Here are two U.S. organisations that can sometimes offer legal help and can certainly offer advice and support for those facing prosecution for HIV transmission and/or failure to disclose a HIV+ status.
Journalist Rod McCullom interviews Rep Barbara Lee about the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act
Pop quiz: Which nation leads the world in the prosecutions of HIV exposure and/or transmission? Perennial human rights violators such as Russia, China, or dictatorships in the Middle East or Africa? Not even close. The surprising answer: The United States. In more than 60 nations it is a crime to expose another person to or transmit HIV.
Relations Between Poz And Neg Men Need Work
Relations Between Poz And Neg Men Need Work Posted 8/23/2012 3:00:00 PM We live in a sero-discordant world and you would think that thirty-one years into the epidemic we would have made great strides in the relations between poz and neg men. However, it’s increasingly clear that is not the case.
US: Former professional footballer Trevis Smith loses high school coaching job after his Canadian HIV non-disclosure conviction comes to light
The Birmingham News reports former CFL player Trevis Smith was let go after a reporter asked the school about his criminal record. There is a report that a Birmingham, Ala. high school has let go former CFL player Trevis Smith after learning about his conviction for aggravated sexual assault in Canada in 2007.
Canada: Journalist Noreen Fagan examines what the Supreme Court ruling might mean for people living with HIV
Risk assessment Since HIV is no longer a death sentence, should the law still make it illegal for someone with the disease to keep that information from a sexual partner? With the Supreme Court set to answer that question this fall, NOREEN FAGAN examines the implications for society and those with HIV.
University of Michigan News Service | Michigan courts use HIV disclosure laws to punish poor, marginalized individuals
ANN ARBOR, Mich.-Michigan’s felony HIV disclosure law is a tool to control and punish marginalized and poor individuals in criminal court cases, according to new University of Michigan findings. In many states, a person with HIV can be charged with a crime if he or she engages in sexual activity without telling the other person.
People with HIV Fear Unfair Treatment in Courts
People with HIV Fear Unfair Treatment in Courts Originally printed (Issue 2032 – Between The Lines News) Nearly half of HIV-positive respondents to a recently released survey on HIV criminalization say they believe they will not receive a fair hearing in the criminal justice system if they ever face charges for failing to disclose their status to sexual partners.
HIV Criminalisation Survivors Speak Out: Human Rights Networking Zone Panel (AIDS 2012)
Panel session in the Human Rights Networking Zone at AIDS 2012 (25 July 2012)
Organizer: HIV Justice Network
Presenters:
– Edwin J Bernard, Co-ordinator, HIV Justice Network, United Kingdom
– Louis Gay, Deputy Chair, Patient Network for HIV, Norway [from 02:28]
– Robert Suttle, Assistant Director, The Sero Project, USA [from 10:19]
– Marama Pala, Executive Director, INA – Maori, Indigenous and Pacific Island HIV/AIDS Foundation, New Zealand [from 21:00]
Video produced by Nicholas Feustel, georgetown media,
for the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
Press Conference (AIDS 2012)
HIV Criminalization – An Epidemic Of Ignorance?
Laws and prosecutions that single out people with living with HIV are ineffective, counterproductive and unjust.
As delegates from around the world met in Washington DC at AIDS 2012 to discuss how to “end AIDS” through the application of the latest scientific advances, this press conference highlighted how laws and policies based on stigma and ignorance are not only creating major barriers to prevention, testing, care and treatment, but also seriously violating the human rights of people living with HIV.
Hosted by (in alphabetical order): The Center for HIV Law & Policy / Positive Justice Project, United States; Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), Netherlands; HIV Justice Network, United Kingdom/Germany; INA (Maori, Indigenous & South Pacific) HIV/AIDS Foundation, New Zealand; The SERO Project, United States; Terrence Higgins Trust, United Kingdom; UNAIDS, Switzerland.
Chaired by Paul de Lay, Deputy Executive Director, UNAIDS, Switzerland
Speakers:
– Nick Rhoades, HIV criminalization survivor, United States [from 03:28]
– Marama Pala, former complainant, New Zealand [from 09:15]
– Edwin J Bernard, Co-ordinator, HIV Justice Network/Consultant, GNP+ [from 14:35]
– Laurel Sprague, Research Director – SERO, United States [from 23:15]
– Lisa Fager Bediako, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation/ Positive Justice Project, United States [from 33:10]
Video produced by Nicholas Feustel, georgetownmedia.de, for the HIV Justice Network
HIV prosecutions: global ranking (AIDS 2012)
Presented by Edwin J Bernard at 19th International AIDS Conference, Washington DC, July 22-27, 2012.
Video produced by Nicholas Feustel, georgetownmedia.de, for the HIV Justice Network
Introduction by Susan Timberlake [00:00]
Introduction by Laurel Sprague [01:54]
Start of Edwin J Bernard’s presentation [03:33]
Slide 01: Overview [04:40]
Slide 02: Global Commission on HIV and the Law [05:19]
Slide 03: Case Study: Take a Test, Risk Arrest [05:21]
Slide 04: Global Overview of Laws and Prosecutions [08:29]
Slide 05: Law Enforcement: Top 30 Jurisdictions [09:47]
Slide 06: Law Enforcement Hot Spots [10:58]
Slide 07: Top 15 Global HIV Criminalization Hot Spots [11:19]
Slide 08: Focus On Africa [12:09]
Slide 09: Focus On Africa: Positive Developments [13:08]
Slide 10: Focus On Europe and Central Asia [14:10]
Slide 11: Focus On Europe and Central Africa: Positive Developments [15:18]
Slide 12: Oslo Declaration on HIV Criminalisation [17:45]
Updated abstract based on final data
Criminal prosecutions for HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission: overview and updated global ranking
E.J. Bernard (HIV Justice Network, Berlin, Germany/ Criminal HIV Transmission (blog), Brighton, UK)
M. Nyambe (Global Network of People Living with HIV, GNP+, Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Background: Many jurisdictions continue to inappropriately prosecute people living with HIV (PLHIV) for non-disclosure of HIV-positive status, alleged exposure and non-intentional transmission. Although most HIV-related criminal cases are framed by prosecutors and the media as being cases of ´deliberate´ HIV transmission, the vast majority have involved neither malicious intent nor has transmission actually occurred or the route of transmission been adequately proven.
Methods: This global overview of HIV-related criminal laws and prosecutions is based on latest data from GNP+ Global Criminalisation Scan and media reports collated on criminalhivtransmission.blogspot.com. Final ranking will be based on the total number of prosecutions by July 1 2012 per 1000 PLHIV.
Results: At least 66 countries have HIV-specific criminal laws and at least 47 countries have used HIV-specific (n=20) or general laws to prosecute HIV non-disclosure, exposure or transmission. Despite growing national and international advocacy, prosecutions have not diminished, particularly in high-income countries, with the greatest numbers in North America. Since 2010, prosecutions have taken place in Belgium and Republic of Congo for the first time. In 2011, although HIV-specific laws were suspended in Denmark and rejected in Guyana, Romania passed a new HIV-specific criminal statute. In Africa, the continent with the most HIV-specific criminal laws but with few known prosecutions, Guinea, Togo and Senegal have revised their existing HIV-related legislation or adopted new legislation in line with UNAIDS guidance.
Conclusions: Given the lack or inadequacy of systems to track HIV-related prosecutions in most places, it is not possible to determine the actual number of prosecutions for every country in the world. These data should be considered illustrative of a more widespread, but generally undocumented, use of criminal law against people with HIV. Improved monitoring of laws, law enforcement, and access to justice is still required to fully understand impact on HIV response and PLHIV.