US: First hearing imminent on two bills aiming to overhaul HIV criminalisation laws in line with modern science

Sweeping language introduced to modernize Ohio’s HIV laws proposed by an unlikely lawmaker
Decades of efforts to update six unscientific Ohio laws are being (sort of) championed by one conservative Republican lawmaker.

Earlier this year, Ohio Rep. Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton) surprised many LGBTQ+ advocates when she introduced two bills to protect the rights of people living with HIV.

There are no co-sponsors on either bill, just Carruthers: a conservative Ohio Republican with only seven weeks left in office who is also a primary sponsor of one of the most anti-LGBTQ+ bills currently being considered by the Ohio legislature.

Still, Carruthers’ office sent out a press release on May 10 that LGBTQ+ advocates had been waiting many years to read:

“State Rep. Sara Carruthers will hold a press conference to discuss the recent introduction of House Bill 498. The legislation will remove the criminal offense related to donating blood when the donor has HIV.”

Just a few weeks earlier and after she lost her March primary, Carruthers introduced both HB 498 and HB 513. These two bills aim to overhaul the Ohio Revised Code to bring laws affecting living with HIV more in line with modern science and research.

Then, the day before the press conference was to be held, Carruthers canceled the event with no explanation. She subsequently did not respond to multiple requests – phone calls, emails and website submission forms – to comment on the legislation.

But now, six months later, a first hearing on the two bills appears imminent, and Carruthers is speaking out – a little – on the legislation that so many Ohioans have fought for years to see proposed.

Enforcement without science

Currently Ohio has six laws on the books that either criminalize certain acts for people living with HIV – including sexual acts with zero possibility of HIV transmission – or substantially increase sentences for this population compared to people who do not have the virus.

In February, Equality Ohio and Ohio Health Modernization Movement (OHMM), a coalition of advocacy groups and community leaders, released results of a three-year effort to count prosecutions in Ohio’s 88 counties. Compiling information from court dockets and public records requests to court clerks and prosecutors, the groups tallied 214 cases prosecuted over a six-year period, from 2014 to 2020.

Notable recent cases have included Caymir Weaver, a 23-year-old Mahoning County resident who was sentenced in 2023 to a year in prison for exposing someone to HIV even though he couldn’t transmit the virus.

With Ohioans actively being prosecuted under the six laws, advocates say the sense of urgency to reform the statutes is clear.

“It’s finally time to have the laws match the science,” said Bryan Jones, steering committee member of OHMM.

But the path forward to this much-needed reform?

“That’s definitely less clear,” said Jones.

Updating Ohio’s laws

Ohio’s laws that criminalize living with HIV were first passed in 1989. That year, AIDS-related complications were the second leading cause of death among men between 25 and 44 years.

The original laws did not specifically reference HIV status, instead requiring prosecutors to prove that having sex while living with “the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome” was akin to carrying a deadly weapon.

Several high-profile examples of HIV transmission dominated the country’s attention in the 1990s, notably the New York case of Nushawn Williams, who had sex with over 100 women.

Following the media panic caused by cases like that of Williams, many states updated their HIV laws. In 2000, Ohio’s laws were changed to more specifically add HIV status into the language and criminalize exposure, not transmission.

Carruthers’ two bills would modernize the law and reduce prosecutions:

  • HB 498 (“To remove criminal offense related to donating blood with AIDS virus”): This bill would repeal the following language in the Ohio Revised Code that currently charges individuals living with HIV with a fourth-degree felony if they sell or donate their blood or blood plasma knowing that it is being accepted for possible transfusion to another individual.
  • HB 513 (“To revise criminal and disciplinary provisions relating to HIV, AIDS”): This expansive bill would reform or repeal several state laws currently criminalizing living with HIV, including:
    • Repealing the law that imposes a felony charge on those who engage in sexual conduct before disclosing their HIV status.
    • Repealing the mandatory testing requirements for people accused of committing felonious assault and causing someone to come into contact with bodily fluids.
    • Eliminating several felony enhancements for people living with HIV, including for people engaging in sex work after an HIV diagnosis.
    • Providing an expungement process for those who had previously been convicted of HIV-specific felonious assault and a process by which individuals can be removed from the sex offender registry due to an HIV-specific felonious assault conviction.
    • Removing stigmatizing and inaccurate language.
    • Providing protections against non-consensual HIV testing and HIV information disclosure.

“After over 30 years of HIV research and significant biomedical advancements to treat and prevent HIV transmission, many state laws are now outdated and do not reflect our current understanding of HIV,” Carruthers said in a statement on November 8.

Carruthers said that the current laws increase stigma, exacerbate disparities and may discourage HIV testing: the very opposite of how to approach a public health issue.

“It is crucial for Ohioans to recognize that HIV is not a crime; it is a health condition that requires that supportive network of healthcare professionals across the state dedicated to ending the HIV epidemic,” Carruthers said.

An unlikely sponsor 

Carruthers lost a March primary 53.1% to 46.9% to Pastor Diane Mullins, a pastor at Calvary Church who openly espouses anti-LGBTQ+ views and conspiracy theories in her sermons and who went on to win the Ohio House seat in the general election in November.

Carruthers was one of 22 Republicans who joined all House Democrats in voting to seat Jason Stephens as House Speaker, a move which caused her to be condemned by the Ohio Republican party and made her the subject of funding efforts that successfully defeated her in favor of a more conservative Republican candidate.

Which is not to say that Carruthers isn’t a staunch conservative, including on LGBTQ+ issues.

Carruthers is the primary co-sponsor of HB 8, the Parents Bill of Rights, a bill that would force all teachers and school staff – including school social workers, counselors and psychologists – to out LGBTQ+ students to their parents.

