Mexico: Local congressman calls for the repeal of legislation criminalising people with HIV in Mexico City Federal District

Published in 20 minutos on March 12, 2019 (Google translation, for article in Spanish, please scroll down)

Local deputy calls for repeal of criminalization of HIV patients

Local Congressman Temístocles Villanueva Ramos considered that the authorities of Mexico City are obliged to provide adequate information, education and support, to guarantee access to means of prevention and treatment, as well as to eradicate the criminalization of those suffering from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Presenting an initiative that reforms Article 76 and repeals Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Federal District, the legislator for Morena indicated that criminalizing diseases such as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) hinders the duty of the authorities to guarantee public health while respecting human rights.

“The criminalization of HIV generates more harm than benefits in public health and human rights, so this initiative aims to repeal the article and reform the other to eliminate sentencing and the type of transmission risks” said the legislator.

He explained that currently Article 159 of the Criminal Code treats sexually transmitted infections differently from any other diseases since it specifically penalizes the health condition of the active subject, which causes a discriminatory distinction between people who live with a disease acquired by sexual infection and those who have some other disease acquired by other means,

“The penalty for exposure to infection is based on the risk of harm, not on the harm itself, which overstates the responsibilities of people with HIV, limiting their adequate access to justice,” he lamented.

Villanueva Ramos said that in Mexico, as well as in other countries around the world, people with HIV are subject to criminal law when they expose other people to the virus. However, according to UNAIDS, there is no evidence that these measures generate justice or prevent the transmission of the virus.

“If penalties for people with HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are eradicated, discrimination is reduced and cultural barriers to timely detection and prevention are eliminated,” he said.

Villanueva Ramos warned that the main problem with the classification of “exposure to infection”, both in the Federal Criminal Code and in local codes, is the ambiguity of the definition of incriminating behaviours, so that the jurisdictional authority is the one who decides in most cases which diseases are considered serious or which behaviours are punishable.

This type of measures that end up violating the human rights of people with HIV without contributing to the eradication of the epidemic can also be observed in other countries,” he said.

Pide diputado local pide derogar criminalización de enfermos de VIH

El diputado local Temístocles Villanueva Ramos consideró que las autoridades de la Ciudad de México están obligadas a suministrar información, educación y apoyo adecuados, así como garantizar el acceso a los medios de prevención y tratamientos, así como erradicar la criminalización de quienes padecen VIH y otras infecciones de transmisión sexual.

Al presentar una iniciativa que reforma el Artículo 76 y se deroga el Artículo 159 del Código Penal del Distrito Federal, el legislador por Morena indicó que criminalizar las enfermedades como el Virus de la Inmunodeficiencia Humana (VIH) obstaculiza el deber de las autoridades para garantizar la salud pública respetando los derechos humanos.

“La criminalización del VIH genera más daños que beneficios en la salud pública y los derechos humanos, por lo que la presente iniciativa tiene como objeto derogar el artículo y reformar el que le hace referencia para eliminar la pena y el tipo de Peligro de Contagio”, dijo el legislador capitalino.

Explicó que actualmente el Artículo 159 del Código Penal da un trato distinto a las infecciones de transmisión sexual respecto a cualquier otra enfermedad, ya que se penaliza específicamente la condición de salud del sujeto activo, lo que provoca una distinción discriminatoria entre las personas que viven con una enfermedad adquirida por contagio sexual y quienes tienen alguna otra enfermedad adquirida por otros medios.

“La pena por Peligro de Contagio se basa en el riesgo de daño, no en el daño mismo, lo cual sobredimensiona las responsabilidades de las personas con VIH, limitando su acceso adecuado a la justicia”, lamentó.

Villanueva Ramos manifestó que en México, así como en otros países del mundo, a las personas con VIH se les aplica el derecho penal cuando exponen a otras personas, no obstante, de acuerdo con Onusida, no hay datos que comprueben que estas medidas generen justicia o que se prevenga la transmisión del virus.

“Si se erradican las penalizaciones a las personas con VIH e infecciones de transmisión sexual (ITS) se disminuye la discriminación y se eliminan las barreras culturales para la detección oportuna y la prevención”, aseguró.

Villanueva Ramos alertó que el principal problema de la tipificación de “Peligro de Contagio”, tanto en el Código Penal Federal como en los códigos locales es la ambigüedad de la definición de las conductas incriminatorias, por lo que la autoridad jurisdiccional es quien decide en la mayoría de las ocasiones qué enfermedades se consideran graves o qué conductas son las punibles.

“Este tipo de medidas que terminan violentando los derechos humanos de las personas con VIH sin aportar a la erradicación de la epidemia también se pueden observar en otros países”, refirió.

Belarus: Experience of serodiscordant couple in Belarus demonstrates how punitive legislation can harm HIV prevention efforts

Published in echo.msk.ru on March 1, 2019 – Google translation, for from Russian article please scroll down.

A prison awaits us: what are discordant couples in Belarus afraid of?

Ilya and Eugene – a gay couple from Belarus. They have been together for several years and call themselves an “interesting couple,” because they live in a discordant relationship. Recently, during sex, they broke a condom. They decided to start post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). It would seem that everything was simple: within 72 hours after the risk of infection, you need to start taking pills. Moreover, the steps are known: go to the doctor, explain the situation, get the pills, drink a month’s course – and you can forget about the problem. But due to the peculiarities of local legislation, it is much more difficult to get help than it seems at first glance. AIDS.CENTER figured out what Belarusian discordant couples face and what are the ways out of the current situation in the republic.

“As soon as our condom broke, we consulted with friends and went to Minsk [to the infectious diseases hospital] on Kropotkin Street for a PCP,” recalls Ilya. The doctor listened to him and with a “very dissatisfied face” asked to disclose the name of the partner. Motivated by the fact that a young person must be registered, and in such cases, the medical officer “must report to the law enforcement authorities.”

The man asked if such a law had not been repealed, but they explained to him that it remains in force and that the partner would incur criminal liability. Of course, the man refused to tell him about Evgeny, but the doctor insisted: “How do I know? Maybe you are slandering someone? Suddenly you will now go to sell the medicines that I will give you? ” The pill was not given.

