Russia: Migrants workers to undergo HIV testing every 3 months

Labor migrants in Russia will be obliged to take a PCR test every 72 hours and tests for HIV and other infectious diseases every three months

Automatic google translation – For original article in Russian, please scroll down

On July 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law on state fingerprint registration of visa-free foreign citizens in Russia.

According to the law, visa-free foreigners will now have to undergo fingerprinting, photographing and medical examination without fail within 90 calendar days from the date of entry. They will be given a corresponding document.

And labor migrants will have to go through all these procedures within 30 days. They will be required to confirm the absence of HIV infection, infectious diseases that pose a danger to others, as well as drug addiction.

Moreover, if they are diagnosed with drug addiction or HIV infection, then “a decision will be made about the undesirability of their stay in Russia.” Failure to comply with this law threatens to reduce the length of stay of foreigners in Russia.

The law will come into force in December.

Human rights activist Valentina Chupik explained that according to this law, migrants will have to take PCR tests to detect coronavirus every 72 hours, as well as do tests for other infectious diseases every three months.

“I suppose that after this story not a single legal migrant will remain in Russia. For example, I will not be able to spend 1950 rubles every three days on a PCR test. […] As far as I understand, the one who signed these laws did not even read them. Well, he hasn’t read them for years. And the one who made these laws has no idea about Russian legislation and about migration statistics, ”said the human rights activist.

She sent a letter to the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev asking for help in this situation and urged migrants from other countries to also appeal to their authorities. She believes that in this way the Russian authorities “will pay attention to what they have done in the field of migration law and get down to business.”

Трудовых мигрантов в России обяжут сдавать ПЦР-тест каждые 72 часа и тесты на ВИЧ и другие инфекционные заболевания каждые три месяца

Президент России Владимир Путин 1 июля подписал федеральный закон о государственной дактилоскопической регистрации безвизовых иностранных граждан в России.

Согласно закону, безвизовые иностранцы теперь должны будут проходить дактилоскопическую регистрацию, фотографирование и медосмотр в обязательном порядке в течение 90 календарных дней со дня въезда. Им будет выдаваться соответствующий документ.

*Дактилоскопическая регистрация — сдача отпечатков пальцев.

А трудовые мигранты должны будут пройти все эти процедуры в течение 30 дней. Они будут обязаны подтвердить отсутствие ВИЧ-инфекции, инфекционных заболеваний, которые представляют опасность для окружающих, а также наркотической зависимости.

При этом, если у них выявят наркоманию или ВИЧ-инфекцию, то «будет приниматься решение о нежелательности их пребывания на территории России». Несоблюдение этого закона грозит сокращением срока пребывания иностранцев в России.

Закон вступит в силу уже в декабре.

Правозащитница Валентина Чупик пояснила, что согласно этому закону, мигранты будут должны сдавать ПЦР-тесты на выявление коронавируса каждые 72 часа, а также каждые три месяца делать тесты на другие инфекционные заболевания.

«Я так предполагаю, что после этой истории ни одного легального мигранта в России не останется. Я, например, не потяну тратить каждые три дня 1950 рублей на ПЦР-тест. […] Я так понимаю, что тот кто подписывал эти законы, их даже не читал. Ну он их уже много лет не читает. А тот, кто производил эти законы понятия не имеет о российском законодательстве и о статистике миграции», — заявила правозащитница.

Она направила письмо к президенту Узбекистана Шавкату Мирзиееву с просьбой о помощи в этой ситуации и призвала мигрантов из других стран также обратиться к своим властям. Она считает, что таким образом власти России «обратят внимание на то, что они понаделали в сфере миграционного права и займутся делом».

Russia: Migrants are forming a “hidden epidemic” because they are afraid to seek help

Why are migrants living with HIV being deported from Russia?

Automated translation – For article in Russian, please scroll down.

Russia is one of 19 countries that deport migrants living with HIV. Migrants, in turn, prefer not to return to their homeland and remain in the country illegally. For fear of being discovered, they do not seek medical attention until they feel very sick. Experts believe that in this way migrants not only risk their health, but also exacerbate the situation with HIV in the country, writes RIA Novosti.

Where it all started

In 1995, the Law on Preventing the Spread of HIV was passed, stating that migrants who have been diagnosed with HIV should be deported. In 2015, the law was amended: it is forbidden to expel from the country foreigners whose relatives are Russian citizens.

Despite the fact that it is possible to take a status test in Russia anonymously, migrants who want to obtain citizenship or a patent in order to work officially must provide the results of an HIV test. The data is automatically sent to Rospotrebnadzor, then the relevant commission makes a decision on the “undesirability of stay”, after which the foreign citizen must leave the country within one month.

In this regard, the number of migrants who have decided to “lay low” in order not to return to their homeland is growing: many have jobs here, a stable income, families and relatives.

Hidden epidemic

In February, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova announced that there were 1.1 million people living with HIV in Russia. According to Rospotrebnadzor, migrants, who make up almost 2 million, account for more than 39,000 cases. Most of them are citizens of Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. These are only official statistics. According to Vadim Pokrovsky, with existing methods of fighting infection, the number of people living with HIV by 2030 could double.

Experts believe that migrants are forming a “hidden epidemic”: many are in the country illegally, do not accept treatment, because they are afraid to seek help. They try not to leave Russia, because they will not be allowed back because of their status.

According to Vadim Pokrovsky, under current methods of combating infection the number of people living with HIV by 2030 can grow by half.

Expert opinion

Daniil Kashnitsky, Academic Relations Coordinator of the Regional Expert Group on Migrant Health, believes that the law passed in 1995 is long out of date. Over the past few decades, drugs have been developed that allow people living with HIV to live full lives, have an undetectable viral load and have healthy babies. And because of the existing discrimination, migrants “hide” and do not have access to quality medicine. Many of them are ready to purchase treatment at their own expense, but due to being on the “unwanted list”, they cannot legally stay in Russia.

Experts from the Regional Expert Group on Migrant Health are confident that this problem can be solved by refusing deportation and reaching certain agreements with the CIS countries.

Почему из России депортируют мигрантов, живущих с ВИЧ?

Россия является одной из 19 стран, которые депортируют мигрантов, живущих с ВИЧ. Мигранты, в свою очередь, предпочитают не возвращаться на родину и остаются в стране нелегально. Из страха быть обнаруженными они не обращаются за медицинской помощью до тех пор, пока не станет совсем плохо. Специалисты считают, что таким образом мигранты не только рискуют своим здоровьем, но и усугубляют ситуацию с ВИЧ в стране, пишет РИА Новости.

Откуда все началось

В 1995 году был принят закон «О предупреждении распространения ВИЧ», сообщающий, что мигранты, у которых выявили ВИЧ, должны быть депортированы. В 2015 году закон был скорректирован: запрещено высылать из страны иностранцев, у которых родственники являются гражданами России.