The bill also requires parental notification for any LGBTQ+ content in the curriculum and bans LGBTQ+ content in grades K through 3, which could include same-sex parents or gay penguinsin children’s books.

Despite the provisions of the bill that would forcibly out LGBTQ+ students, Carruthers declared during a House session in June 2023 that the bill was solely about protecting the rights of parents.

“The Parents’ Bill of Rights is not anti-LGBTQ, nor does it have anything to do with the LGBTQ+ community,” she said, contradicting the specific language of the bill regarding LGBTQ+ youth. HB 8 passed the House in 2023 and now sits in the Education Committee of the Senate.

She has spoken out against the sports participation of trans females and voted for HB 68, the ban on trans female athletes and gender-affirming care for Ohio minors.

Thus on paper, her sponsorship of these HIV decriminalization bills may look surprising, but advocates of the bills say she had personal motivation to get involved.

“She was immediately on board because she had her own personal experiences having lost friends because of HIV. She took this up and we’re grateful that she did,” said Maria Bruno, then public policy director of Equality Ohio, in March.

Carruthers’ sudden cancellation of the press conference left advocates scrambling to put together an event with medical experts and community leaders to speak on behalf of the bills, minus the presence of the state representative actually sponsoring the legislation.

“She wanted to have the press conference after a first hearing so that it could be more finite and comprehensive,” Carruthers’ office told The Buckeye Flame.

The path forward

Carruthers’ office has said that HB 498 and 513 will have a first hearing in the Criminal Justice committee during this upcoming lame duck session: the period of time after the November election when legislators execute a mad dash to pass legislation. On January 1, bills that have not yet been passed have to start the legislative process from scratch, minus legislators who lost their elections, which includes Carruthers.

“She is actively looking and hopeful to find a representative who will continue with this legislative journey in the upcoming GA,” said a representative from Carruthers’ office.

Decriminalization advocates say they are committed to HIV law modernization, no matter how long it takes.

“We all know this might take a few years, but we are willing to stick together and do this work,” said Kim Welter of OHMM.

Still, there is hope that HB 498 and 513 will resonate with legislators.

“What we have seen is an appetite for criminal justice reform,” said Bruno. “We have faith that [legislators] will see this for what it is, which is ultimately criminal justice reform.”

In order to be successful, advocates say education for Ohio legislators will be critical.

“Basically we need to do the education and to help our legislators get out of the 80s and into the 2020s to learn about things like [undetectable = untransmittable], PrEP and other things they might not know,” said Welter.

Although they are in it for the long haul, advocates’ appetite for change is not new. Bryan Jones has been working on introducing modernization legislation since 2009. He is pleased with this burst of progress with HB 498 and 513, but noted the finish line is off in the distance.

“This is as close as we have ever gotten to modernizing Ohio’s laws, but we clearly have so much further to go,” said Jones.

IGNITE ACTION

  • Contact the members of the Criminal Justice Committee here to weigh in on HB 498 and 513.
  • Read the OHMM (“Enforcement of HIV Criminalization in Ohio: Analysis of Court Cases from 2014 to 2020”) report here.
  • Read the Williams report (“Enforcement of HIV Criminalization in Ohio HIV-related criminal incidents from 2000 to 2022”) here.
  • Catch up on all of Ohio’s current LGBTQ-related legislation by checking out our Legislative Guide here.

Kenya: Kenyan court dismisses HIV transmission case against domestic worker

Justice prevails as court stops unfounded HIV transmission charges

On October 7, 2024, the Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN) secured a significant victory, stopping the prosecution of P.K.K, a domestic worker living with HIV. Charged with attempting to transmit HIV to her employer and family by allegedly spitting on their food, P.K.K. faced accusations under Section 26(a) of the Sexual Offences Act (SOA), which criminalizes deliberate HIV transmission.

The case encountered repeated delays, with hearings on May 8 and August 14, 2024, adjourned due to the absence of the complainant—the prosecution’s primary witness. Furthermore, the Investigating Officer withheld critical evidence from P.K.K., violating Article 50(j) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to a fair trial and access to prosecution evidence.

KELIN’s legal team pursued the release of key evidence, including CCTV footage, during court proceedings on September 9 and October 7, 2024. Ultimately, the court dismissed the case under Section 87A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), which allows for the withdrawal of prosecution in subordinate courts. Although the dismissal concludes current proceedings, it leaves open the possibility of future charges based on the same allegations.

Reflecting on the outcome, P.K.K. expressed her relief: “The charges were unfounded and did not align with the alleged actions. I categorically deny ever spitting in my employer’s food or engaging in any act that could transmit HIV. This ordeal was rooted in stigma, not fact.”

Namulanda from KELIN commented on the broader implications of the case: “This case highlights the troubling impact of Section 26(a) of the SOA, which has been repeatedly misused to harass people living with HIV. Criminalizing HIV transmission without scientific backing only deepens stigma. Advances in HIV science confirm that saliva, including spitting, poses absolutely no risk of HIV transmission.”

KELIN remains committed to challenging outdated and discriminatory laws, advocating for policies informed by accurate science, and promoting justice for persons living with HIV. KELIN’s ongoing appeal in EM & Others v. Attorney General seeks to address the constitutionality of Section 26(a), ensuring the law reflects current HIV knowledge and protects human rights for all

Mexico: Congresswoman presents HIV decriminalisation bill in Tlaxcala Congress

A bill to repeal the crime of the danger of contagion was presented before the Plenary of the Congress.

Translated via Deepl. For the original article in Spanish, scroll down.

Congresswoman Aurora Villeda Temoltzin presented before the Plenary of the State Congress, a bill that seeks to decriminalise patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and other diseases, in line with the recommendations of the State Human Rights Commission of Tlaxcala. In this sense, the legislator stressed that people living with HIV are entitled to the same human rights enshrined in the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States.

