News

Lawmaker wants to change HIV transmission law
Friday, February 8, 2013 - 13:45 | 2013 | USA - Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would reduce penalties for HIV-positive people who have sex without disclosing their health condition.

Des Moines Democratic Sen. Matt McCoy said he wants to change the law to reduce penalties and focus on people who purposefully try to infect others with the virus.

Under the current law, HIV-positive people who have sex without disclosing their condition can face up to 25 years in prison if convicted, regardless of whether someone is infected.

"That is truly a Draconian punishment," McCoy said. "Being diagnosed with HIV is no longer the death sentence it once was."

Link to the article:
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Lawmaker-wants-to-change-HIV-transmission-law-4245307.php
In Utah, spitting at a police officer could be a felony
Thursday, February 7, 2013 - 14:00 | 2013 | USA - Utah

It may soon be a felony for a detained or incarcerated person to vomit on a law enforcement officer.

The Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Standing Committee approved SB97 Wednesday, which places vomit on the list of substances that are a third-degree felony to "propel" at a law officers’ face.

The list already includes saliva, blood, urine and fecal material. The proposed bill, sponsored by Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, also adds infectious agents or materials tainted with infectious agents to the list.

The committee also passed a separate proposed bill, SB98, which makes it a class B misdemeanor to intentionally throw or propel those bodily substances, including saliva, at a person who is not a law officer. It would be a class A misdemeanor if the thrower knows he or she is infected with HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C and the substance contacts face or an open wound.

Link to the article:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/55781491-90/law-bill-enforcement-felony.html.csp
Bill seeks felony charge for intentionally exposing others to HIV, STDs
Friday, January 25, 2013 - 17:01 | 2013 | USA - Arizona

PHOENIX – A House Democrat wants to make it a felony to intentionally expose others to sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, chlamydia or syphilis.

“If you know you’re infectious, you should not be spreading that around no matter what the motivation is,” said Rep. Lela Alston, D-Phoenix.

Alston said she authored HB 2218 after hearing about a woman in her district who contracted an STD from a man who failed to tell her that he was infected.

The bill would make it a Class 6 felony for a person who knows he or she is infected with HIV or one of eight listed STDs to intentionally expose others.

Link to the article:
http://cronkitenewsonline.com/2013/01/bill-seeks-felony-charge-for-exposing-others-to-hiv-stds/
HIV-Related Border Restrictions: Time to Address Gaps in Policy and Practice in India and South Korea
Thursday, January 10, 2013 - 17:21 | 2012 | India

In the early years of HIV, when fear and panic took a lead in the absence of scientific evidence, countries imposed restrictions for foreigners with HIV. However, evidence made it clear in HIV's first decade that border restrictions for international travellers living with HIV were an ineffective, costly, and impractical public health strategy.

Link to the article:
http://jhrp.oxfordjournals.org/content/4/2/273.full?keytype=ref&ijkey=sFDJhz7uAbqELCB
HIV-positive Texas man gets 15 years in prison for infecting woman
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 - 11:06 | 2013 | USA - Texas

(CBS/CBSDFW) FORT WORTH - A 42-year-old Texas man, [XXXX], has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for infecting a woman with HIV by having unprotected sex with her, despite being aware of his HIV-positive status.

Link to the article:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57561684-504083/hiv-positive-texas-man-gets-15-years-in-prison-for-infecting-woman/
Demande de révision immédiate du Immigration Act
Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - 12:05 | 2012 | Mauritius

Alors que le Forum mondial sur la migration et le développement se tient actuellement à Maurice, l’association PILS (Prévention Information et Lutte contre le Sida) réitère sa demande de révision immédiate du Immigration Act.

Sous la loi actuelle, un test de dépistage du VIH est obligatoire pour toute personne de nationalité étrangère souhaitant travailler ou résider à Maurice. Aucun permis de travail ou visa de long séjour n’est accordé aux personnes séropositives. Depuis 1987, plus de 200 personnes de nationalité étrangère ont été expulsées de l'île Maurice, victimes d’une loi totalement arbitraire et discriminante.

Link to the article:
http://www.pils.mu/actualite-locale/actulocale-1712.html?newsMenu=true
World AIDS Day: The Alliance warns of criminalisation of transmission of HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean
Friday, November 30, 2012 - 11:41 | 2012 | Latin America

Containing the epidemic, a shared responsibility

The movement of linking organisations that make up the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Latin America and the Caribbean and their strategic partners (REDLACTRANS and RedTraSex) want to the take the opportunity of International AIDS Day on 1st December to draw the attention of all key actors in the region and the world to a new trend to criminalise people living with HIV or AIDS for the transmission of HIV.

Link to the article:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4156406/WAD%20Alliance%20LAC%20position%20paper.pdf
Travel bar on HIV patients affecting global economy: UNAIDS
Thursday, November 22, 2012 - 13:16 | 2012 | India

NEW DELHI: Nearly 25 years after HIV was detected in India, travel restrictions continue to bar patients from free movement through nations. HIV-related travel restrictions at present exist in 45 countries.

The Global AIDS Epidemic 2012 report, released by UNAIDS on Tuesday, says that the effects of such restrictions are severe for migrant workers, who play an increasingly prominent role in the global economy.

Link to the article:
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-21/india/35257238_1_hiv-positive-hiv-prevention-unaids
Looking at the Dangers of HIV Criminalization
Monday, November 12, 2012 - 11:42 | 2012 | United States

A non-profit’s recent presentation before the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS has helped put the spotlight on HIV criminalization statutes. The organization, Sero, is a non-profit that works to empower people living with HIV and battle stigma relating to HIV. And their stated focus is on ending inappropriate criminal prosecutions of people with HIV for non-disclosure of their HIV status, potential or perceived HIV exposure or HIV transmission.

"These laws were passed to reduce transmission; there’s no evidence they do this and a growing body of evidence demonstrating how they make the epidemic worse," said Sero’s Executive Director, Sean Strub. "They are horrible public health policy, and further the spread of HIV rather than restricting it. They do not facilitate disclosure, they make it more difficult."

Link to the article:
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/health_fitness/hiv_aids/138814/looking_at_the_dangers_of_hiv_criminalization
Controversy continues over HIV disclosure
Thursday, November 1, 2012 - 11:41 | 2012 | Canada

Although Steven Boone's fate has been sealed by a jury, controversy continues over whether a person infected with HIV should by law have to inform sexual partners.

Boone's case, in which he was charged with attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault and administering a noxious substance for intentionally trying to spread the virus to partners, has put a spotlight on a subculture of people who are actively trying to contract the virus, or are trying to give it someone else.

While a person with HIV was once required by law to disclose their status to sexual partners, a recent Supreme Court ruling on the issue states disclosure is not required provided the person has a low viral load and wears a condom.

Link to the article:
http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/10/31/controversy-continues-over-hiv-disclosure