Reading List

Check – Rise and Decriminalise

In this issue of Check, you will find information about drug laws in the region, the spectrum of drug policy, what are alternatives to punishment for drug crimes and what is not, interviews with leaders of the Rise & Decriminalize movement, and other stories about drug policy in the region. The Rise & Decriminalize Movement unites 5 regional networks – ECOM, EHRA, ENPUD, EWNA & SWAN – and is tailored to commonly advocate for the rights of vulnerable populations, including LGBTQI+, people who use drugs, women living with HIV, and sex workers.

The ABC’s of HIV law reform in Latin America and the Caribbean

We interviewed key players in the Latin American and the Caribbean region to understand what led to law reform in three countries between 2019 and 2023: Argentina (2022), Belize (2023) and Colombia (2019). While the process in each country was, and always is, a product of factors unique to the local context and cannot be replicated exactly, lessons can be drawn from these case studies that are likely to be relevant to other countries.

Enforcement of HIV Criminalization in Louisiana

Using data obtained from the Louisiana Incident-Based Reporting System and from the state’s most populous parishes, this study examines the enforcement of HIV criminalization laws in Louisiana since 2011.

Enforcement of HIV Criminalization in Tennessee

Williams Institute analysis of data from the state of Tennessee about individuals who were convicted of an HIV crime and placed on the state’s sex offender registry (SOR). In addition to the registry data, the report also analyses detailed data from 77 case files of those on Tennessee’s SOR who resided and were prosecuted in Shelby County, home of Memphis.

Does U=U for breastfeeding mothers and infants? Breastfeeding by mothers on effective treatment for HIV infection in high-income settings (2018)

Can the campaign Undetectable=Untransmittable (U=U), established for the sexual transmission of HIV, be applied to the transmission of HIV through breastfeeding? A group of global experts propose a roadmap for collaborative research to provide the missing evidence required to enable mothers who wish to breastfeed to make a fully informed choice.

The Intersection of Sex Work 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 sex work and HIV, noting both disproportionately affect people from marginalised communities. Urges the building of stronger linkages across HIV criminalisation and sex work movements, and provides tips to make advocacy more inclusive, effective, collaborative and transformative.

The East African Legislative Assembly passes the EAC HIV & AIDS Prevention and Management Bill

April 2012 passing of the HIV & AIDS Prevention bill by the East African Legislative Assembly (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi). The bill offers a constructive alternative to the N’Djamena Model Laws promoting HIV criminalisation. The Bill followed strong actions by civil society including numerous stakeholder meetings of civil society and politicians.

Who? What? Where? When? And with what consequences?: An analysis of criminal cases of HIV non-disclosure in Canada

Explores the evolution of the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure in Canada, focusing on “criminalization creep”: increasing numbers of people being charged with increasingly severe crimes.

U.S. HIV Laws and Prosecutorial Tools, CHLP (updated 2022)

This chart from the Center for HIV Law and Policy, developed in 2013 and last updated in 2022, details each U.S. state’s HIV-specific laws in relation to various areas including spitting, biting, sharing needles, sex, and sex work, as well as HIV-specific sentence enhancement.

Доклад Специального докладчика по вопросу о праве каждого человека на наивысший достижимый уровень физического и психического здоровья

В отчете четко определены и описаны несколько способов, с помощью которых криминализация подрывает эффективность мер в ответ на ВИЧ.