Несмотря на то, что пройти тест на наличие статуса в России можно анонимно, мигранты, которые хотят получить гражданство или патент, чтобы работать официально, должны предоставить результаты анализа на ВИЧ. Данные автоматически попадают в Роспотребнадзор, затем соответствующая комиссия принимает решение о «нежелательности пребывания», после чего иностранный гражданин должен покинуть страну в течение одного месяца.

В связи с этим растет количество мигрантов, которые решили «залечь на дно», чтобы не возвращаться на родину: у многих здесь работа, стабильный доход, семьи и родственники.

Скрытая эпидемия

В феврале вице-премьер РФ Татьяна Голикова сообщила о том, что в России зафиксировано 1,1 млн людей, живущих с ВИЧ. По данным Роспотребнадзора, на мигрантов, которые составляют почти 2 млн, приходится более 39 000 случаев. Большую часть составляют граждане Таджикистана, Украины и Узбекистана. Это только официальная статистика. По словам Вадима Покровского, при существующих методах борьбы с инфекцией количество людей, живущих с ВИЧ, к 2030 году может вырасти вдвое.

Эксперты считают, что мигранты формируют «скрытую эпидемию»: многие находятся в стране нелегально, не принимают лечение, так как боятся обратиться за помощью. Они стараются не выезжать из России, потому что обратно их не пустят из-за статуса.

По словам Вадима Покровского, при существующих методах борьбы с инфекцией количество людей, живущих с ВИЧ, к 2030 году может вырасти вдвое.

Мнение экспертов

Даниил Кашницкий, координатор по академическим связям Региональной экспертной группы по здоровью мигрантов, считает, что закон, принятый в 1995 году уже давно устарел. За последние несколько десятилетий разработаны препараты, которые позволяют людям, живущим с ВИЧ, жить полноценной жизнью, иметь неопределяемую вирусную нагрузку и рожать здоровых детей. А из-за существующей дискриминации мигранты «прячутся» и не имеют доступа к качественной медицине. Многие из них готовы приобретать лечение за свой счет, но из-за попадания в «нежелательный список», они не могут легально находиться в России.

Специалисты из Региональной экспертной группы по здоровью мигрантов уверены, что эту проблему можно решить, отказавшись от депортации, и достигнув определенных договоренностей со странами СНГ.

[Update]US: Nevada Governor signs law that will modernise HIV laws in line with other communicable diseases

Governor Sisolak Signs into Law Legislation Modernizing Nevada’s HIV Laws

HENDERSON, NV – Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak today signed into law landmark legislation to reform outdated Nevada laws that criminalized and stigmatized people living with HIV. Senate Bill (SB) 275 was introduced by Senator Dallas Harris, received bipartisan support in the Senate, and it was supported by a broad alliance of advocacy groups, public health professionals, civil rights organizations and health care providers including Silver State Equality, Nevada’s statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, and a partner of the Nevada HIV Modernization Coalition.

Senate Bill (SB) 275, introduced by Sen. Dallas Harris, won approval with a unanimous vote in the Nevada Senate and by a 26-15 vote in the Assembly. The bill moved to the Governor for his signature.

On the importance of signing the bill into law Governor Sisolak said:

“Nevada is known as a warm and welcoming place for all– in our State, we celebrate our diversity. I am so grateful to sign legislation to ensure that our LGBTQ+ community feels safe, protected and can continue to grow and flourish in the Silver State. Senate Bill 275, sponsored by Senator Harris and presented in partnership with André Wade and former Senator David Parks, modernizes Nevada’s HIV criminal laws and reestablishes the Advisory Task Force on HIV Exposure Modernization for the 2021-2022 Legislative Interim. We know that laws that criminalize people living with HIV don’t stop the spread, but they actually hurt our public health efforts.”

Silver State Equality released the following statement from State Director André C. Wade:

“Today, Nevada recognizes HIV as a public health issue, not a criminal one. issue. With his signature, Governor Sisolak has moved Nevada HIV laws into the 21st century by aligning them with modern science, ultimately helping to reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV. When people are no longer penalized for knowing their status, it encourages them to come forward, get tested and get treatment. That’s good for all Nevadans. The HIV epidemic will end not by threatening people with criminal prosecution, but instead, by encouraging people to get tested, and by providing them access to care. Today’s signing is especially great news for Nevada communities of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community, who are disproportionately impacted by HIV.”

Senator Dallas Harris, Co-Chair of the Advisory Task Force on HIV Exposure Modernization, said:

“Nevada state law will no longer discourage Nevadans from getting tested for HIV. With the Governor’s signature today, we are helping to reduce the stigma that keeps some from learning their HIV status and getting treatment. I want to thank Governor Sisolak for his actions that are keeping Nevada at the forefront in the fight to stop the spread of HIV. Much work remains to be done, but I’m optimistic that eventually these discriminatory criminal laws targeting those living with HIV will be eliminated throughout the country.”

Statement from the Co-Chairs of the Nevada HIV Modernization Coalition – Connie Shearer, Chris Reynolds, and Stephan Page:

“The Nevada HIV Modernization Coalition members would like to thank Senators David Parks and Dallas Harris for their unwavering commitment to modernizing Nevada’s laws that were stigmatizing and harmful. The passing of SB275 is a great step forward toward ending the unwarranted criminalization of people living with HIV in Nevada and it supports science. This in turn supports and promotes public health for all Nevadans.”

A Statement from Connie Shearer, Co-Chair Nevada HIV Modernization Coalition:

The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation issued the following statement:

“The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation salutes Governor Sisolak for signing much needed legislative reform for people living with HIV represented in SB 275. We are grateful for the leadership of Senator Harris in championing this bill. We congratulate the Nevada HIV Modernization Coalition and Silver State Equality for their hard work in achieving this long-awaited reform. With the voice of our founder, Elizabeth Taylor, we stand with all organizations throughout the country who are striving to reform these discriminatory laws. We are appreciative for the opportunity to have been of support in Nevada.”

For more information, visit www.silverstateequality.org/hiv.

Published on May 26, 2021, in GlobeNewsWire

Nevada Legislature Passes Bill to Modernize State’s HIV Laws

Garnering bipartisan support, legislation will fix Nevada’s outdated, ineffective, discriminatory HIV criminal laws.

CARSON CITY, Nev., May 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

Silver State Equality, Nevada’s statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization and a partner of the Nevada HIV Modernization Coalition, praised Nevada legislators Wednesday for their bipartisan passage of legislation that modernizes Nevada’s HIV criminal laws.

Senate Bill (SB) 275, introduced by Sen. Dallas Harris, won approval with a unanimous vote in the Nevada Senate and by a 26-15 vote in the Assembly. The bill now moves to the Governor for his signature.

