HIV Media Guidance
These guidelines are intended to assist reporters, journalists, and the media in creating fair and ethical stories about people living with HIV and HIV policy, prevention and treatment. It is critical that the media uphold the highest standards for fair and ethical journalism when covering HIV.
Reporters covering HIV and related topics have a duty to the public to fully understand the current landscape and accurately cover it. Public awareness and education are important factors in reducing the transmission of HIV and shaping public policy. Studies show that media coverage of HIV often contributes to increased stigma.
The Impact of Criminalisation on Sex Workers’ Vulnerability to HIV and Violence
This policy brief examines the impact of laws that criminalise sex work, informed by NSWP members’ submissions to an e-consultation. It examines the impact of criminalisation at three distinct phases: the surveillance and policing of sex workers prior to arrest; arrest and formal involvement of the criminal justice system; and release and return to the community. The paper covers various areas of law and law enforcement practices that disproportionately impact sex workers, including immigration laws, policing of public spaces, anti-LGBTQ laws, HIV criminalisation and religious codes.
HIV Criminalization in the United States: A Sourcebook on State and Federal HIV Criminal Law and Practice, CHLP (updated January 2024)
"This resource for lawyers and community advocates outlines punitive laws, policies, and cases affecting people living with HIV (PLHIV) and other communicable diseases in all 50 states, the military, federal prisons, and U.S. territories. This Third Edition of the Sourcebook was originally published in 2017 and was updated in January 2024." CHLP
«СПИДоносец, сколько человек заразила?»
Интервью с женщиной, живущей с ВИЧ, участницей программы заместительной поддерживающей терапии, пострадавшей от криминализации ВИЧ в Таджикистане. Узнайте, как на практике используется статья о постановке в угрозу инфицирования ВИЧ, как женщин с ВИЧ могут забрать в тюрьму просто со свадьбы, как в местах несвободы люди могут остаться без жизненно важного лечения и как неправительственные организации, активисты и активистки помогают людям, пострадавшим от криминализации ВИЧ.
Community Insights in Phylogenetic HIV Research: The CIPHR Project Protocol
Protocol for engaging community activists living in Nairobi, Kenya in a knowledge exchange process: Drawing upon a community-based participatory approach, the CIPHR project will (1) explore the possibilities and limitations of HIV molecular epidemiology for key population programmes, (2) pilot a community-based HIV molecular study, and (3) co-develop policy guidelines on conducting ethically safe HIV molecular epidemiology. Critical dialogue with activist communities will offer insight into the potential uses and abuses of using such information to sharpen HIV prevention programmes. The outcome of this process holds importance to the development of policy frameworks that will guide the next generation of the global response.
Factsheet Uzbekistan 2022
The Republic of Uzbekistan has repeatedly received recommendations from the treaty bodies to amend the Criminal Code and repeal both Articles 113 and 120 as such that lead to systematic violations. The Republic of Uzbekistan systematically ignores all such comments and recommendations, despite having committed to comply with international regulations.
This factsheet summarises violations from international regulations and recommendations from the treaty bodies.
Attitudes of infectious disease doctors and epidemiologists at AIDS centres towards the criminalization of HIV in the Russian Federation
Survey Conducted to examine the attitudes of infectious disease specialists and epidemiologists at AIDS Centres towards the criminalisation of HIV in Russia.
- Alternative links
- Russian
HIV Criminalisation in the EU/EEA: a comparative 10 country report
In 2018-2019 the European HIV Legal Forum conducted a project on HIV-criminalization in 10 EU Member States (Austria, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and the United Kingdom). The project produced a comparative legal report based on legal survey launched in the 10 countries. One of the main findings of the project showed that regardless of scientific advance in understanding the risk of HIV infection, there is a gap between the scientific knowledge and the understanding of judges, prosecutors and police of the issue due to lack of trainings and national guidelines and media still plays an important but negative role in shaping the discussion around HIV-criminalisation thus sustaining and increasing the stigma against people living with HIV. The report also shows that HIV-criminalisation disproportionately affects key populations, women, people of colour, and the poor and homeless.
The Threat Lives On: How to Exclude Expectant Mothers from Prosecution for Mere Exposure of HIV to their Fetuses and Infants (2015)
This article articulates how the threat of prosecution of mothers living with HIV who expose or transfer the virus to their foetuses or newborn will discourage and scare women away from seeking proper medical treatment instead of encouraging HIV treatment and prevention. It also explores how HIV-specific criminal transmission laws in the United States could hamper and stifle the progress in prevention and treatment of vertical transmission. It concludes by proposing a model for change in addressing these HIV-specific criminal transmission statutes.
