HIV and Law Book

posted: 28/10/2010

HIV & the criminal law  is now for sale. The book was launched as a free web resource during the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, and now you can buy it in print from the NAM shop.
 

HIV & the criminal law explores the issues relating to the criminalisation of HIV exposure and transmission around the world, with information on current laws and practice internationally.

Produced in a handy A5 size, HIV & the criminal law is normally £34.95, but you can buy it with £5 off, at their special introductory price of £29.95.
 

Contact NAM for more details, or to place an order, on 020 7840 0050 or by emailing.
 

Police HIV Investigations

posted: 19/08/2010

The key guides for the police investigation of claims of HIV transmission are now available freely on the web. George House Trust helped NAT's work with the Association of Chief Police Officers on these guides.

The police realised that they were reinventing the wheel every time they began a new investigation and that some investigations could be done very much better.

These new guides mean police should now always investigate allegations of criminal HIV transmission in a way which is:
• consistent with Crown Prosecution Service prosecution policy for HIV prosecutions
• well informed about HIV, from both a clinical and a social point of view
• respects human rights and confidentiality
• timely and does not prolong investigations.
 

It's all on POLKA

The complete Guidance is available to all police officers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland via the Police Online Knowledge Area (POLKA) hosted by the National Police Improvement Agency.

Key papers available to all 

NAT now have on their website the key documents so that people with HIV, and organisations supporting people with HIV, know what the police should be doing and best police practice.

• Police Investigation flowchart: This flowchart sets out the whole investigation process
• HIV Key facts: This tells the police key information on HIV, including basic biological and clinical facts, information on PEP, HIV testing, HIV treatments and discrimination issues
• Accused under 18?: This alerts the police how to take special care where the accused is under 18
• Communication Strategy: This guides police about publicity during and after investigations, confidentiality and media relations
• Evidential Flowchart: This key document sets out the evidential steps that must be covered in any investigation, to help avoid unnecessary intrusion and ensure the appropriate evidence is collected. They can't move on to the next invetigation stage until they have collected the necessary evidence. 
• Initial contact with STI / GUM clinics: This advises police to use STI / GUM clinics to contact any new people of interest to them rather than by the police making contact and shocking unprepared people with the news that they may have HIV
• NAT is preparing a simple Q&A on police investigations for people with HIV, which will soon be available on the same NAT webpage.

Hepatitis investigations too

Similar guidance for investigating possible cases of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C transmission is also available. Contact NAT for these.

Police HIV investigation guidelines

These guidelines are a response to the Policing Transmission report.

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facebook - Disability Hate Crime Network

posted: 30/07/2010

People interested in stopping HIV hate and other forms of disability hate crime can join the facebook self-help group.

Fighting HIV and disability hate crime, bullying, abuse, and stigma is a big current issue with a major Inquiry collecting evidence of the problem. You can find out more about the Inquiry and how to tell your story here.

HIV Policy expert Chris Morley of George House Trust was interviewed at length about the hate crime experiences and impacts on people living with HIV, what works in combating HIV stigma as part of this Inquiry. But people's first hand accounts really need to be heard.

Join the facebook Disability Hate Crime Network here.

Malawi, HIV and Jailing Gay Men

posted: 24/05/2010

UPDATED 2 June - see at end

The Stop AIDS Campaign says that it is with grave dismay that they learnt of the imprisonment of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga (the Malawian gay couple jailed for 14 years with hard labour). They join with numerous southern African organisations in condemning the decision and the impact it will have on the individuals and the principle of universal human rights.

The denial of human rights of all kinds has a very negative effect on the response to HIV. Men who have sex with men are at risk of HIV transmission in all regions of the world, including Africa. The more marginalised they become, the higher the risk, and this decision – which runs contrary to stated government policy on HIV and the rights enshrined in the constitution of Malawi – will drive them further away from the information and services essential to an effective HIV response. Stigma and discrimination have potent consequences – countless thousands have died from HIV as a result of silence and fear.
 

A commitment to human rights is essential to securing equitable and fair development. It must be an intrinsic part of the effort to end the spread of HIV. The eyes of the world are now on the government of Malawi. We have written to the Malawi high commission calling on them to demonstrate its government's commitment to universal human rights and an effective, inclusive Aids response by releasing the men and moving to repeal laws which deny human rights. We also call on them to take action to combat homophobia in Malawi and to lead an honest and open dialogue on the impact of discrimination against key populations, such as men who have sex with men, drug users and sex workers, on the African Aids response.
 

Alan Smith
Chair, Stop Aids Campaign
 

Source - letter to the Guardian 
 

Malawi already knows what to do

It was just over one year ago that the Malawian president's secretary for nutrition and HIV told Malawi's HIV conference that a key need is to follow a human rights approach to HIV that includes gay men. 

