence and a fine for the person who “transmitted” the human immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted infections considered serious diseases. The SCJN determined that this statute was lax, as well as unconstitutional.

For this reason, they reiterated the call for Congress to comply with the decision of the SCJN, since it is a jurisdictional body that is above any legislative power of the States.

In the statement, they said that the decision of the SCJN is unappealable and absolute, so the network insisted that it must be complied with immediately.

Published in La Opinion de Poza Rica on May 26, 2018

ONG exhorta al congreso local a acata fallo de SCJN en materia de VIH

Xalapa, Ver.- La Red Mexicana de Organizaciones contra la Criminalización del VIH, a través de su coordinadora Patricia Ponce Jiménez, hicieron un llamado al Congreso Local y a su presidenta, María Elisa Manterola Sáinz, para acatar el fallo de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) respecto de la declaración de inconstitucionalidad del artículo que criminaliza a las personas que viven con vih.

A través de un comunicado emitido este viernes, la Red recordó que apenas el pasado 30 de abril la SCJN falló a favor del recurso presentado por la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDH), a petición del Grupo Multisectorial VIH, el cual se presentó hace dos años tras la reforma que el Congreso aprobó al Código Penal.

El artículo 158 del Código Penal contemplaba pena de cárcel y multa a la persona que contagiara; el virus de inmunodeficiencia humana y otras infecciones de transmisión sexual contempladas como enfermedades graves. La SCJN determinó que este artículo era laxo, así como inconstitucional.

Por ello reiteraron el llamado a que el Congreso acate el fallo de la SCJN, pues se trata un órgano jurisdiccional que está por encima de cualquier poder legislativo de los Estados.

En el comunicado señaló que el fallo de la SCJN es inapelable y absoluto, por lo que insistió la red en que debe ser acatado de manera inmediata.

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Congress discusses the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation to invalidate the criminalisation of HIV transmission (Google translation – For Spanish article, scroll down)

Xalapa, Ver.- The president of the Board of Directors of the local Congress, María Elisa Manterola Sáinz, assured that the deputies are not obliged to abide by the resolution of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) that declared unconstitutional the reform of the Code Criminal in the state that typifies the crime of “contagion” to HIV carriers.

In an interview, he said that once the SCJN notifies the Congress, the deputies should analyze in commissions if they take into account or not the considerations of the Supreme Court, as he said that they are not obliged to subject themselves to what they say.

“As a Legislative Power we must first demonstrate autonomy, and demonstrate what the Veracruzans demand of us (…) It has to be analyzed, there will have to be a response from us and the commissions in charge will present the proposal.”

In the same way, she spoke about the need to reform the Law to comply with the National Commission to Prevent Violence against Women (Conavim) in order to guarantee women access to the legal interruption of pregnancy (ILE).

Published in XEU.com on May 18,2018

Congreso analiza determinación de la SCJN negativa de tipificar como delito el contagio de VIH

Xalapa, Ver.- La presidenta de la Mesa Directiva del Congreso local, María Elisa Manterola Sáinz, aseguró que los diputados no están obligados a acatar la resolución de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) que declaró inconstitucional la reforma al Código Penal en el estado que tipifica el delito de “contagio” a los portadores de VIH.

En entrevista, dijo que una vez que la SCJN notifique al Congreso, los diputados deberán analizar en comisiones si toman en cuenta o no las consideraciones de la Suprema Corte, pues dijo que no están obligados a sujetarse a lo que digan.

“Como Poder Legislativo tenemos que demostrar primeramente la autonomía, y demostrar lo que los veracruzanos nos exigen (…) Se tiene que analizar, tendrá que haber una respuesta de nuestra parte y las comisiones encargadas presentarán la propuesta”.

De la misma forma, se pronunció en torno a la exigencia de reformar la Ley para acatar la Comisión Nacional para Prevenir la Violencia contra las Mujeres (Conavim) a fin de garantizar a las mujeres el acceso a la interrupción legal del embarazo (ILE).

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The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation invalidates statute that punishes the transmission of sexually transmitted infections

Xalapa, Ver.- (AVC / Brisa Gómez) The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) declared the invalidity of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the State of Veracruz, which punishes those who knowingly “infect” sexually transmitted infections and other serious diseases.

