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

Thu Sep 17 09:26:52 PDT 2020

It's a terrible situation, Danielle, and we are all worried about how this
could be used against us. I remember breaking up with a guy and he said he
would say I didn't tell him, even though I did. He was joking but I didn't
find it funny at all.  In addition, I had someone try to date rape me and
then all the police cared about was "did I tell him I was HIV positive"!  I
have been told by people from HIV agencies that the best thing you can do
is secretly tape yourself telling them or even have them sign a form. I
made my boyfriend go for a test so that I couldn't be blamed if he already
had it and I had a fb conversation with him to tell him I had it.  That way
it was in writing.  It's very scary.

Denise

On Thu, Sep 17, 2020 at 9:12 AM Danielle Lucia <northern.islander at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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]
>> <https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=zq8TfIHHXN5cRL84O6AVVmTZVPW4pbkp6-R4W1fPY3X_VGPjYIVTmylTl02EKht49cZOyg6_Bgrf-K7sPzWpE7c5ZzVbTikp_5brb6SSq7QsoMBKb5a2Yd6rnyF_BSJw&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=1>
>>
>> <https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=27Ax0UmWOX2J8J_QwK9Z6tunPiUMR0Xf8q0aHrzKnLztEOWyQerXpVCHSRek_2wg-6f_xG5FSapSX1fTBcFYtw&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=2>
>> <https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=YqgukYA3Mrlri-dqG7I8TmyLMVCU9gXammowyB3HT6s&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=3>
>> <https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=GQ96LxW7tJscudkL8mlwN5fRcl7LqYucrTd864x0JvX1K8DDMSOupzMkprEP6kQn&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=4>
>> <https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=R_yogbJO7Be0XxyYK8z-Xo66Bpa48qD_qGAc3I6eqHM1oGvEUnn7tbvgEUZzKomJ&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=5>
>> <https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=pyZYKkiw1auvK-k2XJnQTYMNdlMzXUKWJYZ9oBgvSnE&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=6>
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> <https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=g1Yr1kNy927u9RF9cdLWSlk_RI48HNcBvlFGQ51khmrTOXirtczwQnJOIW0SG19miKylPVjwJcrpu4_vFwVdWw&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=12>
>> DONATE
>> <https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/r?u=g1Yr1kNy927u9RF9cdLWSlk_RI48HNcBvlFGQ51khmrTOXirtczwQnJOIW0SG19miKylPVjwJcrpu4_vFwVdWw&e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=13>
>>
>> <https://aidslaw.nationbuilder.com/membership?e=838dac902fb2eacd64cf7df8a62336a5&utm_source=aidslaw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=communique_hiv_crim&n=14> BECOME
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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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>> .
>>
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>>
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