Indeed, in the Criminal Code of Belarus there is Art. 157 (Human immunodeficiency virus infection), according to which, if a person deliberately put another in danger of becoming infected with HIV, he can receive up to a prison term. It is noteworthy that the article provided for criminal liability, even if the injured party had no complaints against the defendant. And infectious disease doctors can initiate proceedings. Moreover, Belarus together with Russia are leaders in the criminal prosecution of people with HIV. For example, in 2017, 130 criminal cases were initiated under Art. 157 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus.

However, in the near future, legislation in the Republic may be relaxed, for example, on December 19, 2018, an amendment was made to decriminalize transmission of the disease. According to this, people with a diagnosis will no longer be prosecuted “for putting the threat of HIV transmission and HIV infection” on their partners if they have notified them in advance about their diagnosis. Now the bill has been submitted to the Council of the Republic and the president for approval.

“There are still a dozen of prohibitions for people with HIV-positive status in the legislation of Belarus ,” says Irina Statkevich, chairman of the local HIV-service organization “Positive Movement”. – In 2018, they made positive changes to the standard “Children living with HIV are prohibited from playing sports.” It is noteworthy that the children themselves living with HIV initiated the changes in the norm, namely, they went to the meeting at the Ministry of Health. ”

In addition, before people with HIV were forbidden to adopt children, now this article has been revised, but still there are some nuances in the application.

Who is responsible for health?

Ilya is convinced that he must bear responsibility for his own health. Once he himself worked as an HIV counselor and conducted rapid testing, so he knew that there was very little time for PEP after unprotected intercourse, only three days.

“In my opinion, the doctor was very unprofessional,” he complains. “The reason for concern was that at that time my young man and I didn’t know exactly his viral load.”

“In Belarus, as in many other countries, there is no document that would clearly define the indications for postexposure prophylaxis, and this is due to objective difficulties,” says infectious disease doctor Nikolai Golobrudko.

According to him, the PCP is provided in cases of occupational risks, for example, if a nurse injected with a syringe, which took blood from an HIV-positive patient. Or in some domestic situations (for example, the child found a syringe in the sandbox and injected with them) or at certain sexual contacts (for example, after rape).

Statkevich agrees with the lack of regulations for issuing such tablets. “Therefore, the requirement to name your partner in this regard is unlikely to exist,” she said, assuming that the doctor could ask the partner’s data for risk assessment. “The doctor could look at the viral load information in the partner’s registration card and thus understand how much the situation is really emergency.”

Ultimately, Ilya received postexposure prophylaxis, but not from doctors who were supposed to provide it, friends from Russia helped and promptly transferred it.

Soon he will go for tests, and if he is around, he wants to go to an appointment with the very same doctor: “Since it was she who jeopardized my health and my life. Requirements of this kind from a doctor, in my opinion, violate the law on medical confidentiality; disclosing a person’s HIV status can be a criminal offense. After all, there are people who will use this information far from for good purposes. ”

How to change the situation?

The case of Ilya is a good demonstration of how HIV prevention is related to legislative norms, in particular, with 157 articles, Statkevich believes. “Recently this topic has been actively discussed, there are real cases of imprisonment. And many people seek to keep secrets at all costs so as not to harm the HIV-positive partner, ”she adds.

A public organization advocates a reduction in the criminalization of HIV infection by offering several points. First, reclassify cases under article 157 from public to private accusation. Thus, they will be initiated not by representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Prosecutor’s Office, but at the initiative of a person who has suffered from a crime. In addition, the case may be closed in case of reconciliation of the parties.

Secondly, the possibility of blackmail by an HIV-negative partner should be excluded. To do this, community activists offer either to issue an “informed consent to have sex with an HIV-positive partner,” suppose a infectious diseases doctor; or, which seems more realistic, to supplement the criminalizing article with the phrase “in the event of failure to take measures to prevent infection (refusal to take antiretroviral therapy or use a condom)”.

Thirdly, to define the terms of the Criminal Code article itself more clearly, for example, what is the “knowledge” and so on. Since the vagueness of the wording allows them to be interpreted unnecessarily broadly.

“Medical prophylaxis after cases of unprotected sex is sometimes needed, but it should not become a substitute for concern about the safety of one’s sexual behavior, the use of condoms,” says Goloborudko.

The doctor adds that there is another effective way of prevention for people with increased risk of infection, for example, for men who have sex with men, and for sex workers – pre-contact prophylaxis (PrEP or PrEP).

However, there is a problem with access to these pills, and both DCT and PEP. Antiretroviral drugs in Belarus are procured centrally for the state budget, and pharmacies simply do not arrive, that is, it is impossible to buy them yourself, at least legally. This means that due to stigma, fear to open up even to doctors and unwillingness to donate partners, the number of people with HIV may increase. The principle is simple: do not drink therapy – either you are infected yourself, or you transmit the virus to another. It remains to hope that a program on pre-and post-exposure prophylaxis may appear in Belarus (at least now such conversations are under way), which could be given out not only in state hospitals, but also in public organizations.

Нас ждет тюрьма: чего боятся дискордантные пары в Беларуси

Илья и Евгений — пара геев из Беларуси. Они уже несколько лет вместе и называют себя «интересной парочкой», поскольку живут в дискордантных отношениях. Недавно во время секса у них порвался презерватив. Они приняли решение начать постконтактную профилактику (ПКП). Казалось бы, все просто: в течение 72 часов после риска инфицирования нужно начать принимать таблетки. Тем более что шаги известны: прийти к врачу, объяснить ситуацию, получить таблетки, пропить месячный курс — и о проблеме можно забыть. Но из-за особенностей местного законодательства получить помощь гораздо сложнее, чем кажется на первый взгляд. СПИД.ЦЕНТР разбирался, с чем сталкиваются белорусские дискордантные пары и какие есть выходы из сложившейся в республике ситуации.