With eight votes in favour of the bill presented before the plenary of the Supreme Court on Monday, it was pointed out that the notion of criminality was “highly inaccurate” because it did not establish what represents a serious illness and furthermore it was not possible to verify the intent of transmission.

With this, it reforms the statute which in Veracruz punishes the “transmission” of sexually transmitted infections and serious diseases with up to five years in prison, ordering the notification of this ruling to the Local Congress.

This is the first legislation criminalising people living with HIV that is thrown down by the highest judicial body in the country.

Published in AVC Noticias on April 30, 2018

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Veracruz: the state with the most prosecutions for the criminalisation of HIV

At least 15 people have been charged and tried on charges of transmitting HIV or a sexually transmitted infection.

Mexico City.- At the national level, Veracruz is the State with the highest number of cases of patients with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV being tried for being accused of the crime of transmission to other people, due to the criminalization embodied in the criminal codes of the States of the Republic.

Of the 26 cases registered in the country, in which judicial proceedings or sanctioning of persons carrying a sexually transmitted infection, including HIV, have been initiated, 15 were in Veracruz.

During the International Meeting “HIV is not a crime”, it was noted that it was worrying that States, entities and their organs of justice persecute patients of these diseases.

The author of this research, Leonardo Bastida Aguilar, a member of the organization Letter S, said that in the case of Veracruz, despite being known, through a response to a request for transparency, he was only informed about 15 cases of people already charged, for the crime of transmission of venereal diseases.

Requests for answers to questions such as disaggregation by gender, judicial district, year in which it was processed or the type of sexually transmitted infection in question or gender preference or identity were not answered.

He acknowledged that this information was given briefly in 2016 when Veracruz was placed first at the national level in terms of sanctioning proceedings against people with this type of ailments.

These 15 cases, were already concluded and resulted in administrative sanctions, however, there was no further information.

It is necessary to remember that in 2015 a reform was made to the Veracruz Criminal Code, where a person who infects another person with a sexually transmitted infection, including human immunodeficiency virus, is punished with imprisonment.

In other States, a case was recorded in Nuevo León by a patient with HIV and hepatitis; in Chihuahua a person prosecuted for HIV, hepatitis and syphilis; and in Baja California a case was sanctioned with 10 years in jail, with one of the most severe penalties.

This initiative in Veracruz, has been in the hands of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), for a constitutional challenge filed by civil society and the National Human Rights Commission, for approximately two years.

In support of the groups that came out in Veracruz against this proposal that criminalizes HIV patients and other STIs, at the national level, organizations that work on behalf of patients with HIV sent a letter to the Supreme Court to argue against the legislation in Veracruz.

Published in E-Consulta Veracruz on Oct 12, 2017

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Veracruz: el estado con más procesados por delito de contagio de VIH

Al menos 15 personas han sido procesadas y sometidas a juicio al ser acusados de transmitir VIH o infecciones de transmisión sexual.

Ciudad de México.- A nivel nacional, Veracruz es la entidad con más casos de pacientes con infecciones de transmisión sexual (its) y VIH sometidos a juicio al ser acusados del delito de contagio a otras personas, esto debido a la criminalización plasmada en los códigos penales de los Estados de la República.

De 26 casos registrados en el país, en los que se han iniciado procesos judiciales o sancionadores de personas portadoras de alguna infección de transmisión sexual, incluyendo VIH, 15 fueron en Veracruz.

Durante el Encuentro Internacional “VIH no es un crimen”, se advirtió que es preocupante que estados, entidades y sus órganos de justicia persigan a pacientes de estas enfermedades.

El autor de esta investigación, Leonardo Bastida Aguilar, integrante de la organización Letra S, dijo que en el caso de Veracruz, a pesar de darse a conocer, mediante una respuesta a solicitud de transparencia, sólo le informaron que se habían atendido 15 casos de personas ya procesadas, por el delito de contagio o transmisión de enfermedades venéreas.

A esta solicitud no se respondió a cuestionamientos como el desagregado por género, distrito judicial, año en que se procesó o el tipo de infección de transmisión sexual de que se trataba o la preferencia o identidad de género.

