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Document on criminalisation case on the risk of HIV transmission through exclusive breastfeeding

The purpose of this paper is to report on a recent case of HIV criminalisation that occurred in August 2022, in the province of San Luis, Argentina, where a woman with HIV was criminalised for accessing her right to choose how to exclusively breastfeed her baby.

Please note this is a DEEPL translation of the Spanish report.  

Expert affidavit in E.L. case on the impact of laws applied to criminalise HIV transmission or exposure

Affidavit provided to the High Court from Michaela Clayton, a human rights lawyer with extensive expertise in HIV/AIDS and human rights issues, concluding that, in her expert opinion, HIV criminalisation was unlikely to prevent new infections or reduce women's vulnerability to HIV but could in fact harm women rather than assist them, and also may negatively impact both public health and human rights.

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Undetectable = untransmittable — Public health and HIV viral load suppression

UNAIDS factsheet explaining how twenty years of evidence demonstrate that HIV treatment is highly effective in reducing the transmission of HIV. People living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy who have an undetectable level of HIV in their blood have a negligible risk of transmitting HIV sexually.

Effectiveness of condoms in preventing HIV transmission

Recent meta-analyses of condom effectiveness suggest that condoms are 60 to 70% effective when used for HIV prophylaxis. A re-examination of HIV seroconversion studies suggests that condoms are 90 to 95% effective when used consistently, i.e. consistent condom users are 10 to 20 times less likely to become infected when exposed to the virus than are inconsistent or non-users. Similar results are obtained utilizing model-based estimation techniques, which indicate that condoms decrease the per-contact probability of male-to-female transmission of HIV by about 95%.

Treating HIV-infected people with antiretrovirals significantly reduces transmission to partners: Findings result from NIH-funded international study

Describes findings of the HPTN 052 study: that early initiation of antiretroviral therapy reduced rates of sexual transmission of HIV-1 and clinical events, indicating both personal and public health benefits from such therapy.

Systematic Review of HIV Transmission between Heterosexual Serodiscordant Couples where the HIV-Positive Partner Is Fully Suppressed on Antiretroviral Therapy

Meta-analysis suggests minimal risk of sexual HIV transmission for heterosexual serodiscordant couples when the HIV-positive partner has full viral suppression on cART with caveats regarding information on sexual intercourse type, STIs, and condom use.

HIV Criminalization Laws and Policies Promote Discrimination and Must Be Reformed

States HIV criminalization laws and policies promote discrimination and hinder HIV prevention, care and treatment. Calls for law reform and education.