The bill repeals a Nevada statute that makes it a felony for someone who has tested positive for HIV to intentionally, knowingly or willfully engage in conduct that is intended or likely to transmit the disease. Repealing that statute means a person who has contracted HIV and who engaged in such behavior would instead be given a warning as their first offense and, after a second offense, would be guilty of a misdemeanor — a punishment that is consistent with the treatment of other communicable diseases.

The bipartisan show of support impressed HIV activists who have been advocating for years to reform state laws that criminalize HIV with the goal of ensuring they are sync with advances in modern medicine that make transmission of the virus impossible.

Silver State Equality released the following statement from State Director André C. Wade, who — along with Sen. Harris — serves as Co-Chair of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services’ Advisory Task Force on HIV Exposure Modernization:

“We are extremely pleased with the passage of SB 275 via a strong bipartisan vote. This action will advance the fight against HIV transmission and help to remove HIV stigma that was perpetuated by outdated criminal laws that discouraged disclosure, and thereby testing, treatment and the use of other preventative measures. Even though changing these outdated, ineffective and discriminatory laws is simply common-sense progress, this is a huge move in the right direction. Its passage shows that the years of advocating around this issue are paying off. Our legislators and Nevada citizenry are beginning to understand that the old laws were born out of an era when evidence-based knowledge about HIV risk, transmission and treatment were exceedingly limited. Thank you to the Nevada Legislature, especially Senator Dallas Harris, who authored SB275, and for keeping Nevada at the forefront of LGBTQ+ and civil rights reform.”

Senator Harris, Co-Chair of the Advisory Task Force on HIV Exposure Modernization, said:

“The bipartisan passage of this bill reverses practices that were put in place during the 1980s AIDS epidemic and have proven ineffective and counterproductive from a public health perspective. The old laws also disproportionately affected already marginalized groups, including people of color and LGBTQ+ people. Passage of SB275 helps to remove the statutory stigma that was intentionally placed into our laws that’s done nothing but harm to those who contracted HIV.”

According to a recent report by the UCLA Williams Institute, which analyzed data from the state of Nevada, between 2011 and 2020, arrests for HIV crimes were double the amount from the previous decade and arrests for HIV crimes fell disproportionately on black Nevadans. Black people are 10 percent of Nevada’s population and 28 percent of people living with HIV in the state, but 40 percent of those who have been arrested for HIV crimes.

Connie Shearer, Co-Chair of the Nevada HIV Modernization Coalition said:

“While it’s true that the majority of arrests under HIV criminal laws are reduced or dismissed, the outdated laws continued to perpetuate misinformation and antiquated myths, fears and opinions about HIV and how it is spread. With the passage of SB275, the Nevada Legislature chose science over outdated and irrational fear.”

For more information, visit www.silverstateequality.org/hiv

Published on March 23, 2021 in The Nevada Independent

Democratic Senator seeks overhaul of HIV laws she says will help remove stigma

Sen. Dallas Harris (D-Las Vegas) has introduced a bill that would modernize the state’s laws on human immunodeficiency virus by treating HIV in the same way as other communicable diseases.

The bill aims to reverse practices established decades ago during the height of the AIDS epidemic — when little was known about HIV and AIDS — that have disproportionately affected already marginalized groups, including people of color and LGBTQ+ people.

“The priority for me is equality,” Harris said. “The goal is to remove the statutory stigma that was intentionally placed into our laws all the way across the country that’s done nothing but harm to those who have contracted HIV.”

The bill, SB275, would repeal a Nevada statute that makes it a felony for someone who has tested positive for HIV to intentionally, knowingly or willfully engage in conduct that is intended or likely to transmit the disease. Repealing that statute would mean a person who has contracted HIV and who engaged in such behavior would instead be given a warning as their first offense and, after a second offense, would be guilty of a misdemeanor — a punishment that is in line with the treatment of other communicable diseases, such as chlamydia and SARS.

“These laws were written back in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” said André Wade, chair of the state’s Advisory Task Force on HIV Exposure Modernization. “Whenever there’s a specific call out of HIV, instead of including it as a communicable disease … then that, in and of itself, is stigmatizing.”

Wade, who also serves as the state director for Silver State Equality, an LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, explained that modernizing the laws is important because HIV is treated as though it is different and worse than other communicable diseases, even though it is not.

In 2019, the state’s HIV/AIDS Surveillance Program found that 11,769 Nevadans were living with HIV, with 27.6 percent of that group identified as Black, even though Black Nevadans comprise just 10.3 percent of the state’s population.

Laws criminalizing HIV arose at a time when little was known about the virus and treatment of the disease. However, as medicine has advanced, prevention medications have been created that eliminate the risk of HIV transmission. And public health experts have also learned that the virus does not spread through saliva, tears or sweat, or by hugging, shaking hands, sharing toilets or sharing dishes.

Samuel Garrett-Pate, communications director for Silver State Equality, said that outdated HIV laws have actually made it more difficult to contain the spread of the virus because of the stigma associated with the laws.

“We recognize that not only have these laws not worked to protect people from the transmission of HIV,” Garrett-Pate said. “They’ve actually been counterproductive … They actually discourage testing. They discourage people from learning their status. They discourage people from disclosing their status.”

Harris said she wants to encourage more testing, and an important step in doing that is removing discriminatory language in the law. Her HIV modernization bill includes provisions to update the language around HIV and other communicable diseases and to ensure that people living with HIV are referred to more respectfully in state laws.

Harris also noted the importance of ensuring equality for all through the bill, including for sex workers and inmates. The bill would repeal a Nevada statute that allows for the segregation of inmates who have tested positive for HIV — which would codify into law a directive from a February settlement between the Department of Justice and the Nevada Department of Corrections that banned the segregation practice.

The bill is also aimed at addressing the spread of communicable diseases as a public health matter, rather than through criminalization.

Existing law allows health authorities to take certain action to investigate and control the spread of communicable disease, including ordering a person to be examined for the presence of a disease and ordering the isolation, quarantine or treatment of a person.

The bill would require any such order to include the reasons why the ordered actions are necessary to prevent, suppress or control the communicable disease.

The initiatives come largely from the work of Silver State Equality and the HIV task force.

The task force — established in the 2019 session through SB284, a bill that was sponsored by now termed-out Sen. David Parks (D-Las Vegas) — was created to address stigma surrounding HIV and to update HIV laws in Nevada based on how the public health understanding of the virus has advanced over previous decades.

Since its commencement, the task force has worked to create a report ahead of the current session that includes many of the recommendations realized in Harris’s bill. And with a provision in the bill that would re-establish the task force for the 2021-22 legislative interim, the task force could continue its work on understanding how Nevada’s HIV laws affect those who have contracted the virus.

Wade and Harris both acknowledged that there is more work to be done beyond what made it into the bill, but Wade said he thinks that the bill does most of what he and the task force sought to accomplish.