Не сдал — не получил

«Как только у нас порвался презерватив, мы посоветовались с друзьями и поехали в Минск [в инфекционную больницу] на улицу Кропоткина за ПКП», — вспоминает Илья. Врач его выслушал и с «очень недовольным лицом» попросил раскрыть имя партнера. Мотивировав тем, что молодого человека необходимо поставить на учет и в подобных случаях медицинский работник «должен докладывать правоохранительным органам».

Мужчина уточнил, не отменен ли еще такой закон, но ему пояснили, что он действует и партнер понесет уголовную ответственность. Само собой, мужчина отказался сдавать Евгения, но врач настаивала: «Откуда мне знать? Может быть, вы клевещете на кого-нибудь? Вдруг вы сейчас пойдете продавать лекарства, которые я вам выдам?». Таблетки так и не дали.

Действительно, в Уголовном кодексе Беларуси есть ст. 157 (Заражение вирусом иммунодефицита человека), согласно которой, если человек заведомо поставил другого в опасность инфицирования ВИЧ, он может получить вплоть до тюремного срока. Примечательно, что статья предусматривала уголовную ответственность, даже если пострадавшая сторона не имела никаких претензий к ответчику. А инициировать возбуждение дела могут врачи-инфекционисты. Причем Беларусь вместе с Россией — лидеры по уголовному преследованию людей с ВИЧ. Например, в 2017 году было возбуждено 130 уголовных дел по ст. 157 УК Республики Беларусь.

Однако в ближайшее время законодательство в республике может быть смягчено, так, 19 декабря 2018 года внесена поправка о декриминализации передачи болезни. Согласно ей, люди с диагнозом больше не будут подвергаться уголовному преследованию «за постановку в угрозу передачи ВИЧ и заражение ВИЧ» своих партнеров, если они заранее уведомили их о своем диагнозе. Сейчас законопроект направлен для одобрения в Совет Республики и президенту.

«В законодательстве Беларуси все еще существует дюжина запретов для людей с ВИЧ-положительным статусом, — рассказывает председатель местной ВИЧ-сервисной организации «Позитивное движение» Ирина Статкевич. — В 2018 году внесли положительные изменения в норму «Детям, живущим с ВИЧ, запрещено заниматься спортом». Примечательно, что сами дети, живущие с ВИЧ, выступили инициаторами изменения нормы, а именно — ходили на встречу в Минздрав».

Кроме того, раньше людям с ВИЧ было запрещено усыновлять детей, сейчас эту статью пересмотрели, но все равно остались некоторые нюансы в применении.

Кто отвечает за здоровье?

Илья убежден, что ответственность за свое здоровье должен нести сам. Когда-то он сам работал консультантом по вопросам ВИЧ и проводил экспресс-тестирование, поэтому знал, что после незащищенного полового акта времени для ПКП очень мало, всего лишь трое суток.

«На мой взгляд, врач поступила очень непрофессионально, — сетует он. — Повод для беспокойства был — на тот момент мой молодой человек и я точно не знали его вирусную нагрузку».

«В Беларуси, как и во многих других странах, нет документа, который бы четко определял показания к проведению постконтактной профилактики, и это связано с объективными трудностями», — констатирует врач-инфекционист Николай Голоборудько.

По его словам, ПКП предоставляют в случаях профессиональных рисков, например, если медсестра укололась шприцем, которым забирала кровь у ВИЧ-положительного пациента. Или в некоторых бытовых ситуациях (например, ребенок нашел в песочнице шприц и укололся им) или при определенных половых контактах (например, после изнасилования).

Статкевич соглашается с отсутствием регламента выдачи таких таблеток. «Поэтому требование назвать своего партнера в данной связи вряд ли существует, — уточняет она, предполагая, что врач могла спрашивать данные партнера для оценки рисков. — Доктор мог посмотреть информацию о вирусной нагрузке в учетной карточке партнера и таким образом понять, насколько ситуация действительно экстренная».

В конечном счете постконтактную профилактику Илья все же получил, но не от врачей, которые должны ее предоставить, — помогли знакомые из России, оперативно передали ее.

Скоро он пойдет сдавать анализы, и если «плюсанет», то хочет попасть на прием к тому же самому врачу: «Так как это она поставила под угрозу мое здоровье и мою жизнь. Требования такого рода от врача, по моему мнению, нарушают закон о врачебной тайне, раскрытие ВИЧ-статуса человека может быть уголовно наказуемым. Ведь есть люди, которые данную информацию будут использовать далеко не для благих целей».

Как изменить ситуацию?

Случай Ильи — хорошая демонстрация того, как связана профилактика ВИЧ с законодательными нормами, в частности со 157 статьей, считает Статкевич. «В последнее время эта тема активно обсуждается, есть реальные случаи лишения свободы. А многие люди стремятся сохранить тайну любой ценой, чтобы не нанести вред ВИЧ-положительному партнеру», — добавляет она.

Общественная организация ратует за снижение криминализации инфицирования ВИЧ, предлагая несколько пунктов. Во-первых, переквалифицировать дела по статье 157 с публичного обвинения в частное. Таким образом, они будут возбуждаться не представителями МВД или прокуратуры, а по инициативе человека, пострадавшего от преступления. К тому же дела могут быть закрыты в случае примирения сторон.

Во-вторых, следует исключить возможность шантажа со стороны ВИЧ-отрицательного партнера. Для этого общественники предлагают либо оформлять «информированное согласие на вступление в половые контакты с ВИЧ-позитивным партнером», предположим, у врача-инфекциониста; или же, что кажется более реальным, дополнить криминализирующую статью фразой «в случае непринятия мер по профилактике заражения (отказ от приема антиретровирусной терапии либо от использования презерватива)».

В-третьих, более четко определить сами термины статьи УК, например, в чем заключается «заведомость» и так далее. Поскольку размытость формулировок позволяет трактовать их неоправданно широко.

«Медикаментозная профилактика после случаев незащищенного полового контакта иногда нужна, но она не должна становиться заменой заботы о безопасности своего полового поведения, использования презервативов», — говорит Голоборудько.