Reconoció que esta información se dio de manera escueta en el año 2016 con lo que Veracruz se colocó en el primer lugar a nivel nacional en cuanto a procesos sancionadores a personas con este tipo de padecimientos.

Estos 15 casos, incluso, ya fueron concluidos y dieron como resultado sanciones administrativas, sin embargo no hubo más información.

Es necesario recordar que en 2015 se llevó a cabo una reforma al Código Penal de Veracruz, donde se sanciona con cárcel a quien contagie a otra persona de alguna infección de transmisión sexual, incluyendo el virus de inmunodeficiencia humana.

En otras entidades se registraron un caso en Nuevo León, por un paciente de VIH y hepatitis; Chihuahua una persona procesada por VIH, hepatitis y sífilis; y en Baja California un caso sancionado con 10 años de cárcel, con una de las penas más severas.

Esta iniciativa vigente en Veracruz, se encuentra en manos de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN), por el recurso de inconstitucionalidad que se presentó por parte de la sociedad civil y la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos, desde hace aproximadamente dos años.

En apoyo a los grupos que se pronunciaron en Veracruz contra esta propuesta que criminaliza a pacientes de VIH y otras ITS, a nivel nacional organizaciones que trabajan a favor de pacientes con VIH, enviaron una carta a la Suprema Corte para argumentar en contra de la legislación veracruzana.

Paul Kidd ASHM 2018 Lecture: HIV, Consent and the Criminal Law (Australia, 2018)

Synopsis
What is the role of the criminal law in relation to HIV medicine? Medical practitioners and other health care workers provide testing, diagnosis, counsel and care – but the use of the criminal law to prosecute people with HIV means health professionals may also find themselves entangled in a criminal investigation. What should we tell patients about their rights and responsibilities when it comes to HIV transmission or exposure? Taking medical and legal notions of consent as its starting point, this presentation will explore the complex and problematic impacts of HIV criminalisation on medical practice and the lives of people living with HIV, discuss the unrealised potential for the criminal law to be a healing process, and provide some guidance for practitioners who need to balance their roles as health providers with the legalities of HIV transmission and exposure.

Biography
Paul Kidd is an activist, writer and commentator with a particular interest in LGBTI law reform and legal issues affecting people living with blood-borne viruses. He was the founding chair of the Victorian HIV Legal Working Group, is a past President of Living Positive Victoria, has served on the boards of the Victorian AIDS Council, Hepatitis Victoria and the Equality Project, and is a member of the Victorian Government LGBTI Justice Working Group. He holds an honours degree in law from La Trobe Law School and is currently a trainee lawyer with Fitzroy Legal Service. Paul is currently a Supervisory Board member of the HIV Justice Network.

International meeting of legal experts starts work on principles to address the misuse and abuse of criminal laws

Addressing the detrimental health and human rights impacts of criminal laws

People have a fundamental human right to make decisions about their lives and bodies. These rights relate to personal choices on, among other things, health care and treatment. For sexual and reproductive rights, key issues include the right of people to decide when, whether and with whom to have sex, to have children and to get married and their ability to express their gender and sexuality.

Leading legal experts from around the world recently met to lay the foundations for a set of principles to address the misuse and abuse of criminal laws that affect basic human rights and impact on health and equality. The principles will be developed in the coming months and will guide civil society and policy-makers in the development and use of laws that guarantee human rights and protect public health.

Tim Martineau, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme, a.i., noted at the outset of the meeting that, “While there is significant progress in HIV prevention, treatment and care, there is a big discrepancy in HIV prevention in relation to key populations, who are more vulnerable to HIV infection in many respects because of a lack of legal protection and the unjust criminalization of their behaviour.”

The legal experts focused on criminalization related to sexuality, reproduction, personal drug use and the overly broad criminalization of HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission. Around the world, same-sex sexual practices are criminalized in 73 countries, with 13 states imposing the death penalty. Sex work is criminalized in approximatively 116 countries globally and some 72 countries criminalize HIV non-disclosure, exposure or transmission. Criminal laws often increase stigma against already marginalized and excluded groups and have been linked to discrimination and the denial of critical health services. Criminalization also creates an environment in which people are less likely to seek police assistance when their rights have been violated.