In her explanatory statement, the deputy of the Redes Sociales Progresistas party argued that, although the current provision that typifies the crime of danger of contagion in the Criminal Code of the State of Tlaxcala seeks to protect public health, its application may result in violations of the fundamental rights of a group that already faces discrimination because of their health status. She also pointed out that the population in treatment for HIV represents only 0.8% at the national level, which makes the revision of these norms even more urgent.

Following working groups held with the Office of Attention to Sexual Diversity of the Ministry of Culture of Tlaxcala, activists from the LGBTTTI Collective and various NGOs involved, Villeda Temoltzin proposed the repeal of Chapter I of Title Eleven of Book Two, as well as article 302 and section V of article 434 of the Penal Code of the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala.

After its presentation in the Plenary, the bill was passed to the Commission of Constitutional Issues, Governance, Justice and Political Affairs of the LXV Legislature for its study, analysis and corresponding ruling.

Presentan ante el Pleno del Congreso, proyecto para derogar el delito del peligro de contagio

Ante el Pleno del Congreso del Estado, la diputada Aurora Villeda Temoltzin presentó un proyecto de decreto que busca descriminalizar a los pacientes con Virus de Inmunodeficiencia Humana (VIH) y otras enfermedades, alineándose con las recomendaciones de la Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Tlaxcala. En este sentido, la legisladora subrayó que las personas que viven con VIH son titulares de los mismos derechos humanos consagrados en la Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos.

En su exposición de motivos, la diputada del partido Redes Sociales Progresistas argumentó que, aunque la disposición vigente que tipifica el delito de peligro de contagio en el Código Penal del Estado de Tlaxcala busca proteger la salud pública, su aplicación puede resultar en violaciones a los derechos fundamentales de un grupo que ya enfrenta discriminación por su estado de salud. Señaló además que la población en tratamiento por VIH representa apenas un 0.8% a nivel nacional, lo que hace aún más urgente la revisión de estas normas.

Derivado de mesas de trabajo celebradas con la Oficina de Atención a la Diversidad Sexual de la Secretaría de Cultura de Tlaxcala, activistas del Colectivo LGBTTTI y diversas ONG involucradas, Villeda Temoltzin propuso la derogación de la denominación del Capítulo I del Título Décimo Primero del Libro Segundo, así como el artículo 302 y la fracción V del artículo 434 del Código Penal del Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala.

Tras su presentación en el Pleno, el proyecto de decreto fue turnado a la Comisión de Puntos Constitucionales, Gobernación, Justicia y Asuntos Políticos de la LXV Legislatura para su estudio, análisis y dictaminación correspondiente.

Ukraine: Bill to remove HIV specific article from criminal code to be considered by parliament

A specific article on transmission of HIV or of an other incurable infectious disease will be removed from the Criminal Code

Translated with Deepl. Scroll down for original article in Russian

The Verkhovna Rada will consider a draft law by Oleksandra Ustinova, which proposes to remove a separate article from the Criminal Code for HIV infection, which, according to the authors, threatens the criminal liability of HIV-positive people, as well as people suffering from venereal diseases.

A separate article 130, which criminalises the transmission of HIV or of another incurable infectious disease, is proposed to be removed from the Criminal Code. The corresponding draft law 9398, which was registered by MPs Oleksandra Ustinova, Mykhaylo Radutskyy and others, was recommended for first reading by the VR Committee on Law Enforcement on 7 October.
According to the authors, ‘the Criminal Code of Ukraine, preserving the Soviet tradition of criminalising only sexually transmitted diseases, actually provides for liability for HIV/AIDS (Article 130 of the Criminal Code) and venereal diseases (Article 133 of the Criminal Code)’.

‘Such a situation leads, on the one hand, to the existence of gaps in the criminal-legal health care of a person from guilty actions resulting in the infection of an infectious disease, on the other hand, to the stigmatisation of persons on the basis of their health condition.
This stigmatisation consists in the fact that under the threat of criminal liability are, first of all, HIV-positive people, as well as people suffering from venereal diseases, who are considered as potential criminals’ – the people’s deputies point out.
The proposed changes, according to the authors, will allow HIV-positive people, people with AIDS or venereal diseases to focus their efforts on treatment and the quality of their own lives, rather than fighting fears of being punished.

The bill also seeks to eliminate discrimination based on health status. In addition, the draft law is designed to fulfil Ukraine’s international commitments to bring its national legislation in line with the EU standards.
The MPs also point out that ‘Ukraine is currently facing the challenge of a new wave of HIV epidemic’ and ‘one of the effective mechanisms to reduce the spread of HIV is decriminalisation of contacts and transmission of the disease’.
‘According to estimates by international organisations there were more than 240,000 HIV-infected people in Ukraine at the time of the full-scale invasion, each of whom is already potentially the subject of an offence under Part 1 Article 130 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Given the manifestation of HIV in the temporarily occupied territories, the state and society as a whole should already create conditions to prevent HIV epidemics after their de-occupation. People’s fear of potential criminal liability will lead to reluctance to undergo screening, which will negatively affect the epidemic situation. In addition, the existence of liability for knowingly putting another person at risk of HIV infection makes it possible to interfere in a person’s private life, restrict their right to reproduction and normal coexistence with the world around them.

International and national experience shows that criminalisation of contacts of people with HIV status does not achieve its goal, but only burdens the already difficult life of an HIV-positive person, automatically putting his or her existence on the edge of the law,’ the authors of the bill believe.

Из Уголовного кодекса уберут отдельную статью за заражение ВИЧ или вирусом другой неизлечимой инфекционной болезни

Верховная Рада рассмотрит законопроект Александры Устиновой, которым предлагается исключить из Уголовного кодекса отдельную статью за заражение ВИЧ, которая, по словам авторов, ставит под угрозу уголовной ответственности ВИЧ-положительных людей, а также людей, страдающих венерическими заболеваниями.