Recognizing the rights of Malawi's gay population is essential if the spread of HIV is to be checked, the president's secretary for nutrition and HIV said. "There is a need to incorporate a human rights approach in the delivery of HIV and AIDS services to such risk groups like men who have sexual intercourse with men," Mary Shawa said at the opening of a two-day AIDS conference in Lilongwe.

1 in 4 gay Malawian men have HIV

While prevention campaigns are credited with lowering Malawi's overall HIV prevalence from 14% to 12%, the Center for the Development of People, which serves the gay community, estimates that 25% of Malawi's gay men are HIV-positive.

2 June UPDATE

Malawi Pardons Couple

Although the Malawian President has pardoned the gay couple who were jailed for the 14 years maximum with hard labour, they have now been separated and forced to live apart. And the human rights and HIV prevention problems for men who have sex with men in Malawi remain unaffected by the President’s decision.
 

A gay couple sentenced to serve 14 years in jail in Malawi were pardoned after their country's president met Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general. Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, were tried and found guilty of sodomy and indecency earlier this month in a move that sparked international condemnation.
 

But after talking with Ban, Malawi's president, Bingu wa Mutharika, announced the pair would be freed.
"These boys committed a crime against our culture, our religion and our laws," he said after the meeting, at State House. "However, as the head of state, I hereby pardon them and therefore ask for their immediate release with no conditions. I have done this on humanitarian grounds, but this does not mean that I support this." He added: "We don't condone marriages of this nature. It's unheard of in Malawi and it's illegal."
 

Ban praised the decision, but said: "It is unfortunate that laws criminalise people based on sexuality. Laws that criminalise sexuality should be repealed."
 

He is due to address Malawi's national assembly later and is expected to ask legislators to look at this.
Joseph Amon from Human Rights Watch said the president was responding to the international outcry following the couple's conviction and sentence.
 

"I hope that other leaders of African countries with anti-gay laws see that this is just not acceptable in the international community," he said.
 

Source
 

Action Against HIV Hate

posted: 21/05/2010

People with HIV now have the same protection as other victims of disability hate crime. The Crown Prosecution Service has updated its official guidance on disability hate crime, and has now added HIV. This official guidance is used by prosecutors and police.
 

Disability hate crime means anything from HIV abuse in the street, to a burglary where someone spray paints HIV abuse on your kitchen wall. Any crime where HIV hate plays some part is a HIV hate crime. Sentences are then increased for the HIV-hate part of the main crime – which is the one that's prosecuted : insulting behaviour, harassment, burglary etc.
 

Unprotected?
Until HIV was added to this official guidance, it was unclear whether the legal definition of disability used for hate crime cases included everyone with HIV. It looked like many people with HIV were unprotected from disability hate crime.

There seemed to be a loophole in disability protection for people with HIV. When disability hate crime was made illegal, this was at a time when some people with HIV were not treated by the law as ‘disabled’ and therefore had no legal protection. Later disability law was extended to cover everyone with HIV from the moment of diagnosis. But the CPS guidance ignored this law change.
 

Evidence for change
George House Trust and other HIV organisations champion the fair treatment and protection of all people with HIV and NAT has led the national campaign since 2008. Working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, NAT told the CPS that their disability hate crime guidance excluded people living with HIV and provided the evidence to back it up.

A serious case of assault in Manchester, where the HIV hate was ignored in the sentencing by the court was one example of the problems.
 

The reality of HIV stigma means it is vitally important that people living with HIV receive the same protection as other disabled people. The CPS revised their guidance, making it clear that people living with HIV are included within the definition of disability.
 

Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT, commented: “The publication of this revised guidance brings to an end the legal disadvantage faced by people living with HIV who are victims of hate crime. By issuing this statement, the CPS has sent out a clear message that HIV-related hate crime will not be tolerated.”
 

Nadine Tilbury, Senior Legal Advisor for the CPS, said: “The assistance of the NAT in providing data and expertise during our review of our legal guidelines on prosecuting cases of disability hate crime was invaluable. We welcome all such help from organisations and individuals and, where it makes a clear case for change or clarification, we will act on it. Crimes against people living with HIV which are motivated by hostility towards their status have no place in our society and we will prosecute those responsible robustly and, where there is sufficient evidence to do so, we will apply to the court for more severe sentences.”

What the change means
If a person is a victim of crime because of their HIV status, this can now be considered an aggravating factor by the courts, leading to enhanced sentences for the perpetrators of such crimes.

NAT will now be working with organisations that support people living with HIV to ensure they are aware of this recent development and can support people living with HIV that are victims of hate crime.
 

People living in NW England are encouraged to contact our services team for advice and support.