Harris said she has another bill, SB211, that would require primary care providers to offer STD and HIV testing to anyone aged 15 and older and that would work in tandem with SB275.

“Testing, testing, testing, right. If we learned anything from coronavirus, it’s, ‘go get tested,’” Harris said. “So that’s another piece. I’m hoping that’s going to work together with this modernization bill to break down some of those barriers.”

The HIV modernization bill is scheduled for its first hearing during a meeting of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday. Harris said she expects a positive response.

“I expect it to be well received,” Harris said. “The task force has done a lot of the groundwork on this… This is a result of months and months and multiple meetings with law enforcement, with [district attorney] aides, with communities of those who are living with HIV… with our health departments, with all of the stakeholders at the table.”

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Mexico: Arrest of a man in Mexico City for allegedly hiding HIV from his partner sparks harsh criticism

Controversy in Mexico over arrest of man who hid his HIV status from his partner

Translated with www.DeepL.com. For article in Spanish, please scroll down.

The arrest in Mexico City of a man for allegedly hiding the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from his girlfriend sparked controversy on social networks and harsh criticism of the Mexico City District Attorney’s Office on Friday.

The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office reported that its agents served a warrant for the arrest of a person identified as Juan “N” for “the possible commission of the crime of danger of contagion” and transferred him to the capital’s Reclusorio Norte.

“In August 2019, the victim found, in the home of the person arrested today, medicines to treat a transmissible disease, a condition that he had not told her about, so, considering herself at risk of being infected, she filed a complaint,” the Public Prosecutor’s Office said.

The arrest provoked the rejection of users on social networks such as Eduardo Martínez, who said: “This is how the disregard for human rights of the Mexico City Public Prosecutor’s Office is made evident”.

“Now people living with HIV, even if they are on treatment and undetectable, are going to jail? How strong,” said another internet user named David.

While activist Alaín Pinzón, director of the organisation VIHve Libre, claimed that “living with HIV is not a crime” and added: “if they want to lock us up, let them do it to all of us”.

Members of his organisation also rallied in front of the headquarters of the capital’s Public Prosecutor’s Office to protest against what they saw as the criminalisation of HIV.

They painted the walls of the building with the acronym HIV and carried banners with slogans such as “My HIV does not make me a criminal”.

And they reminded people that a person with HIV who is on medication and has an undetectable viral load does not transmit the virus.

Following the controversy, the capital’s Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement in which it expressed “its deepest and most heartfelt respect for any person, regardless of their health condition or medical diagnosis, and in particular, for those living with HIV”.

The agency said it does not intend to “criminalise any person” and justified that it limited itself to complying with “an arrest warrant issued by a supervisory judge” and to proceed “in defence of the complainant”.

The Prosecutor’s Office was also in favour of “reviewing and modifying the legislation that discriminates against HIV status”, something that depends on the legislature.

Polémica en México por arresto de hombre que escondió a su pareja por tener VIH

La detención en Ciudad de México de un hombre por presuntamente haber ocultado a su novia tener el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH) provocó este viernes polémica en redes sociales y duras críticas contra la Fiscalía capitalina.

La Fiscalía General de Justicia de la Ciudad de México informó que sus agentes cumplieron una orden judicial de detención contra una persona identificada como Juan “N” por “la posible comisión del delito de peligro de contagio” y lo trasladaron al Reclusorio Norte de la capital.

“En agosto de 2019 la agraviada encontró, en el domicilio del hoy aprehendido, medicamentos para tratar una enfermedad transmisible, padecimiento que él no le había comentado, por lo que al considerarse en riesgo de ser infectada realizó la denuncia”, detalló el Ministerio Público.

El arresto provocó el rechazo de usuarios en redes sociales como Eduardo Martínez, quien dijo: “Así es cómo se deja en evidencia el desprecio por los derechos humanos de la Fiscalía de la Ciudad de México”.

“Ahora las personas que viven con VIH aun cuando estén en tratamiento, siendo indetectables, ¿van a la cárcel? Qué fuerte”, expresó otro internauta llamado David.

Mientras que el activista Alaín Pinzón, director de la organización VIHve Libre, reivindicó que “vivir con VIH no es delito” y añadió: “si nos quieren encerrar, háganlo con todas”.

Asimismo, miembros de su organización se concentraron frente una sede de la Fiscalía capitalina para protestar contra lo que consideran la criminalización del VIH.

Pintaron las paredes del edificio con las siglas VIH y portaron pancartas con consignas como “Mi VIH no me hace un delincuente”.

Y recordaron que una persona con VIH medicada y con carga viral indetectable no transmite el virus.

Tras la polémica, el Ministerio Público de la capital emitió un comunicado en el que expresó “su más sentido y profundo respeto hacia cualquier persona, sin importar su condición de salud o diagnóstico médico, y en particular, a quienes viven con VIH”.

El organismo dijo que no pretende “criminalizar a ninguna persona” y justificó que se limitó a cumplir “una orden de aprehensión obsequiada por un juez de control” y a proceder “en defensa de la denunciante”.

Asimismo, la Fiscalía se mostró favorable a “revisar y modificar la legislación que discrimine el estatus serológico de VIH”, algo que depende del Legislativo.

US: LGBTQ groups share mixed feelings on bills that passed or failed through state legislatures in 2021

‘You gasp in relief, you don’t celebrate’

LGBTQ groups share mixed feelings on bills that passed, failed during the session

It’s easy to measure Nevada’s success in passing legislation that enhances LGBTQ protections when compared to the wave of anti-LGBTQ bills, specifically anti-trans proposals, that have been sweeping through state legislatures in 2021.

At least 17 bills were passed around the country that targeted trans youth seeking gender-affirming care and allowed for religious exemptions to providing services to the LGBTQ community — the Human Rights Campaign called 2021 the worst year for anti-LGBTQ legislation.

Meanwhile, Nevada moved in the opposite direction and passed legislation modernizing HIV criminalization laws, enhancing data collection around hate crimes and promoting a more inclusive curriculum.

LGBTQ groups following the legislative process have mixed feelings about the measures lawmakers took.

“So many of the bills are just to be able to gain basic dignity and we’re coming from such a deficit,” said Brooke Maylath, the president of Transgender Allies Group.

Maylath called those victories, including HIV modernizing, “bittersweet,” adding that “you gasp in relief, you don’t celebrate.”

But the bills that failed, she added, hurt more.

While general LGBTQ-inclusive legislation was able to advance, two bills specifically enhancing protections for the gender-diverse community, one to ensure insurance companies cover gender-affirming procedures and another to require the Nevada Department of Corrections to develop policies around protecting and housing transgender inmates, died.

“I’m stunned and bitter. I feel locked out in the cold,” Maylath said. “Part of it is Covid. Not being in the building has hurt everybody equally. For public health reasons, it was very necessary. But there are certain elected officials who are very good about listening to their own interested lobbyists and pay no never mind to those they don’t have a vested interest in.”