Из Уголовного кодекса предлагается исключить отдельную статью 130, которая предусматривает уголовную ответственность за заражение вирусом иммунодефицита человека (ВИЧ) или другой неизлечимой инфекционной болезни. Соответствующий законопроект 9398, который зарегистрировали народные депутаты Александра Устинова, Михаил Радуцкий и другие, 7 октября рекомендовал принять в первом чтении Комитет ВР по вопросам правоохранительной деятельности.
Как отмечают авторы, «Уголовный кодекс Украины, сохраняя советские традиции криминализации заражения только болезнями, передающимися половым путем, фактически предусматривает ответственность за заражение ВИЧ/СПИДом (статья 130 УК) и венерическими заболеваниями (статья 133 УК)».

«Такая ситуация приводит, с одной стороны, к существованию пробелы в уголовно-правовом здравоохранении человека от виновных действий, повлекших заражение инфекционной болезнью, с другой – к стигматизации лиц по состоянию здоровья.
Указанная стигматизация состоит в том, что под угрозой уголовной ответственности находятся, в первую очередь, ВИЧ-положительные люди, а также люди, страдающие венерическими заболеваниями, которые рассматриваются как потенциальные преступники» – указывают народные депутаты.
Предложенные изменения, по мнению авторов, позволят ВИЧ-позитивным людям, людям, страдающим СПИДом, или страдающим венерическими болезнями, сосредоточить свои усилия именно на лечении и качестве собственной жизни, а не борьбе со страхами быть наказанными.

Также законопроект направлен на устранение дискриминации по состоянию здоровья. Кроме того, законопроект призван выполнить взятые Украиной международные обязательства в части приведения национального законодательства в соответствие со стандартами ЕС.
Народные депутаты также указывают, что «в настоящее время Украина стоит перед вызовом новой волны эпидемии ВИЧ», и «одним из действенных механизмов уменьшения распространения ВИЧ является декриминализация контактов и передачи заболевания».
«По оценочным данным международных организаций в Украине на момент полномасштабного вторжения находилось более 240 000 ВИЧ-инфицированных, каждый из которых уже потенциально является субъектом преступления, предусмотренного ч. 1 ст. 130 УК Украины. Учитывая манифестацию ВИЧ на временно оккупированных территориях, государство и общество в целом уже должны создать условия для недопущения эпидемии ВИЧ после их деоккупации. Страх людей перед потенциальной уголовной ответственностью приведет к нежеланию проходить обследование, что негативно повлияет на эпидемическую ситуацию. Кроме того, наличие ответственности за сознательное поставление другого лица в опасность заражения ВИЧ делает возможным вмешательство в частную жизнь человека, ограничение его права на репродукцию и нормальное сосуществование с окружающим миром.

Международный и национальный опыт свидетельствуют, что криминализация контактов людей с ВИЧ-статусом не достигает своей цели, а лишь тяготит и так не легкую жизнь ВИЧ-положительного человека, автоматически ставя его существование на грани закона», – считают авторы законопроекта.

US: Advocating for HIV decriminalisation and health equity at Indiana’s first HIV advocacy summit

HIV advocates, organizations talk legislative solutions at first advocacy summit

By Abigail Ruhman

Community health centers and Ryan White HIV AIDS Program centers play an important role in expanding services and care for vulnerable populations, including HIV prevention and wellness. The Damien Center – Indiana’s oldest and largest HIV service organization – hosted its first HIV advocacy summit Wednesday to develop strategies for the upcoming legislative session.

Carrie Foote, a professor of sociology at Indiana University-Indianapolis, has been living with HIV since 1988 and leads HIV Modernization Movement-Indiana. She said Indiana has several laws that lead to the inappropriate arrest or prosecution of people living with HIV — which wastes state resources and has no public health benefit.

“We can end the epidemic,” Foote said. “We can end it, so anything that’s a barrier to doing that — and these laws are — we want to get rid of and improve.”

Foote said these laws lead to stigma around HIV that act as a barrier to testing and care — which gets in the way of preventing new transmissions and optimizing wellness for people living with HIV.

There are six laws that criminalize HIV in Indiana — which include both public health and criminal codes.

Two relate to the donation, sale or transfer of semen for artificial insemination, blood or plasma when someone “knowingly” has HIV. Another two focus on alleged non-disclosure of someone’s HIV status. When the laws were originally written, they said people living with HIV have a “duty to inform” sexual and needle sharing partners of their states prior to “high-risk activity.”

“The disclosure law used to be called ‘Duty to Warn,’” Foote said. “We came with a warning label before we had sex. So first, I need to warn you that I have HIV. That’s the language. How stigmatizing is that?”

Advocates were able to work with lawmakers to revise the language to be less stigmatizing, but the disclosure law still exists in Indiana code.

The last two enhance punishments for battery or malicious mischief by bodily fluid or waste for people living with HIV. For example, Foote said for someone who doesn’t live with HIV, spitting on someone is considered a misdemeanor.

“For anybody living with viral hepatitis or HIV, it gets enhanced to a felony crime solely because of their HIV status, even though those diseases are not transmitted that way,” Foote said.

Foote said legislative reform around the issue focuses on efforts to repeal HIV specific criminal laws and remove enhanced penalties based solely on a person’s HIV status. Advocates also want to modernize or reform laws to reflect the current science of HIV transmission and HIV as a chronic manageable condition, as well as narrow the law to situations that involve the “intent to transmit” or a “substantial risk of transmission.”

Foote is collaborating with the University of California-Los Angeles School of Law’s Williams Institute to analyze the enforcement of HIV criminalization in Indiana. She said not all of the HIV criminalization laws have been used, but many have led to arrests.

