Edwin Bernard

In Sweden, the Communicable Diseases Act requires people with diagnosed HIV to disclose in any situation where someone might be placed at risk and to also practise safer sex (which, in Sweden, means using condoms - the impact of treatment on viral load and infectiousness is not yet considered to be part of the safer sex armamentarium.)

But in Sweden you're damned if you do (disclose) and damned if you don't because Sweden is one of several countries in western Europe - including Austria, Finland, Norway, and Switzerland - where people with HIV can be (and are) prosecuted for having consensual unprotected sex even when there was prior disclosure of HIV-positive status and agreement of the risk by the HIV-negative partner. Sweden uses the general criminal law for these prosecutions of which there have been at least 40 - out of an HIV population of around 5,000.

And if you think the Swedes aren't being overly harsh, then watch the harrowing documentary, 'How Could She?' about a young woman, Lillemore, who was in such denial that she did not tell anyone that she was HIV-positive (including the doctors who delivered her two children). Even though both children were born HIV-free, and no-one was harmed by her non-disclosure, following the break-up of her marriage, her ex-husband reported her to the authorities and she was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.

Fortunately, most of these countries with overly-draconian policies towards people with HIV are well advanced in the process of examining (and hopefully, changing for the better) such laws and policies.

Norway has set up a special committee to examine whether its current law should be rewritten or abolished: its recommendations are due in May.

Switzerland is currently revising its Law on Epidemics, to be enacted later this year, and, according to my sources, the latest version appears to be mostly consistent with UNAIDS' recommendations.

In 2010, Austria's Ministry of Justice conceded that an undetectable viral load is considered a valid defence, even if they say individual judges can ignore their recommendation, although much more could still be done to remove the legal onus for HIV prevention on people with HIV.

And Finland has established an expert group on HIV/AIDS within the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare with the aim to ensure legislative reform, and address laws and polices that reinforce stigma and discrimination.

But Sweden - which has the most HIV-related prosecutions per capita of people with HIV in Europe (and probably the world) and that's not including the 100+ more people with HIV who have been forcibly detained and isolated under the Communicable Diseases Act - is lagging behind, and continues to enforce its 'human rights-unfriendly' policies.

Fortunately, civil society is fighting back. In 2010, HIV-Sweden, RFSU (the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education) and RFSL (the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights) began a three-year campaign to raise awareness and advocate against Sweden's over-punitive HIV-related policies.

A recent conference held just before World AIDS Day put together by the campaign and attended by police, prosecutors and politicians highlighted the many human rights concerns over Sweden's current laws and policies. I was honoured to be one of only two non-Swedes to speak at the meeting (which was held mainly in Swedish - so a big thank you to Elizabeth, my personal "whisper" translator) - you can see the agenda and download a copy of my presentation here.

Download Google translated version of full article here

The meeting and associated campaign received a lot of press coverage, including the front page of the biggest circulation morning paper in Sweden on World AIDS Day.

At the meeting, HIV Sweden, RFSL and RFSU launched an important new manifesto, HIV Crime and Punishment that clearly explains what the problems are for people with HIV (and public health) in Sweden and asks for three actions from the Swedish Government:

• A review of Swedish law, including the Communicable Disease Act as well as the application of the criminal law to HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission.
• An endorsement by Sweden of the 2008 UNAIDS Policy Brief on the criminalisation of HIV transmission, which says that criminal prosecutions should be limited to unusually egregious cases where someone acted with malicious intent to transmit HIV, and succeeded in doing so.
• A renewed, clear focus of Sweden's National HIV Policy on a human rights-based approach to HIV prevention, care, support and treatment, and sex education. 

Let's hope that Sweden's policymakers take heed. After all, how can a country which supports UNAIDS' global efforts, and is perceived to be a global champion for human rights treat people with HIV in its own country as second class citizens? (You could, of course, ask the same of the United States and Canada  - and numerous other wealthy, countries - as well.)

Don't think Sweden is that bad?  Check out the 2005 case of Enhorn v  Sweden at the European Court of Human Rights which found that Sweden had unlawfully isolated a man with HIV for a total of seven years, a violation of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention's "right to liberty and security of person".

Edwin on: On the Web

Understanding the unintended impacts of the criminalization of HIV exposure or transmission - way beyond the relatively few individuals who are accused, arrested and/or prosecuted - can play a crucial part in advocating against such laws and prosecutions.

