Ten Facts about HIV Non-Disclosure Legislation in Canada

1. As of January 2014, approximately 155 individuals since 1989 have been criminally charged in Canada for not disclosing their HIV-positive status.

2. After only the United States, Canada has the worldwide highest number of arrests and prosecutions for HIV non-disclosure. Countries including Switzerland, Congo, Guinea, Togo, and Senegal have revised their HIV non-disclosure laws or adopted new legislation limiting the use of criminal law to exclusively cases of intentional transmission.

3. With the exception of a handful of prosecutions related to other sexually transmitted infections, prosecutions for non-disclosure in Canada have focused on HIV only.

4. The charge for non-disclosure is most often for aggravated sexual assault.

Australia: Victoria’s HIV-specific criminal law, Section 19A, finally...

In a joint media release, Living Positive Victoria and the Victorian AIDS Council have welcomed the passage of the Crimes Amendment (Repeal of Section 19A) Act 2015 by the Victorian Parliament. The Act repeals Australia’s only HIV-specific law criminalising the intentional transmission of HIV, section 19A of the Crimes Act 1958, which has been criticised for unfairly targeting and stigmatising people with HIV. The two organisations had called for the repeal of section 19A in the lead-up to the 2014 International AIDS Conference, held in Melbourne, as part of an advocacy effort designed to reduce the incidence of HIV-related criminal prosecutions in Victoria.

Malawi: Commercial Sex Workers Who Were Forced for HIV Test Win Case in Court

Malawi: Commercial Sex Workers Who Were Forced for HIV Test Win Case in Court Published on Wednesday, 20 May 2015 10:44 By Luke Bisani The High Court of Malawi has today ruled that subjecting people to mandatory HIV Test is…

Banning Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria – A Major Step Forward

Last week, as word spread about girls kidnapped by Boko Haram last year returning to their communities having been raped and impregnated, the Nigerian Senate passed the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Bill, which seeks to prohibit multiple forms of gender-based violence including economic abuse, female genital mutilation, and depriving persons of their liberty among others. Globally, 35 percent of women have experienced either intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.

UN Secretary-General Reiterates Commitment to Equality for LGBT People in Video...

High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) launched a video yesterday to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT).  The video is part of the United Nations Free & Equal campaign, which seeks to combat homophobia and transphobia. “Faces: can you see past the label?”