Врач добавляет, что есть другой эффективный способ профилактики для людей с повышенными рисками инфицирования, например, для мужчин, практикующих секс с мужчинами, и для секс-работниц — доконтактная профилактика (ДКП или PrEP).

Однако есть проблема с доступом к таким таблеткам, причем как ДКП, так и ПКП. Антиретровирусные препараты в Беларуси закупаются централизованно за госбюджет, а в аптеки просто не поступают, то есть купить их самостоятельно, по крайней мере легально, никак нельзя. А значит из-за стигмы, страха раскрыться даже врачам и нежелания сдавать партнеров количество людей с ВИЧ может увеличиваться. Принцип прост: не пьешь терапию — либо инфицируешься сам, либо передаешь вирус другому. Остается надеяться, что в Беларуси может появиться программа по до— и постконтактной профилактике (по крайней мере сейчас такие разговоры ведутся), которую могли бы выдавать не только в государственных больницах, но и в общественных организациях.

US: Five laws categorised as “bad” laws by the Human Rights Campaign in Missouri , including HIV/AIDS criminalisation laws

Missouri ranked in lowest category for LGBTQ protections, nondiscrimination

The Human Rights Campaign recently released their fifth annual State Equality Index — a state-by-state report detailing statewide laws and policies that affect LGBTQ people, assessing how well states are doing to protect LGBTQ individuals from discrimination.

This year, Missouri received the lowest rating, “High Priority to Achieve Basic Equality.” This rating is given to states that focus on raising suport for basic LGBTQ equality laws, such as non-discrimination laws, and for states focusing on municipal protections for LGBTQ people including opposing negative legislation.

Twenty-eight states earned this rating. Seventeen states earned the highest rating, “Working Toward Innovative Equality,” while the remaining five earned “Solidifying Equality” or “Building Equality.”

Karis Agnew, field director for PROMO, Missouri’s statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, explained that they expected this rating for Missouri.

“It does not surprise me because there are basic protections that LGBTQ people lack in Missouri and those include protection of employment, housing and public accommodations,” Agnew said.

Missouri has a total of six laws that benefit LGBTQ people — hate crime laws, a college and universities non-discrimination law, a sexual orientation non-discrimination policy for state employees, an anti-bullying law specifically for cyberbullying, transgender inclusion in sports, and name and gender updates on identification documents for drivers licenses.

Missouri has five laws that the HRC categorizes as “bad” laws including HIV/AIDS criminalization laws, a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and transgender exclusions in state Medicaid coverage.

Missouri lacks all parenting laws such as parental presumption for same-sex couples, second parent adoption, and foster care non-discrimination. Missouri also lacks basic non-discrimination laws for employment, housing, public accommodation, education, adoption, foster care, insurance, credit, and jury selection.

The absence of youth laws in Missouri include anti-bullying laws, protection from conversion therapy, and laws to address LGBTQ youth homelessness. In the health and safety category, Missouri lacks laws including LGBTQ nondiscrimantion protections in Affordable Care Act exchanges, transgender healthcare coverage, and name and gender updates on identification documents for birth certificates.

Alex Padilla, co-president of Spectrum, an LGBTQ group at Missouri State Univerity, explained his fear regarding how few laws Missouri has protecting LGBTQ individuals like himself.

“Whenever I first came out, I was working at a fast food job and I was worried that I could be fired for who I was,” Padilla said.

He explained that he did a quick search online and found that there were no laws protecting him from being harassed or fired because of who he was.

Agnew, who prefers using gender-neutral pronouns, explained that although this rating is low, organizations like PROMO are working hard behind the scenes to make sure Missouri’s laws are progressing.

“When it comes to passing laws that are pro-equality, the thing that we really need the most to be able to do that is make sure that we don’t have bills that are anti-LGBTQ,” Agnew said.

Agnew explained that in 2018 five anti-LGBTQ laws were filed but PROMO worked to ensure zero made it to the governor’s desk to be signed.

“When those are filed, that is our priority, so it is really hard for us to file proactive legislation and pass proactive legislation when we have legislation that is harmful to LGBTQ people that we work so hard to prevent from passing,” Agnew said.

Agnew said a big reason why Missouri is far behind other states in passing pro-LGBTQ legislation is that Missouri legislators are not aware of what it is like to live as an LGBTQ individual.

“I think a lot of our legislators in Missouri honestly don’t know what it’s like to be LGBTQ — the majority of our legislators are not LGBTQ themselves,” Agnew said. “And because of that, I think a lot of them have a lot to learn from their constituents that are.”

Agnew said this year is the 21st year that PROMO has worked to file the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act, which would add protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in places of employment, housing and public accommodations.

“When their constituents aren’t bringing it up they assume it’s not important and not needed,” Agnew said. “The number one thing people can do is engage their elected officials and talk to them about why something like the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act is so important to them.”

Padilla explained how important it is for students to get involved.

“Help us lobby for equality, Padilla said. “Advocating for these things and showing that you are an ally is really helpful to all of Missouri and all of Missouri’s LGBTQ people.”

PROMO is hosting an “Equality Day,” a day of lobbying where people in the community come up to Jefferson City and talk to legislators about the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act on April 10.

Uganda: Mapping of the legal environment shows how the current criminal justice system discriminates against people living with HIV

Published in the Daily Monitor on Febraury 22, 2019

Report shows how laws discriminate against HIV positive people

KAMPALA- Various existing laws criminalise people living with HIV/ Aids, according to a new report released in Kampala on Thursday.

The report is titled: “Draft report on the assessment and mapping of the legal environment on provisions of HIV and TB services to let populations, persons living with HIV and tuberculosis”

“The existing legal framework is not favourable for some categories of the key, vulnerable and priority populations to freely access health services in Uganda. Specifically, the lifestyles sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender persons and makes them most affected by the existing legal framework in Uganda,” read part of the report

It adds: “The laws criminalise sex work, same sex relationships and drug use. This results into violence, harassment, disappointment of sex workers and their legal recourse to address injustice against them.” “The other law, the HIV and Aids prevention and Control Act although not specifically targeting key vulnerable and priority populations, has implications for both the general affected by HIV in Uganda.”