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- Traduction française automatisée
Breastfeeding with HIV: An Evidence-Based Case for New Policy (2019)
A review of the benefits and risks of breastfeeding for mothers living with HIV, and recommendations that the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) include breastfeeding as an option for people living with HIV on suppressive antiretroviral therapy who maintain an undetectable viral load.
A Litigation Guide on Crimes of Sex Working and Homosexuality
This an English Summary of the book “A Litigation Guide on Crimes of Sex Working and Homosexuality (Prostitution and Debauchery) “. The book aims to provide a litigation guide and a legal overview of principles and procedures to legal advocates and whoever wishes to know more about “prostitution” or “debauchery” crimes under Egyptian law.
Криминализация ВИЧ-инфекции — Серия информационных бюллетеней по правам человека
Серия информационных бюллетеней по правам человека: Криминализация ВИЧ-инфекции; ВИЧ и люди, употребляющие наркотики; ВИЧ, геи и другие мужчины, практикующие секс с мужчинами; ВИЧ, трансгендерные и другие гендерно разнообразные люди; ВИЧ и секс-работа; ВИЧ и люди в местах лишения свободы; ВИЧ, стигма и дискриминация.
Media reporting: HIV and the Criminal Law
This guide is an evidence-based resource to assist journalists in Canada in reporting responsibly and accurately about alleged HIV non-disclosure and resulting criminal cases.
The Intersection of Syringe Use and HIV Criminalization: An Advocate’s Toolkit
This 2017 toolkit from The Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP) and the National LGBTQ Task Force highlights intersections between the criminalisation of injecting drug use and HIV, noting people living with HIV who inject are criminalised in multiple ways including by laws targeting sharing equipment; purchasing, possessing or distributing equipment; drug possession and use; and HIV exposure, non-disclosure and transmission. Notes repeated calls to address substance use as a public health issue, and provides tips to make advocacy more intentional, intersectional, inclusive, and effective.
Investigation Guidance relating to the Criminal Transmission of HIV for police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Sets out how prosecutors should deal with cases where there is an allegation that the suspect/defendant has passed an infection to the complainant during the course of consensual sexual activity. States the criminality of this offending lies in the mens rea, so relevant offences will be difficult to prove to the requisite high standard, to satisfy the evidential stage of the Code test and in the court itself. Also warns of other sensitivities: the relationship between the criminal law and consensual sexual behaviour is delicate.
The HIV Media Guide
Provides journalists with tools to ensure that media reports on HIV are accurate and sensitive. With tips for best practice, links to useful resources and a section on HIV criminalisation.
Per-contact probability of HIV transmission in homosexual men in Sydney in the era of HAART
Reports data from a longitudinal cohort study of community-based HIV-negative homosexual men in Sydney, Australia. Reports risk of infection through unprotected anal intercourse.
Heterosexual risk of HIV-1 infection per sexual act: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
Reports findings from systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies of the risk of HIV-1 transmission per heterosexual contact (43 publications based on 25 studies).
HIV forensics: pitfalls and acceptable standards in the use of phylogenetic analysis as evidence in criminal investigations of HIV transmission
Considers the usefulness of phylogenetic analysis in HIV criminal trials, finding that phylogenetic analysis cannot prove that HIV transmission occurred directly between two individuals. Explains that phylogenetic analysis can exonerate individuals by demonstrating that the defendant carried a virus strain unrelated to that of the complainant.
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- Français, Español, Русский, HIV Medicine Wiley Online Library
Report on assessment of the legal environment for HIV and AIDS in Lesotho
Designed to help governments and civil society review laws and policies based on human rights, and increase capacity to achieve enabling legal environments. Includes recommendations on criminalisation at p.38.
Numerosos Jueces ilustres se reúnen para tratar el VIH, los derechos humanos y la legislación
Describe un encuentro de unos 30 jueces de los más altos tribunales nacionales de 16 países de la región de Asia y Pacífico. En la reunión se trató el papel del poder judicial en la respuesta al VIH. También se debatió sobre qué medidas específicas se pueden adoptar para crear un entorno jurídico y social más favorable para las personas con el VIH o están en situación de vulnerabilidad frente al mismo en la región.