Publication Topic : HIV Criminalization

MEDIA ADVISORY: PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV, AND OTHER LEADING CANADIAN EXPERTS TO SPEAK AT 10th SYMPOSIUM ON HIV, LAW, AND HUMAN RIGHTS

PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV, AND OTHER LEADING CANADIAN EXPERTS TO SPEAK AT 10th SYMPOSIUM ON HIV, LAW, AND HUMAN RIGHTS  Media Invited to Join Virtual Sessions on HIV Criminalization in Canada  For immediate release Members of the media are invited to attend HIV Criminalization: Challenging Injustice in Canada and Around the World — a free, bilingual (English/French), … Read more

HIV CRIMINALIZATION IN CANADA: KEY TRENDS AND PATTERNS (1989-2020)

In Canada, a person living with HIV can go to prison and be registered as a sex offender for life for not disclosing their HIV-positive status to a sexual partner in some circumstances. People are usually charged with (aggravated) sexual assault, due to the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling that HIV non-disclosure can sometimes amount … Read more

Centering Health, Respecting Rights: Understanding the Science, Public Health, and Human Rights Implications of Policing in the Context of HIV and Hepatitis C

On February 8, 2022, Wilfrid Laurier University’s Centre for Public Safety and Well-Being and the HIV Legal Network hosted a webinar about the science, public health, and human rights implications of HIV and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) as it relates to the provision of policing services. In this webinar, we explored how police forces in … Read more

Harms of Sex Offender Registries in Canada among people living with HIV

This paper examines the harms of sex offender registries (SOR) in Canada as experienced by people living with HIV. These harms are significant and wide-ranging, and include social harms, psychological harms, and harms to liberty and human dignity. Specifically, this paper examines the experiences of people living with HIV convicted of aggravated sexual assault for … Read more

Respect, Protect, Fulfill: Supporting the HIV Legal Network

Respect. Protect. Fulfill. You can help challenge wrongs, advance rights, and transform lives. Denied basic healthcare. Criminalized and vilified for love. Unfairly targeted by police. These abuses, and more, are too often the experience of people living with HIV and of communities affected by HIV. At the HIV Legal Network, our mission has always been … Read more

Covering Risk: HIV Criminalization and Condoms

In Canada, people living with HIV can be criminalized for not disclosing their status before engaging in a sexual activity where there is a “realistic possibility of HIV transmission.” Although the possibility of HIV transmission when a condom is used ranges from negligible to none, the law remains unsettled about whether condoms are sufficient on … Read more

HIV, Hepatitis C and Sexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections in Canada: Top Election 2021 Issues

Joint press release: HIV, Hepatitis C and Sexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections in Canada: Top Election 2021 Issues Health and human rights groups identify priorities for federal policymakers as people in Canada head to the polls Tuesday, September 14, 2021 – More than 60,000 people are currently living with HIV in Canada, approximately 13% of … Read more