The report indicates that the HIV and Aids Prevention and Control Act 2014 provides for voluntary HIV testing in Sub Section 9. However, the voluntarism is not considered if a person commits a sexual offense as part of the criminal proceedings and yet Section 8 provides for identity of a person tested with HIV not to be disclosed or released to any person except in accordance with the law and medical standards.

The report was carried out by civil society organisation Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) in conjunction with Aids and Rights Alliance for South Africa (ARASA).

The current criminal justice system is also discriminative as it hands down more deterrent jail terms to those suspects found to be living with HIV than their counterparts that are not.

Reacting to the aforementioned finding, a law professor at Makerere University, Prof. Ben Twinomugisha, explained that sometimes it’s prudent for the prosecution to take an HIV test of a suspect accused of committing a sexual offense for purposes of securing a conviction.

However, he was also quick to say that this compulsory HIV testing will lead to violation of their human rights and that this will drive those infected away instead of going to hospital to get medication.

“But a civil society organisation and I, have since petitioned court challenging Section 43 of the HIV Prevention and Control Act about criminalization of HIV,” Prof. Twinomugisha said

“Why is it that a person suffering from Hepatitis B, which is more deadly than HIV are not subjected to a test when they commit a crime,” he wondered.

The study was carried out in three districts of Gulu, Mbarara and Tororo.

The study was mainly about the extent to which laws and policies protect and promote the rights of persons living with HIV/ Aids, let populations like sex workers, truck drivers and fishermen can access health care and services.

The HIV prevalence in Uganda stands at 6.2%. In 2016, approximately 1.4 million people were living with HIV and 28,000 Ugandans were estimated to have died of Aids-related illness.

US: Indiana considers bill modernising laws related to HIV to reflect current science

HIV Modernization Legislation Considered By Lawmakers

A bill to modernize Indiana laws related to HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, was heard by lawmakers Wednesday. The proposal would update laws to reflect current science and medicine.

Indiana laws related to the transmission of HIV were written in the ’90s. Rep. Ed Clere (R-New Albany), who authored the bill, says a lot has changed since then.

“When I was in high school HIV was a death sentence and it’s not today, thankfully,” says Clere. “Today it’s a chronic condition.”

IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI Associate Professor Dr. Carrie Foote leads Indiana’s HIV Modernization movement. She has lived with the virus for 30 years.

“Thanks to the advances in modern medicine, I am here with a very successful career and my husband and teenage son do not have HIV,” says Foote.

The bill removes stigmatized legal language, changes penalties and updates duty to warn laws. Dr. Bree Weaver, HIV expert at Indiana University’s School of Medicine, says people don’t get tested for fear of prosecution.

“Outdated and stigmatizing laws are negatively affecting our ability to bring people with HIV into care and thereby bring the HIV epidemic to an end,” says Weaver.

HIV modernization legislation can encourage testing, reduce stigma and eliminate barriers to effective treatment.

Amendments will be made to the bill before a committee vote.

Travel and long-stay restrictions for foreign nationals with HIV have no logical basis and have been deemed a human rights violation by the United Nations

Published in South China Morning Post on February 5, 2019

Visa restrictions for HIV-positive immigrants still in place in dozens of countries

Recent leak in Singapore of data of HIV-positive people renewed attention on its curbs on long-term stays by those who have the virus
Countries with restrictions include Russia and the United Arab Emirates; there’s no logical basis for them any more, UNAids says

A data leak of Singaporean medical records exposing the HIV-positive status of 14,200 people last month triggered concerns about a backlash for those whose health status was made public in a country that continues to stigmatise the disease.

But the case, involving the records of 8,800 foreign nationals who tested positive for HIV in Singapore, also shines a spotlight on the city state’s restrictive policies towards foreigners with HIV, who face barriers to staying in the country for more than 90 days unless married to a Singaporean national.

The records were leaked by a foreigner in just such a situation, American Mikhy Farrera Brochez, who was deported after serving jail time for drug-related crimes and fraud, including hiding his HIV status. He was able to access the records with help from his boyfriend, a Singaporean doctor.

Singapore is one of only a handful of developed nations that still have laws restricting the long-term stay of foreign nationals with HIV – laws that have been deemed a human rights violation by the United Nations.

“When this [1998] law was brought in there was a lot more fear of unknown issues around disease … but [today] the logic is just not borne out by any scientific or medical basis,” says Eamonn Murphy, UNAids regional director for Asia and the Pacific.

Instead, countries that still have such restrictions in place often do so because of “historical convention, ideology, or even passivity”, Murphy says. He notes that UNAids is renewing its focus on the issue this year, compiling a new report on national restrictions.

UNAids most recent comprehensive report on HIV-related travel and immigration laws in 2015 listed 35 countries with such restrictions.

However, incomplete data published in 2018 by UNAids named at least 18 countries that have policies restricting entry, stay or residence for people living with HIV. Information from many countries were left off the list, and will be updated this year to reflect the true extent. The same report found that 60 countries require testing for residence or other permits, including marriage, not limited to foreigners.

The exact numbers, however, are difficult to pin down, experts say. An independently researched global database counts 49 countries with HIV-related restrictions on long-term stay in 2018, based on information sourced from local embassies and reports from travellers and immigrants. Countries with restrictions include Russia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.

“The data the countries present about themselves in diplomatic settings can be different from the policies that are actually executed,” says American epidemiologist Jessica Keralis, who has researched the public health impacts of such HIV-related restrictions.

For example, countries may not have regulations “on the books”, but employers can revoke visas for HIV-positive employees, or state insurance policy can make it difficult for immigrants to afford treatment, she says.

In other cases, official policy may not be known by regional or local officials and institutions.

These distinctions matter for HIV-positive immigrants, whether white-collar workers, migrant labourers or students, according to David Haerry, who publishes the Global Database on HIV-Specific Travel and Residence Restrictions, which names the 49 countries.

