[Update]Zimbabwe: Bill to repeal legal provision that criminalises “wilful” transmission of HIV now set to be tabled before Parliament for debate

Source: Chronicle, July 22,2019

Government moves to decriminalise HIV transmission

Zvamaida Murwira, Harare Bureau

GOVERNMENT has moved to decriminalise wilful transmission of HIV to a partner after it gazetted the Marriages Bill that seeks to repeal a legal provision that makes it an offence.

The Marriages Bill, which was gazetted last Friday, decriminalises the transmission of HIV and Aids to another partner, as Government seeks to keep abreast with international standards.

The Bill is now set to be tabled before Parliament for debate.

Section 53 of the Marriages Bill repealed Section 79 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act which makes it an offence to transmit HIV to a partner.

Section 79 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23) titled “Deliberate transmission of HIV” states that, “(1) any person who

(a) Knowing that he or she is infected with HIV; or

(b) realising that there is a real risk or possibility that he or she is infected with HIV; intentionally does anything or permits the doing of anything which he or she knows will infect, or does anything which he or she realises involves a real risk or possibility of infecting another person with HIV, shall be guilty of deliberate transmission of HIV, whether or not he or she is married to that other person, and shall be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding twenty years.”

Early this year, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told Parliament that the global thinking was that the law stigmatised people living with HIV and Aids.

He said initially when the law was enacted, the thinking was that it would help to fight the spread of the disease by criminalising those that transmit it to partners willingly.

Accused persons that have been charged under the law were alleged to have unprotected sex with their spouses knowing that they were infected with HIV.

Proponents who argued for the abolishment of the law argued that at present medical evidence did not determine which of the adult partners was infected first if one was not a virgin at the point of the alleged transmission.

In the past, those charged under the law have challenged the constitutionality of Section 79 of the Criminal law, arguing that their right under section 23 of the Constitution not to be discriminated against on any basis including HIV and Aids status was being violated.

They also argued that their right to protection of the law under section 18 was being violated because the offence in question was so wide, broad and vague. 

The challenge to the constitutionality of this offence was focused on the species of this offence requiring only that when the accused had sex with another person, the accused realised the real risk or possibility that he or she was infected with HIV and that there was a real risk that the other person will be infected.

Counsel for the applicants argued that this formulation of the offence violated the constitutional right to protection of law as it was conjectural and vague. 

They contended that innocent persons were in danger of being convicted under this provision.

It was argued that there were other ways of HIV and Aids transmission like victims of syringes known to have been contaminated with HIV.

Those who called for the repeal of the law also cited Justice Edwin Cameron, an HIV-positive Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa who said: 

“The use of criminal law to address HIV infection is inappropriate except in rare cases in which a person acts with conscious intent to transmit HIV and does so.”

In the past, UNAIDS organisation has urged “governments to limit criminalisation to cases of intentional transmission.”

 

Source: Bulawayo 24 news, May 11, 2019

HIV/Aids transmission law repeal approved by Cabinet

The Marriages Amendment Bill which will repeal a legal provision that criminalises “wilful” transmission of HIV to a partner has been approved by Cabinet.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said a Clause in the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act that criminalises transmission of HIV by one partner to another would be repealed.

Minister Ziyambi said this yesterday in Harare while responding to questions from journalists during a post Cabinet briefing which was chaired by Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Prisca Mupfumira.

He said the Marriages Amendment Bill which was approved by Cabinet would also repeal that Clause of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

“Yes, indeed Cabinet approved that we repeal the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act where it speaks about these criminalisation so we will repeal the Criminal Code in this regard,” said Minister Ziyambi.

The Marriages Amendment Bill will soon be gazetted before it is tabled before Parliament for debate.

The decision to decriminalise transmission of HIV dovetails with what Minister Ziyambi told Parliament earlier this year.

In March, Minister Ziyambi made an assurance to repeal the Clause during a question and answer session after Zengeza West legislator Mr Job Sikhala (MDC-Alliance) had asked if Government was considering amending the law which criminalise transmission of HIV.

“When this legislation came into effect, the thinking then was that we need to control the spread of HIV by criminalising those who transmit it to partners knowingly. But the global thinking now is that that law stigmatises people living with HIV and studies have shown that it does not produce the results that were intended. What the Ministry is going to do is to repeal that section of the law and ensure that we keep up with modern trends in the world,” said Minister Ziyambi in the National Assembly.

He said the fastest way of doing it was to incorporate the provision in the Marriages Amendment Bill. 

Earlier on Minister Mupfumira said Cabinet approved the Coroner’s Office Bill.

She said the Bill sought to help safeguard human lives through facilitating specialising investigation of preventable deaths and identification of deceased persons.

“The country has previously relied on expatriates for the specialised investigations required to conclude such cases, which arrangement has now become unsustainable. In more precise terms, the Bill will establish an efficient coroner system to look into the cause of death in the following circumstances among deaths that occur without a medical doctor’s attention, surgical operation table deaths and deaths while in jail, police custody or other central authority control,” said Minister Mupfumira.