“People also are being convicted under these laws, so that right there tells you that change needs to occur because we have these people being prosecuted in ways that are unfair and don’t reflect advances in modern science,” Foote said.

Foote said in addition to creating harmful stigma, HIV criminalization disproportionately affects Black people, sexual minorities and people who inject drugs, which makes health inequities worse.

The Damien Center event also focused on different challenges these community centers face when trying to provide services and how threats to a federal program can make care more complicated.

The 340B drug pricing program was created in partnership with pharmaceutical companies — which agreed to provide “significant” discounts to eligible health care providers in order to participate in the Medicaid program.

Community health centers, also known as federally qualified health centers, are designed to increase access to primary care by reducing barriers such as cost, lack of insurance and distance. Ryan White centers are a part of the federal program designed to increase access to care for HIV.

Colleen Meiman, the national policy advisor for state and regional associations of Community Health Centers, said the program allows these centers to stretch federal resources to reach more patients and provide comprehensive services to vulnerable populations.

“340B is about so much more than pharmaceuticals,” Meiman said. “340B is essential to the financial sustainability of many, many, probably the majority of health centers.”

She also said the 340B program is facing several threats at the federal level, but some states have been able to pass legislation to protect the program.

Damien Center President and CEO Alan Witchery said the event was meant to identify issues that advocates and organizations want to address moving forward.

“There really isn’t an opportunity for nonprofits to come together and think about just doing this kind of advocacy,” Witchery said.

Witchery said he wants there to be a continued conversation around lobbying, advocacy and education efforts for these organizations to promote their causes together as a group around the state.

India: Mizoram Legislative Forum on HIV/AIDS discusses possibility of mandatory HIV testing for all citizens

Mizoram legislators bat for mandatory HIV testing amid rising cases

A meeting of the Mizoram Legislative Forum on HIV/AIDS was held on Tuesday, chaired by Health Minister Lalrinpuii at the SAD Conference Hall, MINECO. The session focused on the state’s rising HIV cases and discussed the possibility of introducing a mandatory HIV testing policy for all citizens.

In her address, Lalrinpuii emphasized the importance of addressing the issue head-on, noting that HIV/AIDS, once perceived as a disease affecting certain groups, now impacts a broader section of the population. She urged legislators and MLAs to actively raise awareness in their constituencies and stressed the need for proactive measures to curb the spread of the virus.

The forum reviewed Mizoram’s HIV situation, referencing the 2023 HIV Estimation Report, which revealed the state’s adult HIV prevalence rate at 2.73%—much higher than the national average of 0.2%. Since the first detection of HIV cases in 1990, Mizoram has recorded 31,461 HIV-positive cases, including 2,541 children.

It was noted that 63.93% of HIV transmissions in the state are due to unprotected sexual intercourse, while 30.80% result from sharing needles and syringes. Currently, 16,661 people in Mizoram are receiving Antiretroviral Therapy (ART), with 5,277 deaths recorded due to HIV/AIDS complications.

The state has 39 Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTCs) and 14 ART centers providing treatment to HIV-positive individuals. However, challenges remain as many HIV-positive patients, despite being eligible for ART, stop taking their medication or lose contact with healthcare providers. To address this, the forum proposed linking patients’ treatment records to their Aadhar cards.

The meeting also discussed expanding HIV testing and treatment services. In consultation with the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), the forum suggested making HIV testing more accessible and floated the idea of implementing a mandatory testing policy to combat the virus’s spread.

The forum concluded that urgent action is needed to control Mizoram’s HIV epidemic and ensure better health outcomes for those affected.

Australia: Criminalisation fuels healthcare disparities for migrants living with HIV

HIV in Australia: shades of injustice remain

Elimination is the goal, but migrants living with the virus experience a criminalised environment that thwarts access to care.

Health Minister Mark Butler painted a largely rosy picture of the progress towards elimination of HIV in Australia today, speaking on the second morning of the ASHM HIV/AIDS Conference in Sydney.

A legal academic, however, said people with HIV in Australia were still living under a pall of criminalisation, none more so than migrants.

Mr Butler praised the Australian response to the epidemic, especially in NSW, which was most affected in the early days.

“Since HIV was first detected more than 40 years ago in Australia, Australia’s response has been one to be proud of,” he said.

“When you go back to those early years, AIDS was highly feared here as it was around the world. There was huge stigma, misinformation, homophobia and such loss and so much grief for communities.

“But Australia’s response early on was characterised by partnership and collaboration: governments, people living with HIV, communities affected by HIV, non-government organisations, health professionals and academics all came together and worked together.”

He said HIV notifications were declining in Australia, at one of the fastest rates in the world – “but as you have all heard, I’m sure, transmission has also gone up in 2023, reminding us there is always more work to be done”.

“Eliminating transmission of HIV here in Australia is ambitious, but I am absolutely assured it is now achievable,” he said today, citing inner Sydney – once the epicentre of the epidemic – as a place that had effectively achieved elimination.

Mr Butler set up the HIV Taskforce last year with a goal to “virtually” eliminate transmission by 2030. The Ninth National HIV Strategy covers from last year to 2030, continuing the work of the Eighth – whose goal was virtual elimination by 2022.

He said transmission rates had grown “among temporary residents who are here in Australia on work or study visas”.

“So we will provide subsidised access to PrEP to make healthcare more equitable for people who don’t have access to Medicare … We will make sure that at-risk populations can get free HIV self-testing kits through an expansion of the national HIV self-test mailout program [run by the National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA)] as well as HIV self-testing vending machine programs,” said Mr Butler.

For David Carter, Scientia Associate Professor at the faculty of Law & Justice at UNSW, the necessary changes for people on visas won’t be found in any vending machine but in immigration policy.