Andre Wade, the Nevada state director for Silver State Equality, said while he was proud overall of the work done during the session, “there is still some disappointment” around the bills that failed.

“There are huge implications to trans health and well-being and the treatment of trans people in the criminal justice system,” he said, adding the fact that the bills strengthening those protections “stalled is disheartening and upsetting.”

Nevada, he added, still made progress, which he attributes in part to having at least four openly LGBTQ lawmakers.

“Having 20 LGBTQ specific or inclusive bills from the jump is amazing in and of itself,” he said. “The fact that 50 percent have passed is amazing. The thing that is important is we moved from core nondiscrimination protection bills around public accommodations and employment and were able to get into the nooks and crannies of things affecting people’s everyday lives.”

The biggest difference between Nevada and other states, he added, was that the state didn’t “have to play defense like some other states when it comes to gross anti-trans bills.”

According to the Human Rights Campaign, there were more than 250 bills introduced in state legislatures in 2021 that target the LGBTQ community.

The biggest clump of legislation were anti-trans, including:

35 bills that would ban transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming medical care;
15 bills that would prohibit transgender people from accessing restrooms or lockerrooms consistent with their gender idenity;
69 bills that would prevent transgender youth from participating in sports.

While Nevada didn’t embark on a similar path, groups agreed there is room for improvement.

“Are we better if we’re not looking after the most marginalized Americans?” Maylath asked. “Are we better if we’re denying human dignity to the people we’ve ostracized?”

‘Failed in some areas’

The death of Senate Bill 139, which would have required health insurance policies to cover “the treatment of conditions relating to gender dysphoria, gender incongruence and other disorders of sexual development,” hurts Maylath the most.

Trans and gender-nonconforming people share stories during the bill’s hearing about having to pay out of pocket for affirming procedures a health care provider deemed medically necessary. Procedures included “top surgery,” which includes breast reduction or removal, and voice therapy.

“I consider this common sense legislation,” said Sy Bernabei, the executive director for Gender Justice Nevada. “It makes sense that if there is a diagnosis of gender dysphoria and a doctor says, ‘here are these gender-affirming procedures,’ and (the diagnosis) is rooted in medical care and theory, then why wouldn’t we make it easier for insurance to cover these policies?”

Both Bernabei and Maylath said the legislation could have saved lives.

During testimony for the bill, Bernabei added when transgender and gender-nonconforming people don’t have procedures covered by insurance they are more likely to experience depression or be at-risk of suicide.

Several fiscal notes were attached to the bill essentially dooming the bill’s fate.

Clark County said if the bill expanded coverage for conditions related to gender dysphoria “assuming two reassignment surgeries per year, or one per 10,000 members,” it would cost $1.5 million over two years.

“In a $9 billion budget you can’t find money for gender-affirming procedures, which are actually life-saving procedures,?” Maylath asked, adding that trans people are already paying into insurance plans.

“We pay the same benefits as everybody else yet the lifesaving procedures for us are denied administratively.”

After passing out of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor April 2, SB 139 was sent to the Senate Finance committee, chaired by state Sen. Chris Brooks, where it died without another hearing.

Maylath, who presented the legislation alongside bill sponsor state Sen. Melanie Scheible, said she reached out to Brooks multiple times but never received a response.

Senate Bill 258, which would have required NDOC to adopt regulations around housing, heath care and security for transgender inmates, also died.

The hearing included letters from inmates and testimony for attorneys representing transgender inmates who detailed horrific allegations of abuse and sexual assault.

“We’ve got this draconian system that preys on people of color and puts them into subhuman conditions and then denies basic human rights and access to health care and appropriate housing to keep them safe from rape,” Maylath said.

The department attached a $1.3 million fiscal note to the bill. Maylath said the fiscal note was “inflated and unnecessary” and called it “an administrative trick” to keep the bill from going forward.

NDOC also attached a nearly $4 million fiscal note to another one of Scheible’s bills, Senate Bill 22, that caps how much prison officials can deduct from inmate’s accounts.

Brooks scheduled a hearing for the legislation in the Senate Finance Committee, lawmakers challenged the accuracy of the fiscal impact, and the Legislative Counsel Bureau concluded they couldn’t verify the accuracy of the amount. The bill then passed both houses unanimously.

It’s unclear why the same level of scrutiny given to the fiscal note on SB 22 wasn’t given to SB 258.

Maylath said the bill “was about getting the Department of Corrections to properly write transgender and gender variant prisoner policy” so guidelines were consistent across prisons and clear for all corrections officers to understand.

“So for the 30, 40 prisoners they have who are gender variant, (NDOC) wants to continue to not have to change their ways so they can be able to do what they’ve always done, which is applying extrajudicial punishment for people who are different,” she said.

Bernabei wasn’t surprised that those bills didn’t pass, but was still disappointed.

“Even though we have a progressive body right now and some really great lawmakers, we still couldn’t get through what we should have,” they added. “At least we didn’t pass anti-LGBTQ bills, but I feel like we still kind of failed in some areas.”

More voices, more political power

Wade said one of the more significant wins for the LGBTQ community was Senate Bill 275, which modernizes the state’s HIV laws.

“It’s part of a broader movement across the nation with at least nine other states mulling similar legislation,” Wade said.

The legislation repeals a provision in Nevada law that makes it a category B felony for a person who tested positive for HIV from “knowingly or willfully engaging in a manner intended to transmit the disease.”

Laws criminalizing HIV transmission that were put in place during the height of the HIV/AIDS pandemic targeted gay and trans people and don’t reflect the innovations in science and medicine around the disease. Former state Sen. David Parks had worked for years to change those laws.

Again, Maylath said the passage was bittersweet.

“How do you criminalize having a virus?” Maylath said. “It was bad they criminalized it in the first place… Is it room for celebration? I don’t know. How do you celebrate being able to get what’s owed to you on a human dignity basis after having it taken away from you for the past 30 years?”

Wade said it’s hard to undersell the importance of Assembly Bill 261, which creates inclusive curriculum standards that takes into consideration the perspectives and contributions of marginalized communities such as the LGBTQ community, Black, indigenous people of color and immigrants.

“It will allow racial and ethnic minorities and sexual and gender minorities to see themselves in history books and civic books and for our cisgender, heterosexual peers to see us as well,” Wade said.

Bernabei noted the important step of passing AB 261 especially in contrast to other states that banned “critical race theory” from being taught in schools. While the bill is a good step, they added the implementation process is something to watch.

“What is it going to look like when it’s implemented,” they said. “When we talk about LGBTQ history, are we only going to be celebrating Harvey Milk (the first openly gay elected official in California)? Are we celebrating trans folks who have contributed or people of color in our community? I’m glad it passed, but I’m interested to see what happens with it.”