US: Rep. Tracy McCreery plans to file new bill again next year to change Missouri’s HIV criminalisation statute

Next Steps: ‘Decriminalizing’ HIV in Missouri

As elected officials vacate Jefferson City and return to their families and jobs, The Missouri Times is bringing you updates on big initiatives that didn’t quite make it through before May 17. The “Next Steps” series will showcase progress made on certain legislative issues and a look ahead to what could come.

Missouri’s statute regarding people living with HIV do not reflect “current reality,” according to lawmakers and advocates working to “decriminalize” the disease. 

Missouri statute mandates an individual who is knowingly infected with HIV not act in a “reckless” way that could expose another person to the disease without his or her knowledge or consent. Violating the statute could result in a Class A or B felony, depending on if another individual contracted HIV. 

The way the statute is written deters people from finding out his or her status and seeking appropriate treatment, advocates say. The statute also suggests an HIV diagnosis is equivalent to a death sentence — but with modern science and medicine, that’s not necessarily the case.  

“We need to make sure our laws reflect our current reality,” Rep. Tracy McCreery, a Democrat from the St. Louis area, told The MIssouri Times. “Now, people who are living with HIV live very full, healthy lives. We feel like the statutes need to be updated to be medically accurate so prosecutors have tools to use at their disposal that reflect the current reality of that disease.” 

Both McCreery and GOP Rep. Holly Rehder filed bills in the 2019 legislative session that would have changed the state’s statute regarding people with HIV to base prosecution more on an “intent” basis. Although their bills had minor differences, McCreery said the fact both women filed and supported the legislation is indicative that the need for change is bipartisan. 

What happened to legislative efforts this year? 

Rehder’s HB 167 made it to the House floor where it was debated before it eventually stalled. The bill sought to tweak the criminal statute for someone who exposed another individual to HIV. It would have also ensured protections for someone who took “practical means” to prevent the transmission of the disease such as through compliance with medical treatment or the use of a condom, for some examples. 

“Right now, Missouri laws are medically inaccurate and stand as a disincentive to know your status if you have HIV, even though with proper treatment, a person’s life expectancy is almost equal to someone without the virus,” Rehder previously told The Missouri Times.

McCreery’s HB 166 made it through the House Health and Mental Health Policy Committee but did not progress further. 

Both bills would apply the law to all serious infectious or communicable diseases instead of just HIV. 

Stil, McCreery said the legislative efforts saw success — particularly from an educational standpoint as lawmakers were especially engaged in debate on the House floor before the session ended — and has set them up in a better position for the upcoming session. 

“Although we ran out of time with this session with the bill … I think we’re in a much better place starting out in January because now that we’ve had a debate on this bill on the floor, I feel like a lot more colleagues are more supportive of the legislation now and had an ‘aha’ moment on the floor when they realized current statutes were written so long ago and are not based on accurate science,” McCreery said. “I feel like that was a victory.” 

“Ultimately we’re both trying to get at the same things: We both think HIV should be decriminalized because if we do that, Missourians would be encouraged to know their status, and then they wouldn’t be facing the possibility of criminal charges by knowing their status,” she added. 

So what’s next? 

The momentum is there; they just need to capitalize on it, McCreery said of herself and Rehder for the upcoming session. She said she plans to file a similar bill again next year and doesn’t doubt Rehder will too. (Rehder did not respond to a request for comment for this story.)

“We feel we have done a great job of not only getting the conversation started, but we now believe we truly have started to break down the stigma surrounding HIV,” McCreery said. 

 

Ahead of next session, members of the nonprofit Empower Missouri plan to grow the Missouri HIV Justice Coalition as well as meet with prosecuting attorneys and lawmakers — particularly those who sit on committees that might hear the legislation. The organization is also seeking a Senate sponsor for the legislation in the coming session. 

“What we have does not work, and it’s important that we change it,” Jeanette Mott Oxford, executive director of Empower Missouri, told The Missouri Times. 

Oxford maintained there is still a stigma surrounding HIV that has fueled laws like the one currently on the books in Missouri. 

“There are certain things where the public perception works against good public policy, and this is one of those areas where our current law actually rewards ignorance,” Oxford said. “We want to create a world in which everybody is anxious to know their status, will go be tested, and trust that the public health officials won’t go help prosecute them.” 

‘Show-Me’ statistics

More than 12,000 people in Missouri are living with HIV, according to data from AIDSVu, a product of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. Caldwell, Jackson, and Mississippi Counties reported the most number of cases per 100,000 people in 2016. 

It affects mostly men and minorities in Missouri: More than 46 percent of people living with HIV in Missouri in 2016 are Hispanic or Latinx, nearly 44 percent are black, and more than 5 percent are white. Additionally, more than 82 percent of people living with HIV in Missouri are men. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designated Missouri as one of seven states with a “substantial rural burden” for people living with HIV. Within the state, the nation’s health protection agency flagged more than a dozen counties considered vulnerable or at-risk for outbreaks: Bates, Cedar, Crawford, Hickory, Iron, Madison, Ozark, Reynolds, Ripley, St. Francois, Washington, Wayne, and Wright. 