Professor Carter, who leads the Health+Law Research Partnership for social justice for people living with HIV or hepatitis B, walked through the history of “unjust and unhelpful” HIV criminalisation in Australia – a public policy environment that includes but is not limited to action by law enforcement and courts. It begins with the creation of a “suspect population”.

He quoted the very first National HIV Strategy in 1987, which warned of the “temptation” of criminalisation measures, including “universal or selective testing, closure of gay venues, criminal penalties for transmission, compulsory notification of HIV infection and restrictions on freedoms of infected people through limitations on employment, quarantine or compulsory detention”, and noted these would jeopardise health measures to prevent transmission.

A working party in 1992 concluded that “even in the face of decisions by individuals that generate harm, it was the wrong decision to restrict the free choice of individuals in modern society, as draconian measures would merely alienate people at risk of infection and deter them presenting for counselling, testing and treatment”.

While pressure to enforce such measures may have been largely resisted, and the situation for Australians has greatly improved, migrants living with HIV are still experiencing an alienating and hostile environment, said Professor Carter.

Characterising them as posing potential harm to Australians “establishes an adversarial relationship between the person living with HIV and the state” and compromises health care by promoting defensive behaviour.

He and his team have interviewed migrants in Australia living with HIV over the past two years, for whom “criminalisation is indeed very active, and it is producing serious, negative health and other impacts of individuals or communities and respects”.

He quoted one interviewee, “Sergio”, who told the team: “I don’t have to face any court, but I did have to prove that I wasn’t a bad person just because I have HIV.”

Others spoke of experience going through the migration process as being “subject to an unending interrogation”.

“Laurence” told his interviewer: “It’s like a tattoo on your mind. The government will treat you different for every single step of your life from here on out.”

“Manish”, who was on a temporary visa, avoided getting tested for 10 months after beginning to suspect he had HIV, for fear of having his visa revoked. His health deteriorated during this time.

“The elevated threat levels produced by the interaction of migration law and public health law … significantly harmed Manish’s health, caused psychological distress and steered him towards coping responses that denied him the testing and treatment, access to medical care and other supports that he deserves and that we all collectively affirm are essential and are his right,” said Professor Carter.

“Manish said to us: ‘I feel like if I had reassurance that nothing’s going to happen to me if I tested positive for this, I would not have been afraid to go and get a test for HIV’.”

Others described feelings of “hopelessness and depression, because there is no hope for us to stay permanently while living with HIV” (in fact there are pathways for permanent migration despite living with HIV). These people would go for weeks without medication in a form of self-sabotage “because they just don’t have hope for their future anymore”.

For these and other people like them, the Australian environment “is just a set of undifferentiated threats to autonomy, wellbeing and safety, to which they are forced to respond with adaptation, distancing and adopting a posture of self-defence”.

Professor Carter concluded that “it may be different today [from the 90s], but it is not over, and it won’t be over here or elsewhere until the stigma of HIV, unconventional sexuality and drug use are gone”.

The HIV/AIDS Conference is running in Sydney this week back-to-back with the 25th IUSTI World Congress.

Senegal: HIV advocates push to update country’s HIV law to reflect scientific advances

HIV/AIDS campaigners call for revision of HIV law

Translated via Deepl.com. Scroll down for article in French. 

More than 10 years after the law on HIV was passed, those involved in the fight against the disease are calling for it to be revised. They believe that the law is obsolete and needs to be updated to take account of new issues. According to Massogui Thiandoum, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Communities for Health (ANCS), the law on HIV needs updating. ‘It is over 10 years old. There have been many advances in the fight against HIV, as well as scientific developments that show that certain aspects of the law need to be updated, or that new issues have emerged that need to be taken into account’, he explains.

A request has been made to this effect. Mr Thiandoum said: ‘We have already contacted the National Assembly to organise a training session to present the limitations of the law and the new scientific advances that it has not taken into account. We will be proposing amendments to MPs to update the law on HIV in Senegal.

He also advocates the decentralisation of HIV care services, saying: ‘We have trained community players, with the support of the health districts, so that they can help the health system to distribute antiretrovirals (ARVs) at community level. In some very remote areas, or depending on the context and particular situations, certain categories of people do not go to health facilities. The mediators we have trained, under the supervision of the health districts, have the responsibility and the opportunity to bring the treatment to these people and provide them with the medicines under the supervision of qualified health professionals’.

Les acteurs de la lutte contre le VIH/Sida demandent une révision de la loi sur le VIH

Plus de 10 ans après le vote de la loi sur le VIH, les acteurs de la lutte contre cette maladie réclament sa révision. Ils estiment que le texte est obsolète et nécessiterait une mise à jour pour prendre en compte les nouvelles problématiques. Selon Massogui Thiandoum, directeur exécutif de l’Alliance nationale des communautés pour la santé (ANCS), la loi sur le VIH nécessite d’être actualisée. “Elle date de plus de 10 ans. Il y a eu beaucoup d’avancées dans la lutte contre le VIH, ainsi que des évolutions scientifiques qui montrent que certains aspects de la loi doivent être mis à jour, ou que de nouvelles problématiques ont émergé et nécessitent d’être prises en compte”, explique-t-il.

Une demande a été formulée en ce sens. M. Thiandoum a déclaré : “Nous avons déjà pris contact avec l’Assemblée nationale pour organiser une session de formation afin de présenter les limites de la loi et les nouvelles avancées scientifiques qu’elle n’a pas prises en compte. Nous proposerons aux députés des modifications pour mettre à jour la loi sur le VIH au Sénégal.

Il plaide également pour la décentralisation des services de prise en charge du VIH, en déclarant : “Nous avons formé des acteurs communautaires, avec l’encadrement des districts sanitaires, pour qu’ils puissent aider le système de santé dans la distribution des antirétroviraux (ARV) au niveau communautaire. Dans certaines zones très éloignées ou en fonction des contextes et des situations particulières, certaines catégories de personnes ne se rendent pas dans les structures de santé. Les médiateurs que nous avons formés, sous l’encadrement des districts sanitaires, ont la responsabilité et la possibilité d’amener le traitement à ces personnes et de leur fournir les médicaments sous la supervision de professionnels de santé qualifiés”.