Other important bills, Wade said, include Senate Bill 237, which designates LGBTQ businesses as minority-owned businesses, and Senate Bill 148, which enhances how Nevada law enforcement tracks and reports hate crimes.

“Our hate crime reporting data, in general, isn’t that great,” Wade said. “But this will allow us to have better data on sexual orientation and gender identity so we can know what the rise of hate crimes look like throughout the state and get reports so we can know how to address the situation.”

Assembly Bill 115 would allow more than two individuals to be legal parents and allows for all consenting parents to share in the duties and responsibilities of raising the child.

“This isn’t just an LGBTQ bill, this is also a step-parent bill. This is a bill for families who need legal protections for modern families,” Wade said.

While there wasn’t a concerted effort to advance anti-LGBTQ legislation in 2021, Bernabei wouldn’t be surprised if the progress made during the session prompted backlash in 2023, especially if Democrats lose seats.

But LGBTQ groups will be ready.

“The good thing about where we’re at is there are more people coming out not because there are more gay and trans people but because it’s safer and more affirming,” Bernabei said. “With more voices, we have more political power.”

US: It is time to review previous convictions under the former HIV law and issue pardons

HIV law has changed, but those prosecuted under former measure struggle to overcome convictions

Jeremy Merithew had a hook-up in 2012 that he will remember for the rest of his life. He met a man on the gay app Adam4Adam. The man came over for sex and left.

The next day, a deputy from the Kent County Sheriff’s Department was knocking on his door and he ended up behind bars.

The reason? Police and prosecutors said he broke Michigan’s felony law called AIDS — Sexual Penetration with Uninformed Partner. The law, passed in 1988, required a person who knows they are living with HIV to disclose their status to potential sexual partners before engaging in any sexual penetration “however slight.”

Critics of the law called it a stigmatizing remnant of a time when the science of HIV was not fixed and infection was considered a likely death sentence.

They went to work and got the Legislature to change the law in 2019. The new law created misdemeanors crimes requiring prosecutors to prove a person had an intent to transmit their infection and took actions likely to transmit it. The new law specifically creates protections for people living with HIV who use a risk reduction method to prevent passing the virus, including condoms or being on HIV medications that suppress the virus.

Merithew is fighting back after serving his sentence and is preparing to ask Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to pardon him. And he’s got some powerful allies in his actions: former state. Rep. Jon Hoadley (D-Kalamazoo), Jay Kaplan of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan, and HIV activist and political leader Sean Strub, executive director of the Pennsylvania-based Sero Project that works to help reform HIV-specific criminal laws, as well as working with those who have been prosecuted under these laws and are trying to re-enter society.

“How was this justice?” Hoadley said of the case against Merithew. “Jeremy posed no risk before the charges, and he posed no risk after his conviction. How did we help society by putting him in prison? We don’t.”

Kaplan, who is the staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan LGBTQ Project, said the laws had “tragic consequences.”

“The whole idea that based on a medical status — that you tested positive, you are automatically considered a criminal — is wrong,” Kaplan said. He said it was often used as a political tool by elected prosecutors in order to appear “tough on crime.”

Hoadley believes Whitmer and her administration should review all convictions under the former felony law and issue pardons for those where a conviction would not be achieved under the new law.

Whitmer’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment for this story. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also didn’t respond.

There is a precedent to expunging criminal convictions after a law changes. After Michigan legalized personal possession of marijuana for recreational use in 2018, the state allows those convicted for possession and other non-violent marijuana crimes to seek and expungement of their records.

Hoadley, Kaplan and Strub agree it’s time to review those previous convictions under the former HIV law.

By the time Merithew was in court, science had shown the prescription drugs released in 1996 could not only stop HIV from replicating in the body and slow if not halt the virus’ relentless destruction of the immune system, but that it made that person unable to sexually transmit the virus. This discovery led to a prevention method called “undetectable = untransmittable.” It is also referred to as “treatment as prevention.”

Despite science clearly demonstrating that a person on medications with an undetectable viral load being unable to transmit HIV, Merithew was prohibited by Kent County Circuit Court Judge James Redford from bringing up the medical facts as a defense in his trial. Prosecutors offered Merithew an opportunity to plead guilty to one count of the disclosure law by having anal sex. But when he refused, they lodged a second charge for oral sex and a charge of using a computer to commit a crime.

“It doesn’t make sense to ignore the science,” said Strub. “When a person with HIV shows up in a courtroom there seems to be a presumption of guilt, rather than a presumption of innocence. It seems to be on the person with HIV to prove they disclosed their HIV status.”

Without the medical science to show he didn’t pose any threat, a sympathetic victim — a married Black man with two young children at home who worked raising money for homeless services in Grand Rapids — a deputy who expressed his unease with looking at same-sex sexual behavior and string of messages from the hook-up site that were ambiguous as to whether Merithew disclosed his HIV status, Merithew was convicted and sent to prison.

In addition to the prison sentence, Redford ordered Merithew to register as a sex offender for the next 15 years, which has prevented him from moving to certain areas or living in a home with children or getting most jobs. The former felony law was not among criminal convictions listed in the state’s sex offender registry requiring registration. However, Redford relied on a catch-all clause in the law intended for minors convicted of sex crimes to order Merithew on the sex offender registry.

Merithew is out of prison and living in a northern Michigan community with his mother. He said he hopes to complete a Ph.D in psychology focusing on the impact of trauma in people’s lives.

Merithew told the Advance he was offered a position in Lansing earlier this year. He attempted to move closer to the area, but he said officials in the county he was looking to move to threatened his relatives with child protective services involvement and removal of their children if he was allowed to live with them. He said had to decline the position as a result.

While Merithew is white, a study published by Trevor Hoppe in 2015 — then a doctoral student at the University of Michigan and now an assistant professor of sociology at University of North Carolina — found a racial disparity of who was being prosecuted. His study found that white women and Black men who had sex with women had a more likely potential of prosecution under the law in Michigan. He characterized this disparity as an “uneven application” of the felony law.

Strub said HIV criminalization laws across the country result in further shaming and stigmatization of people living with HIV by forcing them to register on sex offender lists.

“From a human rights perspective, these are egregious human rights violations often imposing draconian prison sentences of decades in situations not only where there was no transmission, but no risk of transmission,” Strub said.

Ukraine: New bill proposes expanding HIV-specific criminal law with harsher sentences for transmitting all serious communicable diseases

Avakov proposes harsh prison sentence

The Interior Ministry proposes to rewrite Article 130 in the Criminal Code, which deals with deliberate exposure to a dangerous communicable disease.

Now it mainly refers to HIV, but also mentions “other incurable infectious diseases. The new interpretation removes HIV and incurable diseases, i.e., if the bill is passed, the article can be applied to transmission of “a particularly dangerous infectious disease. It is not clear what infections we are talking about, but in theory, the coronavirus could be included in this list.