Kaitlyn Schallhorn is a reporter with The Missouri Times. She joined the newspaper in March 2019 after working as a reporter for Fox News in New York City. Throughout her career, Kaitlyn has covered political campaigns across the U.S. and humanitarian aid efforts in Africa. She is a native of Missouri who studied journalism at Winthrop University in South Carolina. Contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@themissouritimes.com.

The Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) and the HIV Justice Network (HJN) condemn dismissal of appeal in Singapore HIV criminalisation case

The Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) and the HIV Justice Network (HJN) condemn dismissal of appeal in Singapore HIV criminalisation case

The Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) and the HIV Justice Network (HJN) condemn the dismissal of the appeal by a Singaporean man living with HIV who was convicted to two years’ imprisonment for not disclosing his status to his sexual partner and for not communicating the risk of HIV transmission to his sexual partner. We are particularly concerned that the judgement has emphasised the lack of explaining the risk of HIV transmission as the main reason for dismissing the appeal.

“HIV prevention is a shared responsibility and therefore not the sole responsibility of people living with HIV. If more people are sensitised to the rights of people living with HIV, including their sexual rights, and were aware of the mechanisms of HIV transmission there would be far less stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV. Furthermore, HIV criminalisation creates a bad public health environment where people living with HIV have fears in disclosing their status, which lead to delay in engaging in care and treatment,” said Rico Gustav, Executive Director of GNP+.

According to the Infectious Diseases Act in 2016 of Singapore, Section 23 (1) a person who knows that he has HIV Infection shall not engage in any sexual activity with another person unless, before the sexual activity takes place — (a) he has informed that other person of the risk of contracting HIV Infection from him; and (b) that other person has voluntarily agreed to accept that risk.

“HIV is the only disease singled out as a transmittable disease in the Infectious Diseases Act,” said Edwin Bernard, Global Co-ordinator of the HIV Justice Network. “Not only does this perpetuate stigma, it also creates a false sense of security, suggesting that only people with diagnosed HIV can transmit HIV, when many new infections come from those who are undiagnosed. Ironically, a law such as this one that places such an onerous burden on people with diagnosed HIV, is only likely to make HIV testing, and open and honest discussions around HIV, less likely.”

Furthermore, the facts of the case reported in the judgement suggest that there was no effective HIV risk during any sexual activity, regardless of whether or not disclosure – and acceptance of risk – was established beyond reasonable doubt. Condoms were used early in the relationship, and subsequently when condoms were not used, the unjustly convicted man had a very low viral load.

As expressed in the Expert Consensus Statement on the Science of HIV in the context of criminal law, HIV criminalisation laws and prosecutions have not always been guided by the best available scientific and medical evidence, have not evolved to reflect advancements in knowledge of HIV and its treatment, and can be influenced by persistent societal stigma and fear associated with HIV. HIV continues to be singled out, with prosecutions occurring in cases where no harm was intended; where HIV transmission did not occur, was not possible or was extremely unlikely; and where transmission was neither alleged nor proven.

GNP+ and HJN not only strongly condemn this legislation and the dismissal of appeal of this case, but all kinds of HIV criminalisation, which often entails legislation that is applied in a manner inconsistent with contemporary medical and scientific evidence and includes overstating both the risk of HIV transmission and also the potential for harm to a person’s health and wellbeing. Such limited understanding of current HIV science reinforces stigma and may lead to human rights violation and undermines efforts to address the HIV epidemic.

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Canada: Justice Committee report recommends wide-ranging reforms to HIV criminalisation, including removing HIV non-disclosure from sexual assault law

Yesterday, the House of Commons Standing Committee of Justice and Human Rights released a ground-breaking report “The Criminalization of HIV Non-Disclosure in Canada” recommending that the Government of Canada works with each of the Canadian provinces and territories to end the use of sexual assault law to prosecute allegations of HIV non-disclosure.

According to a press release issued by our HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE partners, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network:

People living with HIV currently face imprisonment for aggravated sexual assault and a lifetime designation as a sex offender for not disclosing their HIV status to sexual partners, even in cases where there is little or even zero risk of transmission. This means a person engaging in consensual sex that causes no harm, and poses little or no risk of harm, can be prosecuted and convicted like a violent rapist. We welcome the Committee’s recognition of this unjust reality and their call to end the use of sexual assault laws. We and our allies have spent many years advocating for this critical change.

The report also recommends that Canada limits HIV criminalisation to actual transmission only. The Legal Network notes:

But we must go further: criminal prosecution should be limited to cases of intentional transmission as recommended by the UN’s expert health and human rights bodies. Parliament should heed such guidance. Criminal charges and punishments are the most serious of society’s tools; their use should be limited and a measure of last resort.

However, one of the recommendations that the Legal Network takes issue with is the recommendation to broaden any new law to include other infectious diseases.

Infectious diseases are a public health issue and should be treated as such. We strongly disagree with the recommendation to extend the criminal law to other infectious diseases. We will not solve the inappropriate use of the criminal law against people living with HIV by punishing more people and more health conditions.