“Oftentimes people [sent abroad for work] don’t know and they fall in the trap: if you don’t know and you have to be tested on the ground, and then you are sent back on health grounds, your company knows,” he says. “It’s a big issue.”

Haerry receives daily emails through the database from people around the world wondering how to travel or relocate safely while living with HIV. In recent years, he’s seen restrictive policies become more of an issue for students looking to study abroad, but who fear the consequences of mandatory HIV testing even in countries where there is no explicit restriction on those who are HIV-positive.

For such situations, “we have no solution”, Haerry says.

Many national restrictions are holdovers from the 1980s, before the disease’s transmission was understood and the antiretroviral therapies and daily medications that can prevent its spread became widely available, according to UNAids’ Murphy. But he has seen progress globally.

A number of countries changed their policies after UNAids launched a 2008 campaign against the 59 governments that had bans at that time. The United States, South Korea and China were among the nations to remove restrictions in 2010, although South Korea retained some related to immigration, while China reportedly has mandatory HIV testing for some visas.

Singapore revised its own regulations in 2015 to allow people living with HIV to enter the country for short-term stays of less than three months, while South Korea in 2017 removed its final restriction, which mandated the testing of foreign teachers.

But conservative cultures, social stigma and inertia have kept some restrictions in play in other nations, experts say. The majority of such restrictions are found in conservative countries; more countries in the Middle East than anywhere else have them.

“The basis of discrimination is misconception and fear, and with HIV these boil down to drug use, men who have sex with men, and all these realities that countries don’t want to face,” says Peter Wiessner, who co-authors the global database. “There’s also xenophobia mixed in.”

That element can have a negative public health impact, according to Keralis.

“It communicates that HIV is a foreign contagion and a foreigners’ problem, and if [citizens] don’t mix with foreigners then they are not at risk,” she says. She notes that, paired with a lack of proper sex education, this can create a dangerous situation.

“There’s no incentive for people to seek more information or modify their behaviours,” she says.

Belarus: 89 HIV criminalisation cases initiated in 2018 in the Gomel region alone

Published in TUT.BY on February 6, 2019 – Google translation from Russian. For original article in Russian, please scroll down.

There are also minors. How and who in the Gomel region are infected with HIV

In the Gomel region, the number of registered crimes under the article “Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus” remains high. Among those included in the statistics there are minors. The Investigation Committee told who, how and why infects a dangerous disease.

In 2018, 89 crimes under this article were registered in the region.

For example, a criminal case was initiated in Mazyr against a 16-year-old girl. A minor, knowing that she is a carrier of the virus, repeatedly entered into an intimate relationship with no means of protection with a 23-year-old young man. For knowingly putting him in danger of being infected with HIV by a court of the Mozyr District, the minor is sentenced to 6 months in prison with a 1-year delay in the execution of the sentence.

A criminal case was filed with the Svetlogorsk district court against a 24-year-old resident of Svetlogorsk, who was at risk of contracting HIV to his wife, and also infected a minor friend.

A 28-year-old resident of the Rogachev region infected two fellow villagers with HIV. The first victim learned about the diagnosis during the examination in the hospital. The second victim was established by investigative means. The district court sentenced a man to imprisonment for a term of 5.5 years with serving in a correctional colony with a reinforced regime.

Several criminal cases were sent to the Zhlobinsky District Court against a 26-year-old woman who, in the period from 2013 to 2018, infected four men with HIV and put four more people at risk of infection. The victims are from 25 to 65 years old.

According to the Gomel Regional Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health, 7973 people with HIV-positive status live in the region. In 2018, the highest number of new cases was registered in the age group of 40 years and older (47.7%).

Есть и несовершеннолетние. Как и кого на Гомельщине заражают ВИЧ

В Гомельской области число зарегистрированных преступлений по статье «Заражение вирусом иммунодефицита человека» остается по-прежнему высоким. Среди попавших в статистику есть и несовершеннолетние. В Следственном комитете рассказали, кто, как и зачем заражает опасной болезнью.

В 2018 году в области зарегистрировано 89 преступлений по этой статье.

К примеру, в Мозыре возбуждено уголовное дело в отношении 16-летней девушки. Несовершеннолетняя, зная, что является носителем вируса, неоднократно вступала в интимную связь без средств защиты с 23-летним молодым человеком. За заведомое поставление его в опасность заражения ВИЧ судом Мозырского района несовершеннолетняя приговорена к 6 месяцам лишения свободы с отсрочкой исполнения наказания на 1 год.

В суд Светлогорского района направлено уголовное дело в отношении 24-летнего жителя Светлогорска, который подвергал опасности заражения ВИЧ жену, а также заразил несовершеннолетнюю знакомую.

28-летний житель Рогачевского района заразил ВИЧ двух односельчанок. Первая потерпевшая узнала о диагнозе при прохождении обследования в больнице. Вторая потерпевшая была установлена следственным путем. Районным судом мужчине назначено наказание в виде лишения свободы сроком на 5,5 года с отбыванием в исправительной колонии усиленного режима.

В суд Жлобинского района направлено несколько уголовных дел в отношении 26-летней женщины, которая в период с 2013 по 2018 год заразила ВИЧ четверых мужчин, еще четверых поставила в опасность заражения. Потерпевшим от 25 до 65 лет.

По информации Гомельского областного центра гигиены, эпидемиологии и общественного здоровья, в области проживает 7973 человека с ВИЧ-положительным статусом. В 2018 году наибольшее количество новых случаев заболевания зарегистрировано в возрастной группе 40 лет и старше (47,7%).

Читать полностью: https://news.tut.by/society/625331.html?crnd=18984

Canada: Advocacy groups call on provinces to follow the Justice Department's directive to limit prosecutions for HIV non-disclosure

Published in The Canadian Press on February 4, 2019

Groups want provinces to have consistent policies on limiting HIV prosecutions

VANCOUVER — Advocacy groups are calling on provinces to follow the Justice Department’s directive to stop unjustly prosecuting HIV-positive people for not disclosing their status if there is no chance they could transmit the virus to their sexual partners.

The directive to limit prosecutions involving people who are on HIV treatment was issued in December but applies only to federal Crown attorneys in the three territories.