Tajikistan: Rising HIV cases among migrants highlight urgent need for testing and repeal of HIV criminalisation law

Every third person with HIV in Tajikistan is a labour migrant

Translated with Deepl.com. For article in Russian, please scroll down. 

There are more and more people living with HIV among migrants

In Tajikistan, every third person with HIV is a labour migrant. Over the past five years, 5,463 cases of HIV infection have been detected, according to data from the Republican Centre for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. Of these, migrants account for 22 per cent of those infected. While in 2019 migrants accounted for only 17 per cent of those infected, by 2023 that figure had risen to 32.5 per cent.
Balajon Davlatov, a specialist of the dispensary department of the Republican HIV Centre, strongly recommends to take a free test at one of the HIV prevention and control centres in Tajikistan immediately after arrival.

“Every migrant, after returning home, should be tested for HIV infection if they have doubts about it,” Davlatov said.
More than 300 migrants are already on the Republican HIV Centre’s dispensary register, he said. Their identities and test results are not disclosed to third parties.
“Any information about each person should be confidential. It is possible to get express tests, which within 15 minutes by analysing saliva report the patient’s HIV status – completely anonymously,” he says.
Such tests are available free of charge at one of the 67 government HIV prevention and control centres in all regions of Tajikistan.
In addition to testing through blood at AIDS centres, self-testing using near-blood fluid is now available. Self-test kits are available in Dushanbe, Rudaki, Khujand and B.Gafurov through online ordering at hivtest.tj.

The ordering process involves filling out a simple form with a few questions. This platform helps people confidentially find out their HIV status and provides up-to-date information on protection and prevention methods.
Those who test positive for HIV can learn more about their result and get a follow-up confirmatory test at the AIDS Centre.

We had a case with a woman who tested positive for HIV,” says Balajon Davlatov, “after treatment with antiretrovirals, she gave birth to two HIV-negative children. Now she lives in Russia, and we send her the necessary medication and counselling.
This proves that HIV-infected people can give birth to healthy children and live a full life.

It is an offence to infect another person with HIV

However, a positive HIV status can carry certain risks, which are not only related to the state of health. If a person knows that he or she is HIV-positive but hides it from his or her sexual partner, he or she can be fined from 720 to 1440 somoni under Article 120 of the Code of Administrative Offences (CAO).

Evasion of treatment for HIV or other infectious diseases is also punishable by a fine of 1,440 to 2,160 somoni. This liability is stipulated in Article 119 of the Code of Administrative Offences.

If a person deliberately infects another person with HIV, he or she may be punished with restriction of freedom for up to 3 years or imprisonment for up to 2 years. If, knowing his/her HIV status, he/she infects another person, he/she may face 2 to 5 years in prison. The term of imprisonment can be longer, from 5 to 10 years, if more than one person was infected or if the victim was a minor. This punishment is already stipulated in article 125 of the Criminal Code, which characterises these actions not as an offence but as a criminal offence.

Therefore, it is very important to periodically take tests and check your status, especially if you are in a risk group.

Среди мигрантов всё больше людей, живущих с ВИЧ

В Таджикистане каждый третий человек с ВИЧ – это трудовой мигрант. За последние 5 лет выявлено 5463 случая заражения ВИЧ инфекцией, говорят данные Республиканского центра по профилактике и борьбе с ВИЧ/СПИД. Из них 22% инфицированных приходится на мигрантов. Если в 2019 году мигранты составляли всего 17% зараженных, то к 2023 году эта цифра увеличилась до 32,5%.
Баладжон Давлатов, специалист диспансерного отделения Республиканского центра ВИЧ, настоятельно рекомендует сразу после прибытия пройти бесплатный тест в одном из центров по профилактике и борьбе с ВИЧ-инфекцией в Таджикистане.

«Каждый мигрант после возвращения на родину должен пройти обследования на факт заражения ВИЧ, если у него есть сомнения по этому поводу», – говорит Давлатов.
По его словам, уже более 300 мигрантов находятся на диспансерном учете республиканского центра ВИЧ. Их личность и результаты теста не разглашаются третьим лицам.
«Любая информация о каждом лице должна быть конфиденциальной. Можно получить экспресс-тесты, которые в течение 15 минут путем анализа слюны сообщают о ВИЧ-статусе пациента – полностью анонимно», – говорит он.
Такие тесты можно получить бесплатно в одном из 67 государственных центров по профилактике и борьбе со ВИЧ во всех регионах Таджикистана.
В дополнение к тестированию через кровь в Центрах СПИД, сегодня доступно самотестирование с использованием околодесновой жидкости. Наборы для самотестирования можно получить в городах Душанбе, Рудаки, Худжанд и Б.Гафуров через онлайн-заказ на сайте hivtest.tj.
Процесс заказа включает заполнение простой формы с несколькими вопросами. Эта платформа помогает людям на конфиденциальной основе узнать свой ВИЧ-статус и предоставляет актуальную информацию о методах защиты и профилактики.
Те, у кого тест на ВИЧ оказался положительным, могут узнать о своем результате подробнее и пройти повторное подтверждающее тестирование в Центре СПИД.

«У нас был случай с женщиной с положительным ВИЧ статусом, – рассказывает Баладжон Давлатов, – после лечение антиретровирусными препаратами она родила двоих детей с отрицательным ВИЧ-статусом. Сейчас она живёт в России, и мы отправляем ей нужные медикаменты и даём консультации».
Это доказывает, что ВИЧ инфицированные люди могут рожать здоровых детей и полноценно жить.