Currently, there is a patchwork of inconsistent approaches across each province and territory. Only three provinces — Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta — have a formal policy in place or have directed Crown prosecutors to limit prosecutions of HIV non-disclosure, and they all fall short of putting an end to unjust prosecutions.

A December 2018 federal directive to limit HIV criminalisation, which solely applies to Canada’s territories, is already having some impact — in January 2019 it led to Crown prosecutors in the Northwest Territories dropping a wrongful sexual assault charge against a man living with HIV in Yellowstone. “We followed the directive and chose not to prosecute,” said Crown attorney Alex Godfrey.

Other positive recommendations in the report include:

  • An immediate review of the cases of all individuals who have been convicted for not disclosing their HIV status and who would not have been prosecuted under the new standards set out in the recommendations of the Committee.
  • These standards must reflect “the most recent medical science regarding HIV and its modes of transmission and the criminal law should only apply when there is actual transmission having regard to the realistic possibility of transmission. At this point of time, HIV non-disclosure should never be prosecuted if (1) the infected individual has an undetectable viral load (less than 200 copies per millilitre of blood); (2) condoms are used; (3) the infected individual’s partner is on PrEP or (4) the type of sexual act (such as oral sex) is one where there is a negligible risk of transmission.”
  • And, until a new law is drafted and enacted (which is only likely to happen if the current Liberal Government is re-elected in October), there should be implementation of a common prosecutorial directive across Canada to end criminal prosecutions of HIV non-disclosure, except in cases where there is actual transmission.

The report also recommends that any new legislation should be drafted in consultation with “all relevant stakeholders including the HIV/AIDS community”, which the Legal Network also welcomed.

The report is the result of a study of the ‘Criminalization of Non-Disclosure of HIV Status’ that ran between April and June 2019. Many Canadian experts testified as key witnesses to help MPs gain insight into why Canada’s current approach is wrong. HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE also submitted a brief to the committee, providing international context to Canada’s extremely severe approach to HIV non-disclosure.

The Legal Network concludes:

The next step is actual law reform. The report makes clear that change to the criminal law is needed. Any new legal regime must avoid the harms and stigma that have tainted the law these past 25 years.

Canada: Criminalisation of HIV non-disclosure to be addressed if government is reelected

Liberals hope to deal with HIV non-disclosure issue if re-elected: Lametti

TORONTO — The Liberals hope to address the if re-elected in the fall, the federal justice minister said Friday as advocacy groups pushed the government to make changes to the law.

HIV non-disclosure has led to assault or sexual assault charges because it’s been found to invalidate a partner’s consent — the rationale being that if someone knew a person had HIV, they wouldn’t consent to sexual activity because of the risk of transmission.

Advocates say the justice system lags behind the science on the issue, with a growing body of evidence saying there is no realistic possibility of transmission of HIV if a person is on antiretroviral therapy and has had a suppressed viral load for six months.

A parliamentary committee has been examining the issue for months and is expected to release a report with recommendations next week. Justice Minister David Lametti said the Liberals want to address the matter but won’t have time to act before the October election.

“Our legislative runway is over,” Lametti said after speaking at a symposium on HIV criminalization in Toronto. “The house will rise at some point, perhaps as early as next week … I hope that our government will be re-elected so we’ll be able to hit the ground running.”

Lametti said the Liberals, if returned to power, could explore options that include drafting a criminal law provision that targets intentional transmission of HIV.

“We need to look at the criminal law … and look at what’s within our jurisdiction … and trying to achieve that balance, as a number of people in the room have stated, in trying to draft a criminal law provision which targets only intent and not criminalize everything else,” he said.

Richard Elliott, Executive Director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, said he’s concerned that the timing of the committee’s report — so close to the federal election — could mean its recommendations get lost.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s taken this long, several-year process since the last election, to get to the point of actually having a committee report with some recommendations that could then inform possible legislation,” he said. “The issue, however, isn’t going to go away for people living with HIV … we will continue to press for Criminal Code reform.”

In 2017, then-federal justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said she would examine how the criminal justice system dealt with people who do not disclose their HIV status to sexual partners.

Late last year, the government instructed federal prosecutors in the North that they should no longer prosecute anyone for not disclosing their HIV status to a sex partner where there is no risk of transmitting the virus. The rules apply only in the territories where federal prosecutors have jurisdiction.

Elliott said he’s hopeful that the Justice and Human Rights committee’s report will include a recommendation to establish a consistent policy for prosecutors at the provincial level.

Agencies advocating for de-criminalization of HIV non-disclosure agree that the law needs to change and it is a public health issue, not something that should be dealt with as sexual assault, he said.

“There is just a vast overreach in the Criminal Code as it’s been interpreted and applied,” he said. “Parliament needs to fix that and that will remain the case after the coming election.”

UNAIDS welcomes the decision of the Constitutional Court of Colombia to remove HIV criminalisation article

GENEVA, 13 June 2019—UNAIDS welcomes the decision of the Constitutional Court of Colombia to remove the section of the criminal code that criminalizes HIV and Hepatitis B transmission. Overly broad criminalization of HIV transmission is ineffective, discriminatory and does not support efforts to prevent new HIV infections.