Over the next few months, there are going to be multiple opportunities to highlight issues such as:

• Creating fear and confusion about relying on disclosure to prevent HIV risk, and when disclosure is legally necessary
• Making it harder for people living with HIV who are having problems maintaining safer sex to talk with healthcare workers due to fear of prosecution
• Increasing HIV-related stigma
• Creating a false sense that HIV is someone else's problem, rather than a shared responsibility
• Providing an additional disincentive for people to learn their HIV status

These opportunities will arise via the Global Commission on HIV and Law's High Income Country Dialogue that will take place in Oakland, California on 16-17 September (click here for more details);  the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) meeting focusing on HIV and Enabling Legal Environments that will take place in Geneva, Switzerland on 13-15 December; and through an ongoing project by IPPF, Behind Bars, that highlights a wide range of personal testimonies about the impact of HIV criminalization.

I'm hoping that POZ readers will help me collate personal testimonies about the impact of HIV criminalization on their own lives. You don't have to be an HIV professional or have been involved in a case to have been impacted (although such testimonies are very welcome).

As the example I'm about to show you illustrates, you can simply live in fear of the law because you are living with HIV.

If you have a personal story to share, you can either paste it into the comment box or send it to me at pozstories@edwinjbernard.com.  Your stories will be highlighted in IPPF's Behind Bars collection, on POZ's HIV criminalization page, and my blog and may also end up in testimony to the Global Commission on HIV and the Law and the UNAIDS PCB meeting.  Submissions can be anonymous (but I will require some evidence of authenticity), and if you do use your real name, please indicate whether it can be used in full or not.

Here's Jonas's story (not his real name) from Norway.  The use of Paragraph 155 (known as the 'HIV Paragraph') is currently being evaluated by a Government committee's thorough investigation into the appropriateness of HIV criminalisation. The committee should produce its recommendations by Spring 2012, although there are no guarantees that a version of this law will not remain on the books and continue to be enforced when their deliberations end.

Paragraph 155 of the Norwegian Penal Code, an infectious-disease law enacted in 1902, essentially criminalises all unprotected sex by HIV-positive individuals even if their partner has been informed of their status and consents, and irregardless of viral load or a desire by a couple to conceive.  Both 'willful' and 'negligent' exposure and transmission are liable to prosecution, with a maximum prison sentence of six years for 'willful' exposure or transmission and three years for 'negligent' exposure or transmission.

Paragraph 155 - and a story from a partially unlived life

In my teens I turned off my sexuality. Even as my hormones were reaching boiling point, I managed to shut down. I felt that my desires were wrong, and I am a strong-minded person. In my twenties, I told my family and friends that I was gay. I began to have sex carefully, but I was never in any relationship.

When I reached 30, and after some therapy, I began to feel ready to try enter into a relationship. In January 2000 I took the HIV test, together with my best friend, since it was the "millennium change." My test turned out to be HIV-positive, and the shock was devastating. I was very far from having a wild sex life - it was just very bad luck. Like many other HIV-positive persons, I later came to understand what my doctor told me following diagnosis:  "You are going to be fine. HIV is no longer a death sentence." The words were a great comfort. I still had so much unlived life in me.

Life with HIV was difficult at first, but slowly I came to accept the new situation, the same way I had earlier come to accept my sexual orientation. But because of Article 155 must I, as a virile, and still fairly young man, now live like a monk - an asexual monk? What kind of life will that be? Would I be able to live like that?

Last time I had sex was some months ago. I was dating a nice guy I was attracted to, and we were at his place. Sweet music was playing. I lied and said I did not have the energy to have sex after my gym work out, but that I would like a massage instead. I got the massage. A very nice massage. The atmosphere got hot. I felt both excited and uneasy. He said he wanted to have sex with me. I said no. We continued with massage and kissing for a while. "Just a little?" He asked again. I gave in. We began to have sex. We got a condom and lubricant ready. Then the thought hit me hard, like a powerful wave. What if the condom bursts? It could happen, even if it is very unlikely. "Exposure to potential risk," says the HIV Paragraph.

Although I hadn't told him myself, I knew that he knew a guy who knows that I am HIV-positive, someone I met at a seminar for HIV-positive people some years before. But I did not know this guy well, and I share my diagnosis only with people I have known for a long time, and trust, like friends and family. What if he tells his friend about this incident? Perhaps his friend would guess who I am and say, was his name xxxx? 'Ah yes, he has HIV, like me!' What if he then calls the police? Reports me? What if the police comes to my home? Brings me in for interrogation, and puts me in a prison cell? What about my important meeting next week? Mum will be crushed if I go to jail. For having sex.