Заражение ВИЧ другого человека – это преступление

Однако положительный ВИЧ-статус может нести определенные риски, которые связаны не только с состоянием здоровья. Если человек знает, что у него положительный ВИЧ-статус, но скрывает это от своего сексуального партнера, то в рамках статьи 120 Кодекса об административных правонарушениях (КоАП) РТ ему могут выписать штраф от 720 до 1440 сомони.

За уклонение от лечения от ВИЧ или других инфекционных заболеваний тоже выписывается штраф от 1440 до 2160 сомони. Эта ответственность предусмотрена статьей 119 КоАП.
Если человек умышленно заражает другого ВИЧ, он может быть наказан ограничением свободы до 3 лет или лишением свободы до 2 лет. Если, зная о своем ВИЧ-статусе, он заразил другого человека, ему может грозить от 2 до 5 лет тюрьмы. Срок лишения свободы может быть больше – от 5 до 10 лет, если было заражено более одного человека или жертвой стало несовершеннолетнее лицо. Это наказание предусматривается уже в статье 125 Уголовного кодекса РТ, что характеризует эти действия не как правонарушение, а как уголовное преступление.
Поэтому очень важно периодически сдавать анализы и проверять свой статус, особенно, если человек находится в группе риска.

US: Legislative study in Oklahoma could lead to repeal of STI and HIV criminalisation laws

Interim study will examine Oklahoma laws that criminalize spreading STIs, HIV

An interim legislative study will evaluate the criminalization of sexually transmitted infections and HIV in Oklahoma.

State Sens. Julia Kirt and Carri Hicks, both Democrats representing Oklahoma City, are co-sponsors of the study with the goal of educating and correcting misinformation on sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV. The study could also lead to renewed legislation to repeal several laws that criminalize intentionally spreading transmitted diseases.

Advocates say a public health response is more appropriate than a criminal sentence. Oklahoma’s laws currently carry a felony charge and two to five years in prison if a person is found to have intentionally or recklessly spread HIV, smallpox, syphilis or gonorrhea.

Kirt said her district covers an area with some of the most active testing facilities for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STD), and her constituents are concerned because the laws that criminalize intentional spreading also bring with them several stigmas that tend to stop people from getting tested.

“If adding a crime for those is what helps get people better, we wouldn’t have such problems,” she said.

Freedom Oklahoma Executive Director Nicole McAfee said she agreed with Kirt and said the study has been several years in the making.

Freedom Oklahoma, a local advocacy organization, started the conversation with local and national partners in public health, direct service providers and others involved with public health criminalization to look at Oklahoma’s laws that establish criminal penalties for intentionally tansmitting diseases such as HIV.

McAfee said Oklahoma needs “a sex education one-on-one and some of that real public health discussion so that we can better talk about sexually transmitted infections in ways that are a public health response and not a criminalization or sort of moralistic response.”

Some lawmakers, including Rep. Toni Hasenbeck, R-Elgin, say the reasons for criminalization relate to domestic violence. House Bill 3098, introduced this year, would have added several more diseases that could be criminalized. The bill passed the House to the Senate Public Safety Committee but did not advance further. It was sponsored by Sen. Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan.

In a written statement to The Oklahoman, Hasenbeck said she wants to pursue the legislation in the future and follow the study closely.

“Throughout my years of working on legislation addressing domestic abuse, I’ve heard countless stories from Oklahomans who were deliberately infected with diseases by a sexual partner,” she said. “These diseases sometimes cause severe, long-lasting consequences, like liver disease and infertility. Beyond the physical health implications, there’s the profound emotional distress of discovering that a trusted partner has knowingly and willfully inflicted harm.”

McAfee said that when Hasenbeck’s bill was discussed, it was clear that a stigma against people with STIs and HIV still existed. She said topics like testing status, dirty versus clean language, and intentionality were difficult “to dig into when there’s inadequate sex education and sexual health resources for many people.”

“I think we can all agree that we’ve learned a lot about sexual health since 1910, and maybe the responses that we had and came up with at that point in time should not be the same ones that we utilize today,” she said.

As of 2023, 34 states have laws that criminalize HIV exposure, but 13 states have “modernized” or repealed these laws, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Not the first time decriminalization has been proposed

Last year, Rep. Mauree Turner, D-Oklahoma City, introduced House Bill 2343 that would have repealed two 1910 laws that criminalized public exposure with a contagious disease and intentionally spreading smallpox, syphilis and gonorrhea, as well as a 1988 law that criminalized the intentional spreading of HIV/AIDS. The bill died in the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee.

McAfee said the conversation showed how little a lot of legislators know about HIV, especially in the modern sense.

“We heard a lot of misinformation repeated as fact from folks,” she said.

Old stigmas surface in modern politics

McAfee said the highest number of STI and HIV cases are often in rural areas where access to health services can be farther away and that Oklahoma ranks in the top seven states for rural transmission. She said people in smaller communities who receive services from providers at clinics who might be people they encounter on a regular basis might not want to risk having everyone know their health status.

“It’s really disappointing that all of these decades later when we know so much more, when there is a lot more prevention and treatment accessible, that we still have legislators whose knowledge of HIV/AIDS is rooted in sort of mid-’80s stigma and misinformation,” she said, adding that some “are governing from that basic fear or this desire to sort of impose morality on your folks, in particular, instead of realizing that this is a public health conversation.”

Kirt and McAfee said they want people to be more educated on the science and health aspects of STIs and HIV, reduce the stigma attached to the problems and encourage more testing.

Kirt said she would be interested in introducing legislation in the next session to address the laws. No date for holding the interim study has yet been set.

“We have to look at true bipartisan approaches to really solve problems instead of kind of short-term, short-sighted ways of approaching problems,” Kirt said.