AIDS 2012, Washington DC

Criminal prosecutions for HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission: overview and

updated global ranking

Edwin J Bernard Moono NyambeCo-ordinator, HIV Justice Network, Germany/UK GNP+, Netherlands/Zambia

AIDS 2012, Washington DC

• Global Commission on HIV and the Law• Case study: Get a test, risk arrest• Global overview of laws / prosecutions• Global criminalisation hotspots• Focus on:

– Africa– Europe

• Oslo Declaration on HIV criminalisation

OVERVIEW

AIDS 2012, Washington DC

P 20, HIV AND THE LAW: RIGHTS, RISKS & HEALTH, JULY 2012

AIDS 2012, Washington DC

CASE STUDY:GET A TEST, RISK ARREST

NEW ZIMBABWE 3 JULY 2012 NEW ZIMBABWE 7 JULY 2012

AIDS 2012, Washington DC

GLOBAL OVERVIEW OFLAWS AND PROSECUTIONS

HIV-SPECIFIC LAWS, PROSECUTIONS HIV-SPECIFIC LAWS, NO PROSECUTIONSPROSECUTIONS UNDER GENERAL LAWSNO REPORTED LAWS / PROSECUTIONS

AIDS 2012, Washington DC

LAW ENFORCEMENT: TOP 30 JURISDICTIONS*

* IN ORDER OF KNOWN ARRESTS/PROSECUTIONS PER 1000 PLHIVTOTAL KNOWN ARRESTS/PROSECUTIONS

AIDS 2012, Washington DC

LAW ENFORCEMENT HOT SPOTS*

*BASED ON KNOWN ARRESTS/PROSECUTIONS PER 1000 PLHIV

AIDS 2012, Washington DC

TOP 15 GLOBAL HIV CRIMINALIZATION HOT-SPOTS*

*BASED ON KNOWN ARRESTS/PROSECUTIONS PER 1000 PLHIV

1. UNITED STATES (SD, ID, IA, MI, LA, TN, IL, MO, IN, OH, OK)2. BERMUDA3. MALTA4. SWEDEN5. AUSTRALIA (TAS, SA, ACT, VIC, WA)6. NEW ZEALAND7. FINLAND8. NORWAY9. AUSTRIA10. DENMARK11. CANADA12. CZECH REPUBLIC13. SWITZERLAND14. HUNGARY15. SINGAPORE

AIDS 2012, Washington DC

FOCUS ON AFRICA

HIV-SPECIFIC CRIMINAL LAWSNO HIV-SPECIFIC CRIMINAL LAWS

AIDS 2012, Washington DC

FOCUS ON AFRICA:POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS

• Mauritius (2007)• Removed problematic HIV criminalization statute from N'djamena Model Law• Civil society collaboration with Health Ministry• Daniel Grace: ‘This is not a law: the politics and protest of legislating HIV/AIDS

through model laws’ (Poster WEPE546)• Sierra Leone (2010)

• Changed problematic wording of HIV criminalization statue to decriminalize vertical transmission

• Kenya (2011- )• Ongoing legal challenge to law on grounds that it is discriminatory, extremely

broad and vague.• AIDS Law Project: ‘Using strategic litigation to challenge laws that criminalize

HIV transmission in Kenya’ (Poster WEPE548)• Malawi (2010 - )

• Ongoing advocacy against proposed HIV-specific criminal law• Lucy Stackpool-Moore, et al. 'The intention may not be cruel and inhumane but

the impact may be': stigma and the proposed HIV legislation in Malawi (Poster WEPE 543)

AIDS 2012, Washington DC

FOCUS ON EUROPEAND CENTRAL ASIA

HIV-SPECIFIC LAWS, PROSECUTIONS HIV-SPECIFIC LAWS, NO PROSECUTIONSPROSECUTIONS UNDER GENERAL LAWSNO REPORTED LAWS / PROSECUTIONS

AIDS 2012, Washington DC

• Switzerland (2008 – 12)• Second only to Sweden in terms of using criminal and public health law for

draconian approach to PLHIV• EKAF’s ‘Swiss Statement’ advocated for and by community led to legal

landmark in Geneva Court• 2012 Law on Epidemics revision will likely remove draconian public health

approach.

• Norway (2010 – 12)• § 155 (‘HIV paragraph’) does not allow consent to risk essentially

criminalising PLHIV who have unprotected sex regardless of disclosure• Community advocacy led to questions in Parliament and creation of

Independent Committee on reforming law• Committee will present findings in September 2012

• Denmark (2011 – )• HIV-specific law suspended February 2011• Campaign focused on recent data on life-expectancy and transmission risk

due to ART. Committee now considering new law or no law• Laursen H. Advocacy campaign to decriminalise HIV exposure and

transmission in Denmark: lessons learned (Poster WEPE542 )

FOCUS ON EUROPEAND CENTRAL ASIA:POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS

AIDS 2012, Washington DC

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