News 1
posted: 03/03/2008
Two Trials and Police Review, and Manchester School Discrimination
Two Trials and Police Review
In early October 2007 a Manchester man was charged with both reckless and deliberate Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) for transmitting HIV to a woman partner. He was held in prison for over four months until the case was dramatically dismissed by the judge at Manchester Crown Court. The maximum sentence for reckless GBH is 5 years.
Dismissing the case, Judge Rudland said "it would be an injustice to proceed" and that he was influenced by the rulings of judges in the last two cases. This is the third case in a row where the Crown has failed to obtain a conviction. The judge used the Crown Prosecution Service's own new policy for prosecuting HIV transmission cases against them, saying they should use advanced virology to attempt to rule out an accused person and must also rule out all other possible sexual partners of the complainant.
Meanwhile in Leicester, another prosecution will go to full trial in September and this is expected to take a week.
Police Review
A detailed review of how different police forces have investigated HIV transmission cases is already under way for the Association of Chief Police Officers.
George House Trust is working with other experts to produce a best practice guide to improve how police investigate HIV transmission complaints. One likely recommendation will be to transfer these investigations to police sexual offences units which deal with all other sexual crimes.
Sexual offences units would be better because they are expert in dealing sensitively with complainants, handling and obtaining sensitively the evidence and in better handling the accused and other sexual partners.
Manchester School Discrimination
Racial harassment forced one family using George House Trust services to move to a different part of Manchester. The child was all set to start at a new school and the main carer told the Head that the child is HIV positive. The Head said if the child went to that school he would have to tell every teacher and every parent that the child was positive. Needless to say the child then went to a different school.
Clearly illegal, and an over the top panic reaction, but making a formal complaint risks further stigma, gambles with the family’s confidentiality and takes great strength and resources when living with a chronic illness. NAT
Schools Pack guidance http://www.nat.org.uk/page/3549
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