I pulled away. I used the oldest excuse in the book: headache. And low blood sugar. I put on my clothes and left. I never called him again. I have thought about him several times.

I will not be able to live my life without sex. I'm not a big fan of the word injustice. Nature is not fair. But Paragraph 155 criminalises me for wanting to live a full life - and that includes a sex life. Me - who has studied law just because everyone said I was always so fair and wise.

I feel like a victim, even though I often criticise the role of the victim. A victim of this discriminatory law that criminalises the sexuality of people affected by HIV. A victim of prejudice related to HIV, which few seem to bother to care about. Norwegian society likes its scapegoats. I want to remove the criminalisation of sexuality in Norway. I want a good life. In Norway. In 2011. And in the rest of the years I will live in this beautiful country.

Edwin on: On the Web

Johnson Aziga, 55, an African migrant living with HIV, is a now officially a "dangerous offender" according to Canadian criminal law.

Mr Aziga is already considered a "murderer" two times over. He was convicted in 2009 of two counts of first-degree murder, ten counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of attempted aggravated sexual assault, because he had unprotected sex with eleven women without telling them he had HIV. Seven of the women subsequently tested HIV-positive, and two died of AIDS-related cancers within a couple of years of having had sex with Mr Aziga.

[A number of articles and blog posts on Mr Aziga's trial - and the media's reaction to it - can be found on my blog.]

Being a "dangerous offender" means he will likely remain in prison for the rest of his life - even in the unlikely event that his life sentence without the possibility of parole for 25 years for the murder convictions is overturned on appeal. [The whole "dangerous offender" process is considered by some legal experts to be discriminatory and "dangerous" because "putting the onus on criminals makes it too easy for the court system to declare people dangerous offenders.]

Johnson Aziga would have been at least 78 years old if he had been able to be considered for release after 25 years. And yet, somehow, the Canadian legal system considers that at this age, Mr Aziga's libido would be so voracious, his appeal so alluring to Canada's heterosexual female population, that he must be locked up for life.

Mr. Aziga's sex drive "is head and shoulders above" the average man's and "knowing his need for sex is not going to be satisfied" could deter him from disclosing his HIV status to potential partners, [Crown attorney Karen Shea argued]. "He didn't abstain from sex knowing what he knew (about having HIV), he didn't discuss his HIV status knowing what he knew and he didn't wear a condom knowing what he knew," she told the court.

I am the only person that sees this as absurd - as both racist and HIV-phobic?

The legal characterization of men of African origin with HIV as 'monstrously' hypersexual is not new. Back in 1993, Canada tried to convict Charles Ssenyonga of similar 'crimes' (His 'victims', like Aziga's, were all white women; his virus, like Aziga's, a "rare African strain".) Ssenyonga died before the trial concluded. The prosecution (and media's) focus on his hypersexual Africanness was explored in a fabulous 2005 article by James Miller, 'African Immigrant Damnation Syndrome: The Case of Charles Ssenyonga' published as part of a special issue of the social science journal, Sexuality Research & Social Policy called 'Reckless Vectors: The Infecting "Other" in HIV/AIDS Law.'

In the introduction by the journal's editors Heather Worth, Cindy Patton, and Diane Goldstein, they highlight the issue of racism in HIV criminal cases.

...the fact that the accused is African is used to indicate a priori an excessive and lethal sexuality and to position Africa itself as a deviant and viral continent and as the source and cause of AIDS. This prejudice extends to successive generations of African immigrants, as can be seen in the case of Nushawn Williams, an African American man from upstate New York. The same focus on Williams' Black, eroticized body is evident in the numerous media accounts of the case.

Interestingly, Nushawn Williams is currently going through exactly the same process as Mr Aziga, having already served the maximum sentence of 12 years for the 'crimes' he pleaded guilty to back in 1998. Back in May 2010, a New York State Supreme Court judge ruled that Mr Williams "poses a danger to society and as a result, must remain behind bars even though his sentence is complete." He is now awaiting the outcome of his civil confinement hearing that has been delayed for almost a year.

