CRIMINALISATION OF HIV NON-DISCLOSURE, EXPOSURE AND TRANSMISSION

Despite the progress of scientific evidence and recent positive developments in practice of investigations and prosecutions in some European countries, criminalisation of HIV transmission and exposure remains a key issue both for PLHIV and preventative measures across Europe.

AAE has been increasingly involved in activities around advocacy against HIV-criminalisation and in 2017 decided to include the topic as one of our thematic areas for 2018-2021.

Criminalisation of HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission: Service

ACTIVITIES

Within the framework of this core thematic area the European HIV Legal Forum, a project of AIDS Action Europe, launched in 2018 a project on monitoring and benchmarking legislation relevant to HIV criminalisation in order to advocate for policy changes.

The legal report was finalised in 2020. It's main finding showed that regardless of scientific advance in understanding the risk of HIV infection, there is a gap between the scientific knowledge and the understanding of judges, prosecutors and police of the issue due to lack of trainings and national guidelines and media still plays an important but negative role in shaping the discussion around HIV-criminalisation thus sustaining and increasing the stigma against people living with HIV. The report also shows that HIV-criminalisation disproportionately affects key populations, women, people of colour, and the poor and homeless. The AAE Office is working on a policy brief addressing these issues that will be launched in Q4 of 2020.

In 2019 AIDS Action Europe Steering Committee decided to take the topic of HIV criminalisation up in 2019 AAE Member and Partner Meeting and combine it with partner notification and the impact criminalisation has on partner notification. The meeting took place in Berlin on Saturday, October 19 and was attended by 41 participants representing member and partner organisations from 23 countries from the WHO European Region. Read more about the meeting here.

AAE also contributes to the work of HIV Justice Worldwide, where AIDS Action Europe is part of the Steering Committee.

Criminalisation of HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission: What We Do