“Public health goals cannot be pursued by denying people their individual rights. The decision by the Constitutional Court of Colombia is a concrete step to ensure the law works for the HIV response, and not against it,” said Gunilla Carlsson, UNAIDS Executive Director, a.i. “UNAIDS will continue to advocate for a protective legal environment and the removal of punitive laws, policies, practices, stigma and discrimination that block effective responses to HIV.”

The Constitutional Court of Colombia established that the law violated the principles of equality and non-discrimination, as it singled out people living with HIV, stigmatising them and limiting their rights. The Court established that the law created a differential treatment that is not reasonable —and therefore constituted discrimination. The Court further established that such law violated the sexual rights of people living with HIV and it was ineffective to meet any public health objectives.

Overly broad and inappropriate application of criminal law against people living with HIV remains a serious concern across the globe. Nine jurisdictions in South and Central America and at least 77 others worldwide still criminalize HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission.

UNAIDS filed an intervention before the Constitutional Court of Colombia indicating that no data support the broad application of criminal law to HIV transmission to prevent HIV transmission. Rather, such application risks undermining public health goals and human rights protections. UNAIDS strongly commends the decision taken by the Constitutional Court to restore the dignity and rights of people living with HIV in Colombia.

In 2018, UNAIDS, the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care and the International AIDS Society convened an expert group of scientists who developed an Expert Consensus Statement on the Science of HIV in the Context of Criminal Law. The statement calls on the criminal justice system to ensure science informs the application of the law in criminal cases related to HIV.

UNAIDS 

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram andYouTube.  

Colombia: Constitutional Court overturns HIV criminalisation law

Court strikes down article criminalising the spread of HIV
Google translation, for article in Spanish, scroll down.
 
Among the reasons for the decision, the high court stated that the rule “stigmatized” a population.
Three reasons led the Constitutional Court on Wednesday to overturn Article 411 of Law 599 of 2000, which penalized the spread of the Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV, and of Hepatitis B.
 
A first reason was that this rule was not a necessary and proportional measure. Second, it stigmatized a population. And the third is that there is another rule in the Penal Code that already typifies the spread of epidemics.
 
The Court’s decision accepted several of the plaintiff’s arguments. According to the plaintiff, the rule violated the rights to equality and restricted the free development of personality, in particular sexual freedom. 
 
The norm established that there would be a prison term of 6 to 12 years for those who, knowing they are HIV positive or sick with hepatitis B, “carry out practices by means of which they can contaminate another person, or donate blood, semen, organs or, in general, anatomical components”.
 
According to the lawsuit, this penalized the fact that a person living with these diseases had sex, and made it a crime regardless of whether that person took the preventive measures that make the transmission of diseases unlikely, such as antiretroviral treatments and others.
 
The plaintiff argued that, although the purpose of this measure was to protect public health, this did not justify prohibiting a population group from freely expressing its sexuality, and stressed that there would be no effect when there were consensual relationships in which measures were taken to prevent contagion.
 
Regarding the violation of equality, the lawsuit held that the article only referred to and penalized people with HIV or hepatitis B, and not others with potentially contagious and delicate diseases.
 
Other views
As part of the debate on this law, the Court received 15 statements from different organizations, ministries, universities, and even from the Constitutional Court of South Africa – against it – to take into consideration. And there were almost as many arguments in favour as against. 
 
The Colombian League for the Fight against AIDS supported the lawsuit because it considered that the law did violate rights, added that laws that penalize exposure to HIV leave the entire burden of prevention on people living with it and said that the real challenges were more education and better access to medical testing and counseling services.
 
The statement sent by the Ministry of Justice gave reason to the plaintiff that the rule was discriminatory because it was addressed only to people with HIV – who have also been recognized as subjects of special constitutional protection – or hepatitis B. It also argued that there was no justification for the rule being for people with these two diseases and not for others who are aware of having different risks of infectious-contagious diseases. 
 
However, faced with the restriction of sexual freedom, the Ministry of Justice considered: the rule “does not violate the right to the free development of the personality, but is limited to establishing the penal consequences that its abusive and harmful exercise entails with respect to the rights of others and the community”. 
 
The Ministry of Health indicated, on the contrary, that the article did not violate either the right to equality or the free development of the personality and asked to leave it as it was.
 
The Attorney General’s Office agreed with the plaintiff that the rule punished the fact of having sex even when there was no transmission of the disease, which, says the Public Prosecutor’s Office, is not true. For the Attorney General’s Office, the rule was clear that in order for the crime to be configured there must be an intention to cause harm by engaging in practices that could end in contagion. The Public Prosecutor’s Office asked the Court to declare itself inhibited.

Corte tumba artículo que penalizaba la propagación del VIH

Entre las razones, el alto tribunal dijo que la norma “estigmatizaba” a una población.

Tres razones llevaron este miércoles a la Corte Constitucional a tumbar el artículo 411 de la ley 599 del 2000 que penalizaba la propagación del Virus de Inmunodeficiencia Adquirida, VIH, origen al sida, y la Hepatitis B.

