This month sees the publication of a ‘Consensual Statement’ by Australian medical professionals on ‘Sexual Transmission and the Law’. This draws on a similar Canadian ‘Consensus Statement’ issued in 2014. The involvement of the law in this area remains a highly controversial matter. It is easy to assume that UNAIDS policies underlining the public health […]
Category: HIV & the law
Health professionals violate human rights of sex workers in Kenya
‘Key’ populations – such as sex workers – are now seen as crucial to turning the tide of the HIV epidemic. Given the recognized epidemiological potential of such marginalized groups to act as ‘bridging populations’ into the wider population, much importance has rightly been attached to countering the kind of routine violations of human […]
Indiana State ban on Needle Share programmes faces challenge of an IDU-fuelled HIV spike
In 2011 18.5% of HIV infections in the US were attributable to intravenous drug-use (IDU) – a significant proportion (Lansky & Wejnert (STIs)). The issue of IDU fuelled HIV transmission has been brought forcibly to the attention of Americans in the last few weeks by the recent HIV outbreak in Scott County, Indiana, US. This […]
HIV criminalization: do service providers have a responsibility to protect sexual third parties or public health?
It is a criminal offence in the UK (as in some other countries) to transmit HIV “intentionally” or “recklessly”. Community advocates claim there have been over 200 investigations in the UK regarding HIV transmission on grounds of recklessness, leading to 20 prosecutions (http://www.hivandthelaw.com/information/fast-facts). (Canada & the US lead the world for HIV criminalization with a […]