Kate Gilmore, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, emphasized that the criminal law plays an essential role in the recognition, protection and enforcement of rights, including by tackling impunity for violations of those rights. “Our purpose here is to raise the shield of criminal law by lowering its sword, ensuring better protection through criminal law by reducing the abuse of it.”

Sam Zarifi, the Secretary General of the International Commission of Jurists, said, “The misuse of the criminal law affects the most marginalized people and, in particular, the dispossessed and disenfranchised.”

The meeting was held on 3 and 4 May and was led by the International Commission of Jurists, in partnership with UNAIDS and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Published on UNAIDS site on May 8, 2018

Webinar: Making Media Work for HIV Justice (PWN-USA for HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE, 2018)

This 90 minute webinar introduced attendees to some of the concepts and practices highlighted in the Making Media Work for HIV Justice media toolkit, and featured formidable activists, journalists, communications professionals, and human rights defenders working at the intersection of media and HIV criminalisation.

New Toolkit Supports Advocates in Using Media to Fight for HIV Justice

When it comes to the widely misunderstood, complex issue of HIV criminalisation, media can be a powerful tool–or a blunt-force weapon.

And so today, as people around the world living with HIV continue to be criminalised and convicted at alarming rates, HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE has released “Making Media Work for HIV Justice: An introduction to media engagement for advocates opposing HIV criminalisation.”

The new resource is the latest addition to the HIV JUSTICE Toolkit, which provides resources from all over the world to assist advocates in approaching a range of advocacy targets, including lawmakers, prosecutors and judges, police, and the media.

The purpose of this critical media toolkit is to inform and equip global grassroots advocates who are engaged in media response to HIV criminalisation–and to demystify the practice of working with, and through, media to change the conversation around criminalisation.

“As advocates work to build community coalitions and consensus about the importance of limiting and ending HIV criminalisation, we need to articulate our common positions to the public and to decision-makers; thus, working with the media is critically important,” says Richard Elliott, Executive Director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and a member of the HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE Steering Committee. “Also, particularly in settings where sexual assault laws are used to criminalise people living with HIV, it is important to communicate via the media why this misuse of the criminal law is harmful to women.”

The toolkit provides an introduction to the topic of HIV criminalisation and the importance of engagement with media to change narratives around this unjust practice. The toolkit also includes reporting tips for journalists, designed to educate writers and media makers around the nuances of HIV criminalisation, and the harms of inaccurate and stigmatising coverage.

Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN-USA), the HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE Steering Committee member organisation that produced the toolkit, has been working on HIV criminalisation for many years, and was an instrumental part of the coalition that brought HIV criminal law reform to the US state of California.

“With HIV rarely making front page news anymore, the highly sensationalised reporting of criminalisation cases–which most often contains little in the way of facts or science–paints a dehumanising picture of people living with HIV,” says Jennie Smith-Camejo, Communications Director for PWN-USA. “This kind of coverage can and does destroy real lives of those affected by HIV criminalisation laws, while fueling and feeding misinformation and stigma.”

The toolkit also includes a number of case studies providing examples of how media played a significant role in the outcome, or the impetus, of HIV criminalisation advocacy.

“I have been monitoring media coverage of speculations, arrests, prosecutions, and convictions of people living with HIV, and also legal and policy proposals for new laws and/or reform, for more than a decade,” notes Edwin J Bernard, Global Co-ordinator of the HIV Justice Network and a member of the HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE coalition. “It’s time for the injustice to end. ‘Making Media Work for HIV Justice’ is a long-overdue welcome addition to the HIV JUSTICE Toolkit, and an important step towards realising a world where people living with HIV are not singled out by the criminal justice system simply for having a virus.“

“Making Media Work for HIV Justice: An introduction to media engagement for advocates opposing HIV criminalisation” was supported by a grant from the Robert Carr Fund for Civil Society Networks. It will also be translated into French, Spanish, and Russian later this year.

Webinar: Making Media Work for HIV Justice

This 90 minute webinar introduced attendees to some of the concepts and practices highlighted in the toolkit, and featured formidable activists, journalists, communications professionals, and human rights defenders working at the intersection of media and HIV criminalisation.

About HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE

HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE is 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. All of the founding partners have worked individually and collectively on HIV criminalisation for a number of years.

HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE is run by a 10-member Steering Committee: AIDS Action Europe / European HIV Legal Forum; AIDS-Free World; AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA); Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network; Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+); HIV Justice Network; International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW); Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN-USA); Sero Project (SERO); and Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC).

To learn more and to join the movement, visit: http://www.hivjusticeworldwide.org.

Download the media release as a pdf here: http://bit.ly/HIVJusticeToolkitMediaRelease

Sean Strub Harvard Lecture: HIV Criminalization: Creating a Viral Underclass in the Law (US, 2018)

HLS Lambda hosted this lecture on HIV stigma, criminalization, and activism.

Sean Strub is a longtime HIV survivor, founder of POZ magazine, director of the Sero Project, and an advocate for people living with HIV. He is the author of Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, AIDS, Sex, and Survival. His short film, HIV Is Not a Crime, introduced the problem of HIV criminalization to audiences worldwide. A longtime activist, Strub was the first openly HIV-positive person to run for the U.S. Congress. He has also produced the off-Broadway hit The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, and served as a member of the board of the Global Network of People Living with HIV.

For more information, visit our website at: petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/events/details/hiv-criminalization-lambda

US: SERO Project and Positive Women’s Network-USA Announce 2018 HIV Is Not a Crime National Training Academy Registration is Open (Press Release)

SERO Project and Positive Women’s Network-USA Announce 2018 HIV Is Not a Crime National Training Academy Registration is Open

February 5, 2018: SERO Project and Positive Women’s Network – USA are excited to announce that registration is now open for the 2018 HIV is Not a Crime III National Training Academy! Planning to participate? Register now! Get more information on the training academy website here.

Building on the amazing success of the HIV Is Not a Crime II National Training Academy in 2016, the planning process is underway for the third HIV Is Not a Crime National Training Academy to support advocates in their efforts to repeal or modernize state laws criminalizing the alleged non-disclosure, perceived or potential exposure or transmission of HIV. The training academy will be held at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) June 3-6, 2018.

HIV is Not a Crime III will once again unite and train advocates living with HIV and allies from across the country about laws criminalizing people living with HIV and on strategies and best practices for repealing such laws. Skills-building trainings, with an emphasis on grassroots organizing, advocacy, coalition-building and campaign planning, will leave participants with concrete tools and resources to work on state-level strategies when they return home.

“The HIV Modernization Movement (HMM) is excited to welcome HIV is Not a Crime III to the IUPUI campus! Science has made extraordinary advances since the HIV epidemic began in the 1980s, but one area that hasn’t kept up is the body of laws that criminalize HIV. Lacking in scientific merit, these harmful laws stigmatize people living with HIV and are counterproductive to HIV treatment and prevention efforts. Organized activities like this one, that bring together people living with HIV and their allies to collectively strategize on reforming these draconian laws, are critical to ending the HIV epidemic,” says Dr. Carrie Foote, HMM Chair and Associate Professor at IUPUI.

Interested in presenting a session at HIV Is Not a Crime III? The abstract submission process is open through Monday, February 12. Find complete instructions for submitting your session proposal here.

Interested in providing financial support for this important event? Sponsorships are still available at various levels. Please contact Sean Strub, SERO Project (sean….@seroproject.com) or Naina Khanna at Positive Women’s Network – USA (naina.kh…@gmail.com) for more information.

Questions? Please contact Tami Haught, SERO Organizer and Training Coordinator, at: tami.haught@seroproject.com.

US: HIV Criminalisation Webinar on Dec 7 for criminal defense attorneys about the current state of medicine

2017 FREE Webinar: HIV Criminalization Webinar

On December 7, 2017, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and The Center for HIV Law & Policy (CHLP), will co-host a webinar on HIV Criminalization that will provide participants with a medical primer about the current state of medicine with regard to HIV research and treatment. This primer, geared toward criminal defense attorneys, but open to all, will be coupled with a discussion on how to use medical research to develop defenses, present the court with mitigation, negotiate favorable pleas for clients, and litigate constitutional, evidentiary, and discovery issues. There will also be a section exploring the ethical issues that attorneys must grapple with when handling these cases. See attached event flyer.