Mr Aziga and Mr Williams are being punished twice over. The idea that society is protected from HIV by keeping them in prison indefinitely is erroneous and outrageous. In the past men used to "lock up their daughters" when a man of purported huge sexual prowess came sniffing around, as if their female offspring did not have a sexuality or a choice in whether or not to have sex with their suitor.

Now, society locks up "HIV monsters" because it thinks female members of society need protecting from them, as if they did not have a sexuality or a choice in whether or not to have sex with their suitor.

But the real problem is that focusing on Black or African HIV (in the guise of Aziga or Williams) creates a false sense of security because all sex comes with risks of HIV infection (and these risks are usually much higher from someone with HIV who is undiagnosed, and therefore unable to disclose).

Wouldn't it be better - and more cost-effective - to spend some money on HIV prevention education for the general public, so that white heterosexual women, and others who think that they are not at risk for HIV because they haven't been targeted with HIV prevention information (usually aimed at 'key populations' like gay men and Black or African communities) can learn how to protect themselves from HIV rather than foolishly relying on the criminal law to protect them after the fact?

Edwin on: On the Web

The British tabloid press had a field day yesterday following the sentencing of Nkosinati Mabanda, 44, at Wolverhampton Crown Court for 'reckless' HIV transmission. He received a four year prison sentence; was also given an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) ordering him not to have sex without first revealing his HIV status (this is the first time ever someone with HIV has been given this order and it is unclear if this also covers his time in prison); and will be considered for deportation following his release.

Of note, the only successful prosecutions for 'reckless' HIV transmission in England & Wales since 2004 have taken place when the defendant pleaded guilty. This is because if someone pleads 'not guilty' the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that only the defendant could have infected the complainant(s) - and this is not an easy task because prosecutorial guidelines recommend that all previous sexual contacts prior to an HIV-positive test be tested for HIV and eliminated as potential sources.  Due to this limitation alone, many cases have been dropped or dismissed prior to trial.  (See this table of all UK cases from NAT - an additional heterosexual case in Wood Green, London, was dismissed in March 2011 due to lack of evidence).

In fact, Mr Mabanda had tried to change his guilty plea (and his legal representation) when he realised how difficult it was to prove the charges he'd already pleaded guilty to. He was not only unsuccessful, but did himself no favours by having a further sexual relationship with another woman (who did not test HIV-positive) in the two years he was out on bail.  (The first report of his case, from December 2009, is here.)

Since Mr Mabanda's country of birth is Zimbabwe (he apparently migrated to the UK in 2004), the two right-wing (and best-selling) tabloids, The Sun and The Daily Mail pandered to their readers' prejudices and characterised this human being who had make mistakes (as human beings do) as an 'HIV Monster'.

The term "HIV Monster" and its variant, "HIV Avenger", has been around since the late-1980s. The idea that a person with HIV is no longer human but a "monster" was established by the myth of "Patient Zero," a key figure in Randy Shilts' bestselling 1987 book about the AIDS epidemic, And the Band Played On. "Patient Zero" was characterised as a sociopathic individual who may have intentionally infected others following his AIDS diagnosis, behaviour for which, Shilts suggested, the coercive powers of the state were ineffective. This myth has since been replayed many times worldwide and is often the impetus for calls for new HIV-specific laws and/or tougher sentencing.

Certainly, readers' comments suggest the tabloids did their job of dehumanising Mr Mabanda - many calling for his death, castration or, at the very least, immediate deportation to what they hope will be a certain and painful death in the absence of HIV treatment in his native Zimbabwe.  Anti-immigration (and anti-African) sentiment is also widely expressed.  The comment below is illustrative of all of the above, and yet also alludes to the difficulties of disclosure due to HIV stigma. (Of course, having children if you are HIV-positive is neither "off the cards" nor "selfish" - it is possible to conceive and give birth with minimal risk to a sexual partner or infant and many people with HIV can, and do, have children with the full support of their doctors, partners and families.)

 

The content of the stories - if not the tabloids' headlines -  take their facts and their moral tone from a police press release, and the words of the complainant.

The press release states:

Superintendent Jan Thomas-West, from West Midlands Police, said: "The particularly disturbing element of this case is Mabanda's blasé attitude towards his victim and his various other partners.

"Mabanda told officers that he had had sex with nine women in the UK and that seven of them had not know he was HIV positive. Unfortunately, these women were impossible to trace.

"He seems to have shown no regard for the health of others or the potential life sentence he may have passed on to anyone who had sex with him.

