[Viva] Fwd: When your health condition is a crime

[Denise Wozniak]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network / Réseau juridique canadien VIH/sida <
info at aidslaw.ca>
Date: Thu, Sep 17, 2020 at 7:53 AM
Subject: When your health condition is a crime
To: Denise Wozniak <deniseswozniak at gmail.com>


[image: Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network / Réseau juridique canadien
VIH/sida]
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Dear Denise,

The connection between health and human rights has never been clearer.
While the focus lately has been on COVID-19, including the troubling rise
in using the criminal law to control people’s movements, *we are also
deeply concerned about some recent developments in the fight against HIV
criminalization.*

Last month, we saw the latest disappointing court decision in Canada: the
Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by a young man who had been
convicted of aggravated sexual assault for not disclosing his HIV-positive
status before engaging in sexual activity — despite a condom being used
every time. *There was no allegation he misused the condom and no
allegation that he had transmitted HIV. Yet he was sentenced to more than
three years in prison and a lifetime designation as a sex offender.*

We intervened in the appeal, jointly with the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic
Ontario and COCQ-sida, the coalition of HIV organizations in Quebec. We
appeared in court to argue that the correct use of condoms should be enough
to prevent criminal charges, for many reasons — including the expert
consensus of scientists across Canada
<https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=pyZYKkiw1auvK-k2XJnQTQO6p1E7_onR3yw5YzCplKUFBh0Y2I8u_SSLDYIODgqu1_nkKhYihwaZo1hUsw3mcYevuP61mkIKbEDjOklwDVg&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=7>
and
around the world
<https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=GZ04psVz0fwEQVqHVmQW2a-7S5sBziYR4qdOJY0pLV_Lv5qSrlpWuhXIDgUYOalt&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=8>
that
there is no risk of transmission when condoms are used correctly.

The court’s decision to uphold the conviction
<https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=GtEjpIibN2LTC3jXHzM_AJdlg8f_VE50D2jRMvDL9b9u-LE2_R318esYfp2BkhPY9VhoFTl3zAyeIFJkCztwzg&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=9>
is
profoundly troubling. It flies in the face of that science and will lead to
further unjust prosecutions.

*The decision only underscores our call for Criminal Code reform
<https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=48ixpCJtIlVDQaBdFCaO_YECTyAQfTTx3rpWESGxGWcXz-ct8ByyAvnzyOW_P1uJfjy0Jo3Jejo0hpU1zy7TwA&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=10>**,
including changes to put an end to the use of sexual assault laws in this
area.* We’ve been pressing the federal Justice Minister to meet to discuss
this, and we will be looking for more input from members of our
communities, including people living with HIV, in the coming months about
what those reforms might look like. Follow us here, and on Twitter and
Facebook, for more information as our advocacy ramps up.

HIV criminalization isn’t just a domestic issue. We see it in many other
parts of the world as well, and we’re contributing to the global fight-back
with our partners in the HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE movement. This includes
working with advocates in francophone Africa: check out this just-released info
sheet
<https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=_330U6I_5Zok0V3bpDDccBhc7xiYl6u-bKmzGVqJTj3hYN1WYEZ6wzxu3Y3Aid98G1-b1AfXFR-4tf-XImyaXnIs2Fv7qZvSeX7sjI1rGC56TxBgDxankDQ5htXVORi7&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=11>
co-written by our senior policy analyst Cécile Kazatchkine.

As always, none of this work is possible without your support — and we need
it now more than ever, as donors’ attention turns to COVID while overcoming
HIV remains unfinished business. If you’d like to help us continue
advocating for human rights, please consider making a donation or becoming
a member.
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DONATE
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In Solidarity,

Richard and the Legal Network team

This email was sent to deniseswozniak at gmail.com.

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