Reading List

HIV Criminalization in Latin America and the Caribbean: Advances and Challenges

The 2024 report by the Action Network for Justice for People Affected by HIV/AIDS (Action Network) documents legal cases in the region where individuals are penalized for conduct linked to their HIV status, even in the absence of evidence of transmission or intent to cause harm. The report also notes instances involving serious offenses such as sexual violence or pedophilia, which the Action Network unequivocally condemns.

Factum of the Interveners at the Supreme Court of Canada: R v. Mabior and R v. D.C.

Questions whether the offence of aggravated sexual assault can and should be established for HIV non-disclosure in circumstances where, in the Interveners’ submission, there is no “significant risk” of transmission because of factors that dramatically reduce that risk, such as the use of condoms or an undetectable or low viral load

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.

Alternative links
Français, Español, Русский, HIV Medicine Wiley Online Library

Legal and clinical implications of HIV non-disclosure: A practical guide for HIV nurses in Canada

Provides guidance on the complexities many nurses face working with people living with HIV including how to document advice on disclosure and responding to a search warrant.