CRIMINALIZATION OF HIV NON-DISCLOSURE: IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE
Join us for FREE panel discussion "Criminalization of HIV
Thursday, March 22, 2012
9:00am-12:00pm
Location: Debates Room at Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle, University of Toronto (Map: http://bit.ly/zzo366) Presented by: CIHR Social Research Centre in HIV Prevention
TO REGISTER PLEASE VISIT http://www.srchiv.ca/en/index.php/site/CriminalizationPanel
Join us for this stimulating discussion with international and Canadian experts who will share their research, experience, and insight on the
criminalization of HIV non-disclosure and the potential implications for policy and practice.
FEATURING PRESENTATIONS BY:
- Barry Adam, Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN), University of Windsor
- Catherine Dodds, Sigma Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, U.K.
- Eric Mykhalovskiy, York University
- Mark Tyndall, Social Research Centre in HIV Prevention (SRC), University of Ottawa
- Richard Elliott, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
- Tim McCaskell, Ontario Working Group on Criminal Law and HIV Exposure
- Valerie Pierre-Pierre, African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario
For those living outside of the Greater Toronto Area, this event will be live streamed and will be available
as a podcast on the CIHR website following the event. Please contact Robin Montgomery at robin.montgomery@utoronto.ca for
more information.
BACKGROUND:
In Canada, criminal prosecutions have increasingly been taken against people living with HIV (PHAs) for failing to
disclose their HIV status to their sexual partners. On February 8, 2012, two appeals (from Manitoba and
Quebec) went before the Supreme Court of Canada that raised the question of whether PHAs should be convicted of sexual
assault for not disclosing their status in circumstances where there is no significant risk of HIV transmission, such
as when a condom is used or when a person's viral load is low or undetectable. Depending on the outcome of hearing,
radical changes could be in store for Canadians with the expansion of criminal law that would place every person
living with HIV in Canada at risk of prosecution for aggravated sexual assault - a charge which carries a
maximum sentence of life in prison. These legislative changes would have far-reaching implications for
HIV prevention and public health efforts, research and public policy, HIV-related programs and
services, and for PHAs and communities disproportionately affected by HIV. Such sweeping
changes would put significant pressure on Canada's legal and already over-burdened correctional system.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CRIMINALIZATION OF HIV ISSUE PLEASE VISIT: http://www.aidslaw.ca/stopcriminalization
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