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

Thu Sep 17 09:12:16 PDT 2020

We with HIV are in a frightening state of precarious existence.  In my
younger life, I was once threatened with an assault by HIV charge by
someone I was never sexually involved with (because I wouldn't have sex
with him due to my HIV status and his unwillingness to disclose his own
status).  Nothing ever came of it, but the time was fraught with emotional
upset and trauma.  I didn't know, still don't clearly understand, what the
result of an untrue accusation would be through court procedure.

On Thu, 17 Sep 2020 at 08:06, Denise Wozniak <deniseswozniak at gmail.com>
wrote:

>
>
> ---------- 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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> In Solidarity,
>
> Richard and the Legal Network team
>
> This email was sent to deniseswozniak at gmail.com.
>
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