Una primera razón es que esta norma no era una medida necesaria y proporcional. La segunda, estigmatizaba a una población. Y la tercera es que hay otra norma en el  Código Penal que tipifica ya la propagación de epidemias.

La decisión de la Corte acoge varios argumentos del demandante. Según este, la norma vulneraba los derechos a la igualdad y restringía el libre desarrollo de la personalidad, en particular, la libertad sexual. 

La norma establecía que habría prisión de 6 a 12 años para quien, sabiéndose portador del VIH o enfermo de hepatitis B, “realice prácticas mediante las cuales puedan contaminar a otra persona, o done sangre, semen, órganos o en general componentes anatómicos”.

De acuerdo con la demanda, esto penalizaba el hecho de que una persona que viviera con estas enfermedades tuviera sexo, y lo convertía en delito sin importar si se esa persona tomaba las medidas preventivas que hacen improbable la transmisión de enfermedades, como tratamientos antirretrovirales y otros.

El demandante sostenía que, aunque el fin de esta medida era proteger la salud pública, esto no justificaba prohibirle a un grupo poblacional expresar libremente su sexualidad, y resaltaba que no habría afectación cuando se tuvieran relaciones consensuadas en las que se tomaran medidas para prevenir contagios.

Sobre la vulneración a la igualdad, la demanda sostenía que el artículo solo se refería y penalizaba a personas con VIH o hepatitis B, y no a otras con enfermedades también potencialmente contagiosas y delicadas.

 

Otras voces

Como parte del debate sobre esta norma, la Corte recibió 15 conceptos de diferentes organizaciones, ministerios, universidades, e incluso de la Corte Constitucional de Sudáfrica- en contra-, para alimentar sus consideraciones. Y hubo casi tantos argumentos a favor como en contra. 

La Liga Colombiana de Lucha contra el Sida apoyó la demanda pues consideró que con la norma sí se vulneraban los derechos, agregó que leyes que penalizan la exposición al VIH dejan toda la carga de la prevención a las personas que viven con él y dijo que los verdaderos desafíos son más educación y mejor acceso a servicios de pruebas médicas y consejería.

El concepto enviado por el Ministerio de Justicia le dio la razón al demandante en que la norma es discriminatoria pues estaba dirigida únicamente a personas con VIH –que además han sido reconocidas como sujetos de especial protección constitucional– o hepatitis B. También argumentó que no se advertía justificación para que la norma fuera para personas con esas dos enfermedades y no para otras que conscientes de tener enfermedades infectocontagiosas riesgosas distintas. 

Sin embargo, frente a la restricción a la libertad sexual, la cartera de Justicia consideró: la norma “no vulnera el derecho al libre desarrollo de la personalidad, sino que se limita a establecer las consecuencias penales que acarrea su ejercicio abusivo y lesivo frente a los derechos de las demás personas y la comunidad”. 

El Ministerio de Salud indicó, al contrario, que la norma demandada no vulneraba ni el derecho a la igualdad ni el libre desarrollo de la personalidad y pidió dejarla como estaba.

La Procuraduría coincidió con el demandante en que la norma castigaba el hecho de tener sexo aun cuando no exista transmisión de la enfermedad, lo cual, dice el Ministerio Público, no es cierto. Para la Procuraduría, la norma era clara en que para que se configurara el delito debía existir una intención de causar daño realizando prácticas que podían terminar en contagio. El Ministerio Público pidió a la Corte declararse inhibida.

New report analyses the successes and challenges of the growing global movement against HIV criminalisation

A new report published today (May 29th 2019) by the HIV Justice Network on behalf of HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE provides clear evidence that the growing, global movement against HIV criminalisation has resulted in more advocacy successes than ever before. However, the number of unjust HIV criminalisation cases and HIV-related criminal laws across the world continue to increase, requiring more attention, co-ordinated advocacy, and funding.

Advancing HIV Justice 3: Growing the global movement against HIV criminalisation provides a progress report of achievements and challenges in global advocacy against HIV criminalisation from 1st October 2015 to 31st December 2018.

Although the full report is currently only available in English, a four-page executive summary is available now in English, French, Russian and Spanish.  The full report will be translated into these languages and made available later this summer.

The problem

HIV criminalisation describes the unjust application of criminal and similar laws to people living with HIV based on HIV-positive status, either via HIV-specific criminal statutes or general criminal or similar laws. It is a pervasive illustration of how state-sponsored stigma and discrimination works against a marginalised group of people with immutable characteristics. As well as being a human rights issue of global concern, HIV criminalisation is a barrier to universal access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care.

Across the globe, laws used for HIV criminalisation are often written or applied based on myths and misconceptions about HIV and its modes of transmission, with a significant proportion of prosecutions for acts that constitute no or very little risk of HIV transmission, including: vaginal and anal sex when condoms had been used or the person with HIV had a low viral load; oral sex; and single acts of breastfeeding, biting, scratching or spitting.