At the same time, it is proposed to increase responsibility for transmission. At present, it is possible to be arrested for up to three months or sentenced to 3-5 years in prison. The new draft stipulates imprisonment from 3 to 8 years, and if the perpetrator infects two or more people or minors, he will face from 5 to 10 years.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version), Scroll down for original article in Russian

Умышленное заражение коронавирусом: Аваков предлагает жесткое тюремное наказание

…Кроме того, в Уголовном кодексе МВД предлагает переписать и статью 130 – о намеренном заражении опасной инфекционной болезнью.

Сейчас речь в ней идет в основном о ВИЧ, также указаны “другие неизлечимые инфекционные болезни”. В новой интерпретации ВИЧ и неизлечимые болезни убрали, то есть, в случае принятия законопроекта под статью можно будет попасть за заражение “особо опасной инфекционной болезнью”. О каких именно инфекциях идет речь – неясно, но в теории к этому списку можно отнести и коронавирус.

При этом предлагается усилить ответственность за заражения. Сейчас предусмотрен арест на срок до трех месяцев или срок на 3-5 лет. В новом проекте прописали лишение свободы от 3 до 8 лет, а если виновник заразит двух или больше лиц или несовершеннолетних – ему будет грозить срок от 5 до 10 лет.

US: New Jersey Assemblywoman introduces legislation to modernise the state’s HIV-specific criminal law

Vainieri Huttle Introduces Bill to Decriminalize Transmission of HIV

(TRENTON) – Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle has introduced legislation to decriminalize the transmission of HIV under certain circumstances.

Under current New Jersey law, it is a crime of the third degree if a person knows that he or she is infected with AIDS or HIV and commits an act of sexual penetration without the informed consent of their partner. A third-degree crime is punishable by three to five years in prison, a fine of up to $15,000, or both.

The legislation (A-5673) seeks to amend existing law to downgrade this penalty to a disorderly persons offense, and also have it only apply to people who act with specific intent to transmit an infectious or communicable disease like HIV, do not attempt to prevent transmission, and pass the disease to another person. A disorderly persons offense is punishable by six months in prison, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

“For far too long, stigma around HIV/AIDS and the LGBTQ community has guided our laws. This legislation ensures that New Jersey moves forward guided by public health, not bigotry,” said Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen). “I am honored to be working alongside Garden State Equality, Hyacinth and the Harm Reduction Coalition to put forth this historic legislation.”

“The current law disproportionately impacts communities who are more likely to be living with the virus, including LGBTQ+ people, Black and Latinx people, transgender women, and sex workers. We are thrilled to partner with pro-equality champions, Senator Vitale and Assemblywoman Vainieri Huttle, on modernizing this outdated and harmful law,” said Christian Fuscarino, Executive Director, Garden State Equality.

Axel Torress Marrero, Senior Director of Public Policy and Prevention, Hyacinth AIDS Foundation said, “New Jersey’s HIV criminalization statute is based on stigma and fear, rather than modern science. It no longer reflects the current science of treatment and transmission of HIV. In 2021, a person living with HIV today can take medication to reduce their viral load that corresponds to the amount of virus present in their body, which means they will not transmit HIV to another individual. This tremendous breakthrough is the science supporting the Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U=U) reality.”

“This bill will make New Jersey more inclusive and less stigmatizing for people living with HIV. The criminal code is meant to punish actions that harm others, not discriminate against people living with a chronic health condition. We sincerely thank bill sponsors Senator Vitale and Assemblywoman Vainieri Huttle for championing this effort to decriminalize HIV and promote public health,” said Jenna Mellor, Executive Director, New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition.

In addition to HIV, the measure would also apply to the transmission of chancroid, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes virus, or any of the varieties or stages of such diseases. It now goes to the Assembly Speaker for further review.

New Zealand: Man sentenced to three years and nine months in prison for removing condom without consent during sex

New Zealand’s first successful ‘stealthing’ prosecution leads the way for law changes in Australia and elsewhere

Last week’s sentencing of a Wellington man for rape was legally significant for being New Zealand’s first successful prosecution for what is known as “stealthing”.

Stealthing occurs when a condom is removed without consent during sexual intercourse. In these cases, a person may have consented to sex but only under certain conditions — for example, with the use of a condom.

In this case, X was found guilty of raping a sex worker in a Lower Hutt brothel in late 2018, and sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. The court was told he was made aware on several occasions a condom was legally required and he agreed to use one.

The two had consensual sex with protection, but when they had sex again X removed the condom. The woman indicated he had acted inappropriately and made him put the condom back on. Without her knowledge, X again removed the condom and ejaculated inside her. The woman ran to her manager’s office and the police were called.

Judge Stephen Harrop said sex workers were no less victims than any other survivor. He also rejected the defence claim that the stealthing was not premeditated and that cultural factors were relevant to the sentencing (X arrived in New Zealand from the Philippines in 2016).

Judge Harrop said X was told multiple times that a condom was necessary, adding: “I can’t proceed on the basis that raping sex workers is any more acceptable [in the Philippines] than it is here.”

The judge also said the sexual assault had risked the woman’s physical health and had caused her ongoing mental harm. In her victim impact statement, she said her world view has changed, she has had to cease work and almost never leaves home alone.

Recognising stealthing as a crime

The conviction is significant because it recognises everyone has a right not only to choose to consent to sexual activity, but also to choose what conditions are placed on that consent.

This is also significant for the New Zealand police who have been accused of not taking reports of stealthing seriously in the past.

Furthermore, the landmark New Zealand judgment paves the way for other countries to reconsider their laws. There is currently a proposal to outlaw stealthing “as a factor that negates consent” before the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly.

Last year, the New South Wales Law Reform Commission also suggested changes to the state’s legislative regime. These would mean sex with a condom is legally defined as a specific activity that can be consented to, without consenting to any other sexual activity, such as sex without a condom.

So far, only one Australian case has made it to court, with a Melbourne man charged with rape in 2018 after allegedly removing a condom without consent. The trial has been delayed by the pandemic.

Further afield, Switzerland, Canada and Germany have all seen convictions for stealthing.

Physical and psychological risk

While these proposed changes are a step in the right direction, it is clear stealthing is still not well understood. This is perhaps not surprising, as issues of consent in general remain a real problem in the community and the courts.

As the acclaimed TV drama series I May Destroy You powerfully depicted, stealthing is about dominance and power and can happen to anyone. While most people will agree that “no means no”, it’s less clear what “yes” can mean.

Specifically, what conditions have been placed on that “yes”? Situations where the agreed conditions have changed – such as when a condom has been removed – should require “fresh consent” from both partners.