Date: Thursday, December 7, 2017

When: 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET

Cost: FREE

CLE credit: Available for up to *1.5 hours of CLE (general) where self-study credit authorized and approved.

* Registrants will be sent a link to the written CLE materials in advance of the webinar.

Mexico: First Spanish language ‘HIV is Not A Crime’ meeting leads to new Network and impressive early results

In October 2017 the first Spanish-language ‘HIV Is Not A Crime’ meeting took place in Mexico City, supported by the HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE coalition.

The two-day meeting brought together people living with HIV, activists, lawyers, human rights defenders, and academics from across Mexico – alongside HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE partners CNET+ (Belize), Sero Project (USA), and the HIV Justice Network – to discuss the current state of HIV criminalisation nationally, regionally and globally.

As well as learning about HIV criminalisation around the world; the global movement to end HIV criminalisation; and the importance of the leadership of Networks of People Living with HIV, participants discussed reform initiatives in the three states where specific problematic laws exist (Veracruz) or were recently proposed (and Quintana Roo and San Luis Potosí).

In 2015, the Congress of Veracruz approved a reform of the Penal Code in order to add to the crime “of contagion” the term “sexually transmitted infections” (STI), among which are HIV and HPV, to “try to prevent the transmission of such infections, mainly to (vulnerable) women and girls.” The penalty includes six months to five years in prison and a fine of up to 50 days minimum wage for anyone who “maliciously” infects another person with an STI.

In San Luis Potosí, the governor, Juan Manuel Carreras López, proposed reforms to the Criminal Code, including the creation of article 182 bis, to punish “the person knowing that he is a carrier of a sexually transmitted disease. ..) endangers the health of another person through sexual intercourse “. Thanks to quick action by local activists, the proposed reforms did not pass.

In Quintana Roo, last year Congresswoman Laura Beristain proposed reforming Article 113 of the Criminal Code to punish anyone who transmits HIV with up to 25 years in prison. A few weeks ago, following a meeting with activists including those who attend the ‘HIV is not a crime meeting’, she committed to dropping the proposal.

In addition to these HIV-specific laws, the meeting heard that 30 the 32 states that make up the Mexican Republic have a public health law that sanctions exposure to sexually transmitted infections. Only the states of Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosí do not have this law.

According to data from Letra S, at least 39 people have been prosecuted under this law between 2000 and 2016 on suspicion of having transmitted a sexual infection and / or HIV. The state with the highest number of registered cases is Veracruz, with 15; Sonora follows, with nine; Tamaulipas and State of Mexico, with five; Chihuahua, with three, and Mexico City and Nuevo León with a case.

Last year, the Veracruz Multisectoral Group on HIV / AIDS and STIs and the National Commission on Human Rights challenged the Veracruz law on unconstitutionality grounds at the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. The challenge was supported by HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE in a widely reported press conference last year. However, the Supreme Court has yet to rule.

As a result of the meeting, the Mexican Network of organisations against the criminalisation of HIV was formed, bringing together 29 organizations from all over the country. During, and immediately following the meeting, the Network drafted an 11-point Declaration addressed to various governmental agencies in charge of responding to the epidemic, as well as to society in general.

Among the key points in the Declaration, they note that the Mexican State is required to assume the commitment to guarantee an integrated response to HIV (prevention, timely diagnosis and comprehensive attention) and stresses that it is not the task of the judicial authorities to develop and implement measures to prevent transmission of HIV.

The declaration also emphasises that the criminalisation of HIV exposure through “risk or danger of HIV infection” and other public health statutes that appear in the laws of individual Mexican states are generating more harm than good in terms of impact on public health, in addition to preventing the guarantee of respect for the human rights of people with HIV.

With two weeks of the meeting, Network representatives met with Congresswoman Laura Beristain, who had proposed the new unjust, overly broad HIV criminal law in Quintana Roo. She listened to their arguments, read the Declaration, and immediately gave a firm commitment to repeal Quintana Roo’s problematic provisions in Article 113.

Watch and share short video below about the meeting and the Network’s immediate advocacy win.