Our global audit of HIV-related laws found that a total of 75 countries (103 jurisdictions) have laws that are HIV-specific or specify HIV as a disease covered by the law. As of 31st December 2018, 72 countries had reported cases: 29 countries had ever applied HIV-specific laws, 37 countries had ever applied general criminal or similar laws, and six countries had ever applied both types of laws.

Cases infographic During our audit period, there were at least 913 arrests, prosecutions, appeals and/or acquittals in 49 countries, 14 of which appear to have applied the criminal law for the first time. The highest number of cases were in Russia, Belarus and the United States. When cases were calculated according to the estimated number of diagnosed people living with HIV, the top three HIV criminalisation hotspots were Belarus, Czech Republic and New Zealand.

Screenshot 2019-05-29 at 10.27.51The pushback

Promising and exciting developments in case law, law reform and policy took place in many jurisdictions: two HIV criminalisation laws were repealed; two HIV criminalisation laws were found to be unconstitutional; seven laws were modernised; and at least four proposed laws were withdrawn. In addition, six countries saw precedent-setting cases limiting the overly broad application of the law through the use of up-to-date science.

Screenshot 2019-05-29 at 10.29.06The solution

Progress against HIV criminalisation is the result of sustained advocacy using a wide range of strategies. These include:

  • Building the evidence base Research-based evidence has proven vital to advocacy against HIV criminalisation. In particular, social science research has been used to challenge damaging myths and to identify who is being prosecuted, in order to help build local and regional advocacy movements.
  • Ensuring the voices of survivors are heard HIV criminalisation advocacy means ensuring that HIV criminalisation survivors are welcomed and supported as advocates and decision-makers at all stages of the movement to end HIV criminalisation.
  • Training to build capacity Successful strategies have focused on grassroots activists, recognising that training events must be community owned and provide opportunities for diverse community members to come together, hold discussions, set agendas, and build more inclusive coalitions and communities of action.
  • Using PLHIV-led research to build community engagement capacity Research led by people living with HIV (PLHIV) provides a mechanism to engage communities to develop in-depth understanding of issues and build relationships, mobilise and organise.

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  • Using science for justice HIV criminalisation is often based on outdated and/or inaccurate information exaggerating potential harms of HIV infection. In addition, HIV-related prosecutions frequently involve cases where no harm was intended; where HIV transmission did not occur, was not possible or was extremely unlikely; and where transmission was neither alleged nor proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
  • Engaging decision-makers through formal processes Activists have worked to bring about legal and policy changes not only by lobbying local decision-makers, but also by engaging in other formal processes including using international mechanisms to bring HIV criminalisation issues to the attention of state or national decision-makers.
  • Acting locally and growing capacity through networks Many community organisations working to limit HIV criminalisation are actively supporting grassroots community advocates’ participation at the decision-making table.
  • Getting the word out and engaging with media Activists have employed diverse strategies to extend the reach of advocacy against HIV criminalisation including pushing the issue onto conference agendas, presenting messaging through video, working through digital media forums, using public exhibitions to push campaign messaging, and holding public demonstrations. Sensationalist headlines and misreporting of HIV-related prosecutions remain a major issue, perpetuating HIV stigma while misrepresenting the facts. Activists are endeavouring to interrupt this pattern of salacious reporting, working to improve media by pushing alternative, factual narratives and asking journalists to accurately report HIV-related cases with care.

Acknowlegements

Advancing HIV Justice 3 was written on behalf of HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE by the HIV Justice Network’s Senior Policy Analyst, Sally Cameron, with the exception of the Global overview, which was written by HIV Justice Network’s Global Co-ordinator, Edwin J Bernard, who also edited the report.

We would especially like to acknowledge the courage and commitment of the growing number of advocates around the world who are challenging laws, policies and practices that inappropriately regulate and punish people living with HIV. Without them, this report would not have been possible.

rcnf 346x228We gratefully acknowledge the financial contribution of the Robert Carr Fund to this report.

A note about the limitations of the data

The data and case analyses in this report cover a 39-month period, 1 October 2015 to 31 December 2018. This begins where the second Advancing HIV Justice report – which covered a 30-month period, 1 April 2013 to 30 September 2015 – left off. Our data should be seen as an illustration of what may be a more widespread, but generally undocumented, use of the criminal law against people with HIV.

Similarly, despite the growing movement of advocates and organisations working on HIV criminalisation, it is not possible to document every piece of advocacy, some of which takes place behind the scenes and is therefore not publicly communicated.

Despite our growing global reach we may still not be connected with everyone who is working to end HIV criminalisation, and if we have missed you or your work, we apologise and hope that you will join the movement (visit: www.hivjusticeworldwide.org/en/join-the-movement) so we can be in touch and you can share information about your successes and challenges.

Consequently, this report can only represent the tip of the iceberg: each piece of information a brief synopsis of the countless hours and many processes that individuals, organisations, networks, and agencies have dedicated to advocacy for HIV justice.

Suggested citation: Sally Cameron and Edwin J Bernard. Advancing HIV Justice 3: Growing the global movement against HIV criminalisation. HIV Justice Network, Amsterdam, May 2019.