Beyond the moral, ethical and legal considerations, stealthing poses real risks to the physical and psychological well-being of the survivor, including sexually transmitted infections, HIV, unplanned pregnancy, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Fundamentally, stealthing violates the dignity and autonomy of survivors and is a violation of a person’s right to self-determination. The apparent unwillingness of police to prosecute, combined with a lack of public awareness, has undoubtedly meant stealthing has been under-reported in the past.

It is to be hoped the recent New Zealand conviction increases community awareness and encourages other survivors to come forward and tell their stories. Ultimately, it should lead to other jurisdictions recognising stealthing as a sexual crime and changing their laws to reflect this.

US: The Coverage of a recent case of HIV criminalisation in Ohio shows why the law needs to change

Dayton Man’s Arrest Shines Light on Ohio’s Outdated Laws on HIV Criminalization

The February arrest of a Dayton man is highlighting Ohio’s laws on HIV criminalization and the need for reform.

The 50-year-old Dayton resident faces charges of felony assault after police say he offered an undercover detective oral sex during a sting and didn’t reveal he “tested positive for a virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.”

The man used adult websites and telephone apps to offer free sex at his home, according to a press release issued by Dayton Police.

“[He] did so without disclosing his status as a carrier of AIDS. Investigators are concerned that there may be other persons, over a period of years, whom have interacted sexually with [him]who may also be victims,” said Cara Zinksi-Neace, spokeswoman for Dayton Police, in the press release.

In addition to conflating HIV and AIDS in the press release, the Dayton Police also included a clear picture of the man’s house and the name of his less-than-a-mile long street.

The arrest, the police press release, and the nature of the charges the man faces are evidence of a climate in Ohio that advocates of HIV decriminalization say desperately need to change.

Eight states, including nearby Michigan and Illinois, have reformed or repealed one or more parts of their HIV-specific criminal laws, but Ohio is one of 32 states that have HIV-specific criminal laws and/or sentence enhancements applicable to people living with HIV.

From the Center for HIV Law & Policy

The Laws

Ohio currently has 6 separate statutes on the books that criminalize living with HIV, most notably a felony assault charge that specifically calls out the virus. According to Ohio’s Revised Code § 2903.11, “No person, with knowledge that the person has tested positive as a carrier of a virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, shall knowingly…engage in sexual conduct with another person without disclosing that knowledge to the other person prior to engaging in the sexual conduct.”

A conviction under the law can result in up to an 8-year prison sentence.

Additionally, people living with HIV face higher penalties if charged with crimes that involve sex work, including prostitution, solicitation, or loitering to engage in solicitation.

“Ohio’s has some of the most backwards and stigmatizing laws in the country,” says Dwayne Steward, Director of Prevention for Equitas Health, a regional nonprofit community healthcare system and one of the largest LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS serving healthcare organizations in the United States.

Steward said that these laws have been around for decades and feature outdated language stemming from the fear-based public opinion formed during the early part of the AIDS epidemic, as opposed to language derived from modern science.

“For instance, it still says in these laws that someone can be prosecuted for exchanging saliva with another person, even though we know that—scientifically—HIV can not be transmitted in this way,” explains Steward.

Kim Welter, Facilitator of the Ohio Health Modernization Movement (OHMM) working to reform the state’s statues HIV criminalization, is quick to point out one of the biggest misconceptions about the relationship between these laws and HIV transmission

“The current laws in no way require transmission,” says Welter. “You could have a situation where there is no actual harm done, but an individual with HIV could end up serving time, and actually even serve more time than someone who is arrested for the exact same offense who doesn’t have HIV.”

Dayton Arrest and Press Release

When Bryan C. Jones first heard about the Dayton arrest and read the local news coverage with the accompanying police statement—describing the arrested individual as a “carrier of AIDS”—he experienced a range of emotions. A founding member of OHMM, the news hit close to home for Jones.

“As a person who has been living with AIDS for 37 years, I was scared at first and then I was outraged,” says Jones. “A ‘carrier of AIDS’? Come on. That sounds like the language from the 80s. Those words shocked me.”

When reached by The Buckeye Flame, Zinski-Neace said the Dayton Police department does not issue press releases for every arrest, but did not explain why one was created for this arrest. The department declined to provide further comment for this story beyond what was in the press release.

Welter highlights that it compromises the man’s safety to include a photo of the man’s house on a short street the police identified and that there are details that were left out of the police report and media coverage that make a real difference with regard to outcomes. She points out that adding the Dayton man’s HIV status creates a sensationalized aspect to the story, but does not answer some key questions.

“We don’t know if he is on medication, if he is virally suppressed, if he is undetectable, or if he was engaging in activity that is likely to even have a chance of transmitting the virus,” says Welter. “We don’t know any of that. But then the coverage gives this idea that there are thousands of victims when the chance of transmitting HIV through oral sex is very, very low. It gets people to read a headline, but it’s not scientifically accurate.”

Jones agrees that the coverage does more harm than good.

“This misinformation goes counter to public health interests,” says Jones. “This exacerbates the stigma and perpetuates people living in fear.”

Reforming the Laws

The efforts to reform the laws in Ohio that criminalize HIV have been going on for years, with groups like OHMM leading the way. A critical step for their movement: raising awareness that these laws even exist.

“When I speak to people at gay pride, LGBTQ people don’t even know about these laws,” says Jones. “People living with HIV still have rights and it’s important to arm yourself with accurate information, and especially so if you are confronted with this situation.”

OHMM, in partnership in the Legal Clinic at Equality Ohio, have published materials to help educate individuals about their rights in the event of a police interaction. Tips include maintaining evidence (documents, screenshots, etc.) proving disclosure, not disclosing HIV status to law enforcement officers without a lawyer present, and not consenting to medical tests should police ask for the individual to submit to tests voluntarily.

For those individuals who may be aware of the statutes criminalizing HIV, the effects of these laws can have a direct relationship with those choosing not to get tested for HIV.

“There are people who believe if they don’t know, they can’t be prosecuted,” explains Steward. “It keeps people from engaging in healthcare and further creates health disparities.”

OHMM is hard at work partnering with other organizations hoping to introduce legislative language this Spring aimed at modernizing Ohio’s HIV criminalization statutes. All three counties participating in the national End the HIV Epidemic campaign—Cuyahoga, Franklin, and Hamilton—have included modernizing the criminal code as part of their plans. Lawmakers in Virginia recently approved legislation to modernize their HIV criminalization laws, one of 9 states actively engaging with the process of decriminalization.

Until the laws are reformed, advocates stress that knowledge about these statutes is critically important, particularly when a story like the arrest in Dayton grabs the headlines.

“Start a conversation. Tell someone else about these laws,” urges Jones. “Everyone needs to know more than they do, because the ignorance in this case can really cause serious damage.” 🔥

Ignite Action:

Learn more about Ohio Health Modernization Movement (OHMM) by visiting their website.
Start a conversation with someone else about HIV decriminalization.