IPPF: HIV and the law
International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) lanserte under den Internasjonale Aids-konferansen i Wien i 2010 sin kampanje "Criminalize hate, not HIV" - for å øke bevisstheten rundt kriminalisering av hiv-smitte og hvordan en slik kriminalisering påvirker arbeidet med å redusere stigmatisering og diskriminering av mennesker som lever med hiv, samt andre deler av befolkningen som også rammes av slik lovgivning.
Nå har denne kampanjen lansert et nettbasert verktøy som skal hjelpe de som lever med hiv og de som jobber med temaet til å finne ut mer om lover og politikk som føres verden over, og det skal også kunne være til hjelp for lovgivere - slik at de kan lære mer om innvirkningen kriminalisering av hiv kan ha. Se her.
Under følger pressemeldingen fra IPPF.
PRESS RELEASE
London, 1st December 2011 - On World AIDS Day, the campaign to end the use of criminal laws to criminalize the transmission of HIV, and in some cases exposure to HIV, is launching an online tool to help people living with HIV, campaigners and activists around the world to find out more about laws and policies which may affect them directly. The tool is also to help policy makers learn more about the impact of such legislation and can be found at www.hivandthelaw.com
The Criminalize Hate Not HIV campaign has been launched by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) to counter the alarming international trend in recent years towards the criminalization of HIV transmission, and argues for an evidence-based approach to HIV prevention that does not increase the stigma surrounding HIV and protects the human rights of people living with HIV.
Kevin Osborne, Senior Adviser on HIV at IPPF, said:
"The last decade has seen the criminal law become part of national responses to HIV and to promoting public health; yet the criminal law is a blunt instrument for HIV prevention. All current evidence points towards criminalization hampering an effective response to HIV prevention, and towards criminal laws being ineffective in protecting the most vulnerable from infection. Criminalize Hate Not HIV is concerned that these laws increase stigma and discourage health seeking behaviour."
In a new report by Anand Grover, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, released to the General Assembly in August 2011, wrote: "Realization of the right to health requires the removal of barriers that interfere with individual decision-making on health-related issues and with access to health services, education and information ... In cases where a barrier is created by a criminal law or other legal restriction, it is the obligation of the State to remove it."
Although difficult to know exactly, 41 countries - 20 per cent of the countries in the world - have laws under which HIV transmission or exposure has been prosecuted under either general criminal or public health laws or HIV specific legislation. In terms of HIV specific laws, 63 countries have criminal provisions relating to HIV transmission or exposure in at least one jurisdiction - 27 in Africa, 13 in Asia, 11 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 9 in Europe and 2 in Oceania and 1 in North America. Of these, 17 countries have prosecuted individuals for HIV transmission or exposure under HIV specific laws.
A much anticipated report from the Global Commission on HIV and the Law is expected to be published in December. The commission has documented evidence of the nature and impact of using the law in the HIV response and will showcase some of the human rights abuses that people living with HIV have faced.
Tewodros Melesse, Director General of IPPF, said:
"HIV does not discriminate; so neither should the law. All people - regardless of race, gender, HIV status, age, sexual orientation or religion - share the same human rights and the same responsibilities.
"It is our view that the punitive nature of laws used to criminalize HIV transmission breaches the human rights of people living with HIV. We greatly look forward to the Global Commission's report, in anticipation that it will categorically support the view that human rights must be respected and that the criminalization of HIV transmission is a violation of human rights that must end.
"Legal changes, such as anti-discrimination laws and confidentiality laws, have strengthened the response to HIV prevention, but there is no evidence that the criminalization of HIV transmission can be used as a prevention tool, in fact these are bad laws that do the opposite. Governments should recognize this and remove these laws from the statute book. We are asking:
London, 1st December 2011 - On World AIDS Day, the campaign to end the use of criminal laws to criminalize the transmission of HIV, and in some cases exposure to HIV, is launching an online tool to help people living with HIV, campaigners and activists around the world to find out more about laws and policies which may affect them directly. The tool is also to help policy makers learn more about the impact of such legislation and can be found at www.hivandthelaw.com
The Criminalize Hate Not HIV campaign has been launched by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) to counter the alarming international trend in recent years towards the criminalization of HIV transmission, and argues for an evidence-based approach to HIV prevention that does not increase the stigma surrounding HIV and protects the human rights of people living with HIV.
Kevin Osborne, Senior Adviser on HIV at IPPF, said:
"The last decade has seen the criminal law become part of national responses to HIV and to promoting public health; yet the criminal law is a blunt instrument for HIV prevention. All current evidence points towards criminalization hampering an effective response to HIV prevention, and towards criminal laws being ineffective in protecting the most vulnerable from infection. Criminalize Hate Not HIV is concerned that these laws increase stigma and discourage health seeking behaviour."
In a new report by Anand Grover, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, released to the General Assembly in August 2011, wrote: "Realization of the right to health requires the removal of barriers that interfere with individual decision-making on health-related issues and with access to health services, education and information ... In cases where a barrier is created by a criminal law or other legal restriction, it is the obligation of the State to remove it."
Although difficult to know exactly, 41 countries - 20 per cent of the countries in the world - have laws under which HIV transmission or exposure has been prosecuted under either general criminal or public health laws or HIV specific legislation. In terms of HIV specific laws, 63 countries have criminal provisions relating to HIV transmission or exposure in at least one jurisdiction - 27 in Africa, 13 in Asia, 11 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 9 in Europe and 2 in Oceania and 1 in North America. Of these, 17 countries have prosecuted individuals for HIV transmission or exposure under HIV specific laws.
A much anticipated report from the Global Commission on HIV and the Law is expected to be published in December. The commission has documented evidence of the nature and impact of using the law in the HIV response and will showcase some of the human rights abuses that people living with HIV have faced.
Tewodros Melesse, Director General of IPPF, said:
"HIV does not discriminate; so neither should the law. All people - regardless of race, gender, HIV status, age, sexual orientation or religion - share the same human rights and the same responsibilities.
"It is our view that the punitive nature of laws used to criminalize HIV transmission breaches the human rights of people living with HIV. We greatly look forward to the Global Commission's report, in anticipation that it will categorically support the view that human rights must be respected and that the criminalization of HIV transmission is a violation of human rights that must end.
"Legal changes, such as anti-discrimination laws and confidentiality laws, have strengthened the response to HIV prevention, but there is no evidence that the criminalization of HIV transmission can be used as a prevention tool, in fact these are bad laws that do the opposite. Governments should recognize this and remove these laws from the statute book. We are asking:
- Governments to redouble their prevention efforts and focus on what really does work
- Policy makers and journalists not to sensationalize the lives of people living with HIV but rather involve them and let them tell their story
- People living with HIV to inform themselves of their rights and know what the law says and how it could affect them
- The wider community to share responsibility for actions that may lead to the transmission of HIV and other STIs
- Everyone to know their HIV status.
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