Canada: B.C.’s improved HIV prosecution guidelines remain out of step with scientific evidence and international guidance

Richard Elliott: B.C.’s improved HIV prosecution guidelines don’t go far enough

Opinion: B.C. has missed an important opportunity to create an updated policy that considers and reflects human rights, updated science and international guidance on this issue. British Columbians, and especially people living with HIV, deserve better.

Last month, the B.C. Prosecution Service changed its approach to HIV criminalization.

A new policy provides direction to prosecutors in cases where someone is accused of not telling their sexual partner they are HIV-positive.

While the Prosecution Service has taken an important step toward limiting misuse of criminal charges in these cases, overall this new policy remains out of step with scientific evidence and extensive international guidance. The result is that people living with HIV in B.C. continue to live under the shadow of unjust prosecution.

No other medical condition has been criminalized as HIV continues to be. Just imagine being told you are HIV-positive. The news is overwhelming at first, but you take on board the medical advice given to you and you learn that thanks to modern medicine you can live a fulfilling, healthy and long life.

You go on to meet someone and have consensual sex. You use a condom, which is the safer sex practice recommended as a cornerstone of HIV prevention since the virus was identified decades ago.

But, because you didn’t tell your sexual partner you have HIV, you can be charged with aggravated sexual assault. Even though HIV cannot pass through an intact condom, you could spend years in jail and be designated a “sex offender” for the rest of your life.

The Prosecution Service has refused to clearly rule out prosecuting people who use condoms. Instead, its new policy only says that using a condom is a factor that “may” weigh against prosecuting someone.

This flies in the face of evidence-based recommendations given by advocacy and human rights groups around the world. These include the international expert consensus statement published last year by leading HIV experts — including three leading Canadian scientists (two of them from B.C.) — concerned that criminal prosecutions in cases of alleged HIV non-disclosure are often based on a poor appreciation of the science.

People living with HIV and advocates across Canada had hoped B.C. would prove itself to be a leader and go even further toward justice than the federal government has done.

In December, Canada’s attorney general issued a directive to limit HIV non-disclosure prosecutions. But it only applies in the territories, where federal prosecutors handle criminal prosecutions. It was disheartening to learn that B.C.’s new policy does not reflect the longstanding scientific knowledge we have about condoms and their effectiveness.

B.C.’s policy shows minor progress in limiting the overly broad use of the criminal law against people living with HIV. It is a positive step, for instance, that it now states there will be no prosecution in cases where the person living with HIV has a “suppressed viral load” for at least four months — this means they have had treatment to suppress the virus in their body to ensure there’s no risk of transmission.

The new policy also says there should be no prosecution for having just oral sex, although with the caveat there must be “no other risk factors present.”

These positive updates reflect current scientific understanding, so it’s perplexing the Prosecution Service maintains an antiquated stance on condom use and persists in potentially prosecuting people who practice safer sex.

B.C. has missed an important opportunity to create an updated policy that considers and reflects human rights, updated science and international guidance on this issue. British Columbians, and especially people living with HIV, deserve better.

Richard Elliott is executive director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network

 

US: Nevada advisory task force to review antiquated laws on HIV exposure and issue recommendations

Panel to take on reforming Nevada’s antiquated HIV criminalization laws

During the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s, more than 67 laws were enacted across the country to criminalize and prosecute people living with HIV.

“The majority of these laws were passed before antiretroviral therapies, which can reduce the HIV transmission risk to zero, were developed,” said Democratic state Sen. David Parks. “In case you’re not aware, it is possible to be HIV positive and have no detectable presence of the virus.”

Senate Bill 284 mandates an examination of Nevada’s HIV laws. It passed both the Senate and Assembly and is headed to Gov. Steve Sisolak’s desk. The legislation creates the Advisory Task Force on HIV Exposure Modernization to review laws and punishments, and make recommendations ahead of the 2021 Legislative session.

With more understanding around HIV, states like California are taking steps to amend antiquated statutes. Parks said he has been trying to move legislation to tackle HIV criminalization in Nevada for three sessions without any progress.

Calls for states to consider HIV decriminalization come as science and medical advancements develop.

Organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that those on medications who achieve an undetectable viral load — when the copies of HIV per milliliter of blood are so low, it can’t be detected on a test — have no risk of transmitting the virus. A recent study by The Lancet medical journal further confirmed that the risk of passing on the virus is eliminated when people living with HIV are on effective drug treatments.

Yet, many laws still don’t reflect the medical advancements.

In a statement of support for the legislation, Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice add that current laws are discriminatory and counterproductive.

“NACJ would particularly like to highlight one such law, NRS 212.189, which imposes a life sentence on a person with HIV in lawful custody who exposes another person to their bodily fluids,” the group wrote.  “This is dramatically overbroad – a person with HIV who spits on a police officer as they are being arrested faces a life sentence, because HIV is sometimes present in saliva even though there is no actual risk of transmission.”

SB284 passed the Senate unanimously April 16 and the Assembly 37-3 on Thursday — Republican Assemblymen Chris Edwards, John Ellison and Jim Wheeler were opposed.