Crime and Punishment

The criminalisation of HIV transmission was a hot topic at the Mexico AIDS conference in August 2008. The IPPF organised satellite session that helped to start the debate.

The People Living with HIV Stigma Index was presented as one way of generating evidence to inform advocacy about important policy issues such as the criminalisation of HIV. 

Several countries have laws that are used to criminalize HIV transmission in order to promote public health. Yet these laws and policies have a negative impact on accessing and uptake of sexual and reproductive health services and promoting health seeking behaviors. The experience of HIV related stigma - especially as felt by people living with HIV - is a reality that many of these laws fail to appreciate. The double stigma felt by vulnerable groups in particular (men who have sex with men; injecting drug users and sex workers and their clients; young women and girls ) is often enhanced by policies that fail to take into account the realities of different people's lives.

The session was interactive and addressed a number of key questions in determining sound HIV policy and practice, including:

  • What are the arguments for and against criminalizing HIV transmission?
  • How does criminalization of HIV affect people living with HIV?
  • Can and should laws and policies be used to ‘control' intimate behaviours?
  • How do issues of race, sexual orientation and gender affect the implementation of policies?
  • What are possible alternatives to criminalizing HIV transmission?

This session was moderated by Dieneke ter Huurne, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and Isaac Tita, GNP+ Cameroon. The speakers were:

  1. Punishments that do not match the ‘crime':  Understanding the impact of criminalizing HIV transmission (Chris Mallouris; Director of Programmes, GNP+)
  2. Race and Immigration: Determinants of a sound policy (Rhon Reynolds; Deputy CEO of African HIV Policy Network)
  3. Making it Worse: Policy implications of Criminalization for MSM (Shivananda Khan, Naz Foundation International)
  4. Into the Firing Line: Placing young women and girls at greater risk ( Alice Welbourn; ICW)
  5. Stigma and Discrimination facing People Living with HIV: Getting the evidence (Lucy Stackpool-Moore, Stigma Officer; IPPF)
  6. Answers and Alternatives: A more nuanced approach towards the criminalization of HIV (Susan Timberlake; Senior Law and Human Rights Advisor; UNAIDS)

Details of the session can be found on the conference website at http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=475.