Richard Elliott, executive director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, said international scientific consensus on HIV transmission was reviewed by the Public Health Agency of Canada and informed the federal decision.

Ontario had already amended its policies but in a limited way to no longer prosecute people with a suppressed viral load and Elliott said Alberta has said in a letter to the network it has done the same but without stating that in a policy.

The federal directive goes further in saying people who also use a condom or engage in oral sex should generally not face serious charges such as aggravated sexual assault.

“We’ve written to all provincial attorneys general following the federal directive to say ‘Here’s the federal directive. We reiterate to you what the science is telling us and public-interest reasons for you to appropriately limit the use of criminal law.’ ”

Inconsistent policies mean that HIV-positive people in most provinces may fear being threatened with prosecution by partners who have no basis for a complaint and could even shun treatment based on stigma and discrimination, Elliott said.

In July 2018, scientists from around the world, including Canada, published a consensus statement on HIV transmission in relation to criminal law in the Journal of International AIDS Society. It said correct use of a condom prevents transmission and that possibility is further decreased or eliminated when someone has a viral load that is low or undetectable.

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and other organizations are currently pushing Attorney General David Eby to limit HIV prosecution in British Columbia.

“There is not a single circumstance identified in the current BC Prosecution Service policy where they say we will not prosecute even though both Ontario and the feds and Alberta, in a letter, have somehow been able to clearly state that no, we will not prosecute in our jurisdiction someone who has a suppressed viral load.”

Eby was not available for comment.

Dan McLaughlin, spokesman for the prosecution service, said the province is reviewing its policy and has been considering amendments to incorporate the directive of the federal attorney general.

The review will endeavour to ensure B.C.’s policy “addresses both public safety concerns and the issues of fairness and equity in a manner consistent with the law,” he said in a statement.

Elliott, who will be one of the speakers on the issue Tuesday at Simon Fraser University, said about 210 people across the country have been prosecuted for alleged HIV non-disclosure, the second-highest number in the world, after the United States.

Valerie Nicholson of Vancouver has been HIV-positive since 2004 and said her viral load has been negligible since 2008 because of the antiretroviral medication she takes.

Nicholson, who is a member of the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization, said B.C. is “behind the times” with its disclosure policy.

She said she always reveals her status to sexual partners but that information was used against her by a man who informed her a year and a half after their relationship ended that she transmitted the virus to him and he would call police.

“I lived in fear for six months waiting for that knock on the door for the cops to be there,” she said. “I work in this field and if that can do that to me what does it do for someone (else)? Do they stay in an abusive relationship?”

Her big worry was that she had no way to prove she’d had a conversation with the man about her HIV status at the beginning of their relationship, Nicholson said.

Angela Kaida, a Simon Fraser University global health epidemiologist with an interest in the links between HIV and sexual and reproductive health, said the evolving conversation around the virus that is treatable needs to include the latest scientific evidence.

“People can live a normal life expectancy, they can have babies, those babies can be HIV-negative and healthy. People can have sex without a condom and not transmit HIV,” said Kaida, who will also be a featured speaker at the university on Tuesday.

“We have that science but what we haven’t resolved is the stigma, the discrimination and misinformation about HIV. What the evidence tells us that even if we criminalize people it’s not serving a public health goal.”

[Update] US: Missourians living with HIV testify in House committee hearing in support of proposals to modernise HIV criminalisation laws

Published in Houston Herald on Feb. 4, 2019

By Alexis Allison

Proposals to reduce criminal HIV exposure penalties encourage prevention

JEFFERSON CITY — LaTrischa Miles doesn’t spit when she runs.

A mother of three, the treatment adherence supervisor at Kansas City Health Center was diagnosed with HIV in 1995. She remembers the day like her birthday, and she remembers it when she’s running.

“Running is not a pretty sport. You see a lot of things when you’re running. You smell a lot of things when you’re running,” Miles said. “A lot of runners get dry mouth, and they spit, a lot. But I dare not. Because if I spit … I may get arrested at the finish line.”

Current Missouri law makes it a felony for a person knowingly infected with the human immunodeficiency virus to “recklessly” expose someone else without their knowledge or consent — whether or not the person meant to do so, and whether or not the victim contracted HIV. The law lists sex, needle-sharing and biting as methods of transfer.

It’s not clear whether spitting during a half-marathon violates the law, but that uncertainty is part of the problem. “As a person living with HIV,” Miles said, “I’ve lived in the shadow of these criminal laws.”

But for the second year in a row, Reps. Tracy McCreery, D-St. Louis, and Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, have filed separate but similar bills to modernize what some call the “criminal HIV exposure” law.

Each proposal would apply penalties currently reserved for exposing someone to HIV to other “communicable diseases,” such as hepatitis C or HPV, and minimize the punishment for those convicted. The proposals also update the law’s language to reflect current understanding about how HIV is transmitted.

Miles and a slew of public health advocates, students and Missourians living with HIV testified in a House committee hearing Monday in support of the proposals. The witnesses emphasized the need for a revised bill that would reduce stigma, encourage people to know their status and reflect modern science.

“So much has changed. HIV is no longer a death sentence. It’s a chronic disease. It’s a human disease,” Miles said. “Persons living with HIV that once took 16 pills a day … now have the option to take one pill a day.”

Lawmakers passed the original bill in the late ‘80s, an era when the rampant spread of AIDS through sex made lovers into killers, and the law ensured they would be punished accordingly. Mere exposure can lead to a class B felony conviction. If the victim contracts HIV, the charge bumps up to a class A felony, punishable by up to 30 years or life in prison. It’s the same consequence in Missouri for murder.

Both proposals would consider whether the person with a communicable disease intended to transmit it to someone else, and the consequences would be less severe. Rehder’s bill makes knowingly exposing another person to a communicable disease a class C felony; if transmission occurs, the charge becomes a class B felony.

“For comparison’s sake, if you’re driving while intoxicated and hurt someone but don’t kill them in Missouri, it’s a class C felony,” Rehder said. “If you’re driving while intoxicated and in an act of criminal negligence you cause the death of someone, then it’s a class B felony, so that makes it more consistent.”

