Reading List

Timeline of State Reforms and Repeals of HIV Criminal Laws, CHLP (2025)

This resource for community advocates from CHLP outlines a timeline of major repeals and reforms to HIV criminal laws in US states that have implemented significant changes since 1994. Originally released in February 2020, it was fully updated in May 2025.

From N’Djamena to SADC & EAC Model Laws and Beyond: Revolutionising approaches to Criminalisation of HIV non-disclosure & exposure

ARASA in collaboration with the HIV Justice Worldwide (HJWW) Consortium, convened a two-day meeting involving policy and law makers, members of the judiciary, lawyers, parliamentarians and representatives from civil society organisations from the East African, SADC regions and global North to revisit alternative approaches towards criminalisation and to accelerate a sustained momentum, strengthen collective action. 

Challenging HIV Criminalisation in the East African Community: A brief for parliamentarians

This brief aims to be an accessible tool for parliamentarians in the East African Community (“EAC”) to understand HIV criminalisation. It aims to equip them with the tools to address misinformation and stigma about HIV with facts, science and human rights, and to develop strategies to rationalise, modernise and improve communities’ legal responses to HIV.

In the era of U=U, disclosure still feels like a ‘grey messy area’ for gay men living with HIV in the US

Summary of a study published in June 2022 on the Taylor & Francis Online website. The qualitative study was conducted in August 2020 with extensive interviews via Zoom with twenty HIV-positive gay men on treatment with undetectable viral loads. Participants were from all regions of the United States and ranged in age from 23 to 62.

Отсутствие передачи ВИЧ от матерей с вирусной супрессией во время грудного вскармливания в сельской Танзании (2018)

Краткий отчет о клинической практике в Танзании, в ходе которой не было обнаружено передачи ВИЧ от матерей, которые оставались на лечении и имели подавленную вирусную нагрузку во время грудного вскармливания. Они заключают: "Грудное вскармливание означает очень низкий риск, если матери придерживаются АРТ".

Доступно только на английском языке

Understanding Criminal Prosecutions for Sexual Transmission of Infection

A report on charges of grievous bodily harm via sexual transmission of infection handled by the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales between 2008-2012, their management and outcomes.

Expert consensus statement on the science of HIV in the context of criminal law

Twenty scientists from regions across the world developed this Expert Consensus Statement to address the use of HIV science by the criminal justice system. Description of the possibility of HIV transmission was limited to acts most often at issue in criminal cases. The authors recommend that caution be exercised when considering prosecution, and encourage governments and those working in legal and judicial systems to pay close attention to the significant advances in HIV science that have occurred over the last three decades to ensure current scientific knowledge informs application of the law in cases related to HIV.

Alternative links
Czech: Expertní prohlášení k vědeckým poznatkům o HIV v kontextu trestního práva , French: Déclaration de consensus d'experts sur la connaissance scientifique relative au VIH dans le contexte du droit pénal, German: Expertenkonsens zur HIV-Wissenschaft im Kontext des Strafrechts, Mandarin: 專家共識聲明:刑法脈絡下的愛滋相關科學, Russian: Заявление об экспертном консенсусе в отношении научных данных о ВИЧ- инфекции в контексте уголовного права , Spanish: Declaración de Consenso de expertos sobre la ciencia relativa al VIH en el contexto del derecho penal

Eminent African Judges Dialogue on HIV related stigma and Discrimination

Describes the 2 day judicial dialogue of judges from Eastern and Southern Africa held in Naorobi, Kenya. Participants included judges, magistrates, lawyers, civil society organisations and people living with HIV.

Developing guidance for HIV prosecutions: an example of harm reduction?

Describes both the process and the outcome of community lobbying the Crown Prosecution Service to develop guidance for prosecutors on HIV cases, and whether this intervention has benefited people living with HIV.

Position Paper: The Need for New Charge Assessment Guidelines: HIV Non-Disclosure in British Columbia

Outlines different ways to address HIV non-disclosure: charge assessment guidelines, a public health approach, and prosecutorial guidelines. Provides recommendations.