"His victim will remain on medication forever and her life expectancy has been reduced as a direct result of his actions.

"I am pleased that Mabanda has received a significant custodial sentence today."

West Midlands police subsequently circulated a second email quoting the complainant, parts of which were used in the The Sun and Mail stories.

Further to this release, please find below a statement from his victim, who wishes to remain anonymous:

"I am pleased with the sentence given to Mabanda today and that the judge recognised the seriousness of what he has done.

"I feel a combination of anger and relief. Anger at what he has done to me and potentially other women and relief because he has been punished for his actions.

"I think he should have been given life because that's the sentence he has given to me.

"What he did has had a devastating impact and will affect me every day for the rest of my life, but now I want to move on.

"If anyone else recognises him because of the media coverage and they have been infected, they should go to the police and I will be there for them."

 The complainant also gave interviews to the local paper, The Express and Star and to BBC Radio 5.

She said: "He should have been given life because that's the sentence he has given to me. He's just scum. I hope he's deported because I hate him.

"I'm on medication now for the rest of my life."

Edwin on: On the Web

Something is not-so-rotten in the state of Denmark. In February, Denmark's Justice Minister Lars Barfoed announced the suspension of Article 252 of the Danish Criminal Code - the so-called 'HIV law' - pending an inquiry by a government working group to consider whether the only HIV-specific criminal law in Western Europe should be revised or abolished.

Denmark prosecuted its first case in 1993, but the Danish Supreme Court found in 1994 that the wording of the existing law ("wantonly or recklessly endangering life or physical ability") did not provide a clear legal base for conviction. The phrase "fatal and incurable disease" was added in 1994, and HIV was singled out as the only cause of a "fatal and incurable disease" that could be prosecuted under this law in 2001.

According to GNP+'s Global Criminalisation Scan there have been at least 18 prosecutions since 1993, more than half of which involved non-Danish nationals, including seven people of African origin. There have been at least eleven convictions for either sexual HIV exposure or transmission. At least one of the remaining cases failed due to the accused committing suicide.

Minister Barfoed's announcement came about as a result of a Parliamentary question from opposition Unity MP, Per Clausen on behalf of the Parliamentary Legal Committee.

"The Minister should state whether the Ministry [of Justice] will consider changing or eliminating the special clause in the legislation that criminalizes [HIV-positive individuals for] unprotected sex with uninfected [individuals] in light of the significantly improved treatment options for HIV-positive people, in particular since treatment is able to reduce the risk of infection to [near] zero."

In his reply, Minister Barfoed explains the history of the legislation and then quotes the Danish Health Protection Agency's take on HIV's 'risk' and 'harm'.
 

 "Modern combination therapy reduces HIV in the blood by more than 99% during the first weeks of treatment, whereby patients' general condition improves. The strongly reduced amount of HIV in blood and tissue fluids also greatly reduces the risk of transmission from an HIV-positive person on antiviral therapy. This greatly reduced risk is difficult to quantify but considering the risk to be near zero is a theory that some doctors have put forward, but there is no national or international consensus that about this...The life-expectancy of someone with HIV is no different from the age- and gender-matched background population. HIV is, in other words, not in itself fatal if treated in time; medication taken regularly; and there are otherwise no complications from other diseases, etc. Timely treatment is now so effective and well tolerated, that 85-90% of patients can live normal lives if they take their medication daily. It is the 5-10% of patients who are diagnosed late who still experience a substantial excess mortality and morbidity. [However] HIV is still incurable."

He goes on to say that the law as it is currently written - casting HIV as a life-threatening condition and criminalizing unprotected sex by a person with HIV - appears to be obsolete and that the working group must consider whether to amend, or totally rewrite, Article 252.

Minister Barfoed's move was immediately welcomed by the main HIV organization in Denmark, AIDS-Fondet (Danish AIDS Foundation). In their press release AIDS-Fondet notes that it has been working on changing the law for years and very much welcomes this development:

We hope this suspension is the beginning of the end of the so-called HIV Criminal Law. This criminal provision is in itself a barrier to prevention, and there has also long been a need for the improved treatment of HIV-people to be reflected in the Penal Code, says Henriette Laursen, AIDS-Fondet's director.

AIDS-Fondet is now working hard behind-the-scenes to persuade the Danish Government not to simply rework the law, but to abolish it altogether by avoiding singling out HIV.