McCreery’s bill offers a less severe punishment, diminishing the consequences for exposing another person to a communicable disease to a class B misdemeanor — or a class A misdemeanor if the victim contracts the disease.

The severity of the current law also serves as a disincentive for people to know their HIV status, Rehder said. If a person doesn’t know they have HIV, they can’t be convicted of exposing the virus to another person.

And, Rehder said, people who are unaware of their positive status are responsible for 90 percent of HIV transfer — and that ignorance is a public health issue.

“The bottom line is, we want people to get tested and know their status and get treatment,” she said.

Another strategy the proposals encourage is prevention. Under the current law, condom use — which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends as a preventative strategy — is not a defense. The new proposals note that using science-based, preventive measures (including condoms) could serve as evidence that the person with the disease did not intend to expose or transmit it.

The proposals offer a few more updates based on the scientific advancements that have happened in the last 30 years. For one, they’ve removed “biting” from the list as a way to transfer HIV. In fact, transmitting HIV via biting is extremely rare — so rare that the CDC notes it’s only happened when the bite led to “severe trauma with extensive tissue damage and the presence of blood.”

McCreery’s bill removes the current law’s enhanced punishments for HIV-positive sex workers; Rehder’s does not address it. McCreery’s bill also eliminates punishments for a person with HIV or hepatitis who endangers a correctional or mental health employee.

The current law lists exposure to feces, urine or saliva as a means for transmission. Rehder’s version no longer specifically penalizes HIV or hepatitis and applies only in the case of exposure to “bodily fluids … scientifically shown to be a known means of transmission of a serious infectious or communicable disease.”

Rehder acknowledged that neither proposal is perfect, and the final product may lie somewhere between the two.

“We’re working closely together to present Missouri-specific options to update Missouri’s antiquated HIV laws,” McCreery said in an interview after the hearing. “We wanted to send a strong message to Missourians that this is a nonpartisan issue.”

Published in Fox2Now on December 1, 2018

Lawmakers, health officials push Missouri HIV law rewrite

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Some Missouri legislators and public health professionals are calling for a rewrite of the state’s HIV laws, which they say are outdated and medically inaccurate.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Republican Rep. Holly Rehder and Democratic Rep. Tracy McCreery proposed bills in the last legislative session to reduce the state’s penalties for exposing someone to HIV. They plan to present the same bills in the 2019 session.

Missouri’s roughly 30-year-old law states that an HIV-positive individual could be convicted of a felony if he or she exposes a partner to the disease without the partner’s knowledge or consent. The law gives a minimum 10-year sentence for transmitting HIV and minimum five-year sentence for knowingly exposing someone to HIV.

Advocates say such laws result in questionable prosecutions and negative public health outcomes.

St Vincent and the Grenadines: Following deportation of man jailed in Canada for alleged HIV transmission, prosecution service confirms existence of similar provision in SVG law

Persons who willfully pass on HIV infection can be charged – Prosecutor

HIV-positive persons in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) who wilfully pass on an HIV infection to another person can be charged with grievous bodily harm with intent under the laws of this country.

Crown Counsel at the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Karim Nelson made this clear to SEARCHLIGHT on Monday.

Nelson was responding to a question raised by a report that X, a 41-year-old man who was jailed in Canada after he knowingly passed on HIV to his lovers, had been deported to SVG, the land of his birth.

X arrived in SVG last Thursday February 7. He is originally from the East St George area and goes by the alias “Shorty”.

The Crown Counsel told SEARCHLIGHT there have been instances, in England particularly, where persons have been charged with grievously bodily harm with intent for doing what Ralph did.

“We have the same provision and we could apply that particular provision to deal with the situation,” the lawyer explained, while noting that this has never been done in SVG.

He explained that for a charge to be laid, a report will have to be made and the police must have evidence that the person who passed HIV to the other person actually knew that they had the health issue.

“The information can come from a third party because persons might know. For example, if there are persons whom this person confided in and say well ‘I have this disease’, that could be sufficient evidence to say this person knew they had this disease and they still went ahead and had unprotected sexual intercourse with another person.

“That to me will establish the person had intent to cause the grievous bodily harm,” Crown Counsel Nelson explained.

He however noted that without that third-party declaration, obtaining personal medical documents to use as evidence could present some difficulty.

“You can’t just move on the individual. There must be some sort of evidence that he committed a crime and in the absence of a person reporting the matter, you cannot be aware that a crime was actually committed,” the prosecutor added.

Meanwhile X’s crimes are generating discussion on local airwaves and on social media.

According to an article published on Monday March 10, 2014 in the Toronto Sun, X concealed his HIV-positive status from four sex partners and was found guilty of several crimes, including forcibly confining and assaulting his last victim.

The article noted that Justice Nancy Spies found X, 37 at the time, guilty of committing aggravated sexual assault by endangering the life of his last victim, between November 1, 2010 and New Year’s Day 2011 when he assaulted and held her captive for a few hours at his north Toronto home.

The Sun reported, “When police arrested X, a small-time pot dealer who lives on government assistance or disability, he admitted his HIV-positive status. When officers broke the grim news to the woman, she was so upset she became violently ill. Her worst fears were confirmed when she tested positive for HIV.

“Besides the last victim, X was also guilty of aggravated sexual assault against another woman between March 1, 2008 and August 5, 2010. This victim, like Xs last victim, also tested positive for HIV.”

In court, X denied hiding he was HIV positive, and claimed the two women consented to having unprotected sex with him while knowing of his condition. His version was rejected.

The Vincentian national also pleaded guilty to endangering two other women’s lives in 2009 and from January 1, 2003 to January 1, 2005. He admitted he had sex without revealing his condition to them. They tested negative for HIV.

X knew of his HIV status since May 2003 and despite repeated warnings by public health officials to disclose his condition to sex partners, he did not.

The SUN said when X was arrested in January 2011, police issued a public alert and Toronto public health authorities found the two other victims.