INTE 398 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Condom, Viral Load, Serostatus
5 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Ffar 291/Inte 398 – Intro HIV Class
Lesson 10
10.1 Intro Video
-we will discuss legislation in relation to HIV
-what kind of law support PLW HIV?
-can transmission be managed thru the law?
-think about laws that can support PLW HIV, laws supporting equity, laws that
stigmatize/burden/separate PLW from the larger community that they are living in
-gonna look at legislation intended to reduce transmission and how that functions
10.2 How To Fight an Epidemic of Bad Laws Video
-TED Talk by Shereen El-Feki produced in 2012
-the former chair on global commission of HIV and the Law
-legislation related to HIV/AIDS
-she reviews a variety of diff kinds of legislation that affect HIV+, ppl living w AIDS or ppl at risk
on a global basis
-less than 2 years ago, man who traveled to work in internationally famous company
-it had resources but lacked ppl so invented workers from around the world and wanted them
to build a nation
-but these migrants had to pass a few tests to stay
-then something unexpected happens
-the med personnel that took blood from the man never told him why they took blood, he was
never offered counselling before of after the test, never informed of the results and yet a few
weeks later taken to prison
-he was released but then taken to airport and deported
-his terrible crime was being infected w HIV
-this country was 1 of the 50 countries that imposes restrictions on the entry or stay w ppl w
HIV
-the kingdom argues that its laws allow it to detain or deport foreigners that may pose a risk to
the econ or the security or the public health or morals of the state but when these laws are
applied to ppl w HIV are a violation of international human rights agreement
-practically speaking, these laws drive HIV underground
-ppl are less likely to come forward to get tested, treated or to disclose their condition - none
of which helps these inds or the communities the laws are brought to protect
-today we can prevent HIV and it is a manageable condition
-we are very far from the days when the only practical response was to banish the afflicted
-so why today in our age and society we have policies that are from back then?
-HIV brings out the best and worst in humanity and the laws reflect these attitudes
-laws as they are enforced in the streets and decided in the courts
-laws as they relate to ppl living w AIDS but ppl who are at greatest risk of HIV and in many
parts of the world, includes women and children who are very vulnerable
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
-laws that best reflect human nature - these laws treat ppl touched by HIV w compassion and
respect, they respect universal human rights and they are grounded w evidence
-they ensure that ppl w HIV and those at risk are protected from violence and
discrimination and that they get access to prevention and treatment
-but these good laws are counterbalanced by mass of very bad law - grounded w moral
judgment, fear, misinfo - punish ppl w HIV or ppl at greatest risk - prejudice, ignorance,
rewriting of tradition and selective reading of religion
-Nick Rhoades - convincted on law of HIV - had an undetectable viral load, used a condom and
did not transmit HIV
-not just q of unfairness and ineffective laws
-good laws flouted bc stigma gives unofficial license to treat PLW HIV or ppl at greatest
risk unlike other citizens
-2nd case of Hilma in Dominican Republic: when she went to hospital for pregnancy check-up,
also tested for HIV bc mandatory and was HIV+
-they sterilized her bc HIV+
-urse did’t ask her to read fors, just asked to sig
*among the 3.4 mil ppl living w HIV - they are the lucky ones bc still alive
-in 2010, 1.8 mil died of AIDS related causes
-number of new infections is declined and deaths starting to fall too
-increase in number of ppl on ART - med they need to keep HIV in check
-only half of the ppl that need treatment are currently receiving it
-in North Africa ex, number of infections and deaths increasing and money shrinking
-we have a real chance to get a grip of the epidemic, need to tackle an epidemic w a really bad
law
-Global commission of HIV and the law established by agencies of United Nations
-to recommend what should be done to make the law an ally, NOT an enemy of the
global response of HIV
-ppl injecting drugs = high risk (1 on 10 new infections = ppl who inject drugs)
-Thailand, ppl that use drugs or suspected = put in detention
-no evidence that putting them in detention cures their drug dependence
-incarcerating ppl increases their chances of HIV infection
-harm reduction: provide clean needles, provide info and educ and condoms to
reduce transmission, provide treatment and counselling if get infected = solution
-Australia and Switzerland introduced harm reduction early on and barely
any HIV infection
-US and Malaysia a bit later - higher rates of HIV
-Thailand and Russia have resisted harm reduction - laws punish drug use
*trend - where you criminalize ppl, you fuel the epidemic
-coming up w vaccine is rocket sci but changing the law isn't
-Review legislation
-repeal laws that punish or discriminate
-isnt easy, its difficult when touchy subjects like drugs and sex
-retool prisons
-reform the police so that they have better practices on the ground
-can train judges to find flexibility on the law and they rule on side of tolerance
and not prejudice
-reinforcing civil society
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
-raise awareness
-redress thru the courts
-reach out to community, religious and tribal leaders
*HIV hits very close to home but the law can seen like stuff of specialists but isnt bc if live in
democracy, laws begin w us
-it starts w the way we treat them ourselves - that is the change we need to spread
10.3 Fact Sheet on HIV and the Law Reading
-HIV transmission: Laws that criminalise HIV transmission or penalize non-disclosure of HIV
status increase stigma and discourage people from getting tested or treated for fear of
prosecution
-more than 60 countries specifically criminalise HIV transmission
-at-risk populations: Laws and practices that criminalise and dehumanize populations at
highest risk for HIV make them more vulnerable and drive them away from HIV, harm
reduction and health services
-women and youth: Laws and customs that disempower women undermine their ability to
protect themselves from HIV. Policies that deny youth access to sexual and reproductive and
HIV services help spread HIV
-access to HIV treatment: Excessive intellectual property protections that hinder the
production of low-cost medicines, especially second-generation ARVs, are impeding access to
treatment
10.4 Unsafe Law: Health, Rights and the Legal Response to HIV Reading
-over the past three decades, law has come to serve as an obstacle in the fight against HIV, and
how it contributes to the stigmatisation of, and discrimination against, people living with the
virus
-this paper argues that in order to make unsafe law safer, policy-makers, legislators and those
responsible for the interpretation and enforcement of law must base their HIV response not
on populist morality but on the strong evidence base provided by three decades of clinical,
scientific and social research
-drawing on that researh ad the author’s o ioleet i poliy deelopet i this
area, it suggests that rights-based arguments are, while important, insufficient as the basis for
delivering the changes that are necessary, discusses the difficulties involved in achieving those
changes, and argues that legal scholarship and research has an important role to play in HIV
activism and combating the global epidemic
10.5 Laws: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly Lecture
-legal train not always the same from country to country and not always consistent within the
country
Kinds of Laws
-Laws/practices intended to limit transmission:
-criminalize transmission (holding ppl legally accountable for transmitting the virus)
-criminalize non-disclosure
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
We will discuss legislation in relation to hiv. Think about laws that can support plw hiv, laws supporting equity, laws that stigmatize/burden/separate plw from the larger community that they are living in. Gonna look at legislation intended to reduce transmission and how that functions. 10. 2 how to fight an epidemic of bad laws video. Ted talk by shereen el-feki produced in 2012. The former chair on global commission of hiv and the law. She reviews a variety of diff kinds of legislation that affect hiv+, ppl living w aids or ppl at risk on a global basis. Less than 2 years ago, man who traveled to work in internationally famous company. It had resources but lacked ppl so invented workers from around the world and wanted them to build a nation. But these migrants had to pass a few tests to stay. He was released but then taken to airport and deported. His terrible crime was being infected w hiv.