They are specifically asking the working group to consider making only the intentional transmission of a serious communicable disease a criminal offence, as recommended by UNAIDS, and to focus instead on supporting people with HIV (diagnosed and, even more importantly for public health, undiagnosed) to access comprehensive prevention, counselling, testing, treatment, care and support services.

If you work for a non-governmental or community-based organization that cares about criminalization, AIDS-Fondet would really like your help. Last week, they sent out a sign-on letter which begins:

We would like to share with you the good news that last month the Danish Justice Minister suspended Article 252 of the Danish Penal Code used to prosecute people living with HIV for 'wanton or reckless' exposure or transmission of HIV. This is the only criminal statute in Western Europe that singles out HIV as "a fatal and incurable disease."

The law is undergoing revision and a working group is currently considering whether to amend, or totally rewrite, Article 252.

To help this process along, the Danish AIDS Foundation is seeking your endorsement of a letter to the Danish Minister of Justice and the Danish Minister of Health who are leading the working group comprising representatives from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health, the National Board of Health and the Prosecutor General.

By signing, you help:

• in congratulating the Ministers on their recent decision to suspend the Danish Penal Code that criminalises HIV exposure and transmission
• to ensure that during the revision process the Danish Government takes into due consideration whether the particular section singling out HIV should exist in the Penal Code at all.

It is our hope that a successful revision of the Danish Penal Code will allow for other countries to follow suit.

If your organization wishes to endorse the letter, please send an email to laura@aidsfondet.dk and include the NAME OF YOUR ORGANIZATION and COUNTRY before 29th April 2011. Your help is very much appreciated!

(You can read the full text of the letter at the bottom of this post, or download it as a pdf here.)

Importantly, what happens in Denmark doesn't just stay in Denmark. If the Danes make the right decision and repeal their HIV-specific criminal law, this could have a profound effect on criminalization policy all around the world, including in the United States. 

After all, an important recommendation in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy is that:
 

State legislatures should consider reviewing HIV-specific criminal statutes to ensure that they are consistent with current knowledge of HIV transmission and support public health approaches to preventing and treating HIV.

This recommendation was endorsed and reinforced last month by the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), a highly-respected organization of public health officials that administer state and territorial HIV prevention and care programmes throughout the US.

The take-home message of the NASTAD statement is clear: repeal HIV-specific criminal laws because:
 

HIV criminalization undercuts our most basic HIV prevention and sexual health messages, and breeds ignorance, fear and discrimination against people living with HIV.

To parapahrase South Africa's Justice Edwin Cameron - who argued in his excellent 2009 article for Norwegian newspaper, Dagbladet, "that by applying its own discriminatory legislation, Norway in effect exports stigma," - by abolishing its own HIV-specific law, Denmark in effect would lead the world by exporting rational, public health-based policy.

Dear Minister of Justice, Mr. Lars Barfoed and Minister of Health, Mr. Bertel Haarder

We, the undersigned, non-governmental and community-based organisations, national and regional networks working on HIV and AIDS congratulate you on your wise decision to suspend section 252 (2) and (3) of the Danish Penal Code on HIV and AIDS.

The remarkable progress in treatment options for people living with HIV that allows for the possibility of a normal life expectancy, and greatly reduces the possibility of exposing others to HIV is certainly a good reason to reconsider the law on HIV and AIDS.

However, in your important work on the revision of the Danish law, we strongly urge you to consider whether the particular section in the Penal Code that relates specifically to HIV exposure or transmission should exist at all. HIV exposure or transmission should not be singled out for special consideration as a criminal offence but should be treated in the same manner as other serious communicable diseases.

Punitive laws on HIV and AIDS undercut basic HIV prevention and sexual health messages and are ineffective in reducing the spread of HIV. Since HIV mainly spreads from persons not aware of their HIV status, such laws only fuel ignorance, fear, stigma and discrimination against people aware they are living with the virus. We strongly believe such laws are counterproductive since they lessen the likelihood that individuals will learn their HIV status and access treatment.

In our opinion, consistent with rational, public health-based policy, only intentional transmission of a serious communicable disease should be criminalised. In addition, we strongly suggest that the Danish Government support efforts that emphasise shared responsibility for HIV prevention and the importance of providing comprehensive prevention and care services for people living with HIV to help reduce the risk of transmission to others.

Edwin on: On the Web

Although I'm new to blogging at POZ.com, I'm not a blogging neophyte. 

Edwin on: On the Web