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On World Aids Day, a warning against the criminalisation of HIV transmission

Matthew Weait, Professor of Law and Policy will be giving a talk on the work of the Global...

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Matthew Weait, Professor of Law and Policy and Pro-Vice-Master for Academic Partnerships at Birkbeck, University of London, will be giving a talk on the work of the Global Commission on HIV and Law, as part of a series of events being hosted by Waterstone’s in Gower Street to commemorate World Aids Day 2011.

Professor Weait, who is a member of the Technical Advisory Group for the Commission, will focus on the criminalisation of HIV transmission and exposure, and on the punitive responses to vulnerable populations.

He says: “Mitigating the causes and consequences of HIV will only be achieved if laws are used to protect the human rights of those affected, rather than to criminalise them. By criminalising the transmission of HIV, or drug use, you simply make the populations at greatest risk of infection harder to reach, because people will cease to be open about their sex lives or drug use if they fear prosecution, leading to greater stigmatisation, higher rates of discrimination and violence against those living with HIV, and increased transmission rates.”

The Global Commission on HIV and the Law was established to examine the relationship between legal responses, human rights and HIV, focusing on some of the most challenging legal and human rights issues within the context of HIV, including criminalisation of HIV transmission, behaviours and practices such as drug use, sex work, same-sex sexual relations, and issues in relation to prisoners, migrants, children, violence against women and access to treatment. The Commission is developing actionable, evidence-informed and human rights-based recommendations for effective HIV responses that protect and promote the human rights of people living with, and most vulnerable to, HIV, and is planning to report early in 2012.

World AIDS Day, observed on December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Approximately 30million people have died from AIDS-related causes since the beginning of the epidemic, and as of 2009 some 33.3 million people worldwide were living with HIV, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history.   The Waterstone’s  event  at which Professor Weait will be speaking will be in aid of the River House Law Clinic, a collaborative initiative between the School of Law, Hanne & Co (Solicitors) and River House Trust which provides free legal advice and assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS.

You can find out more about the World Aids Day events being planned at Waterstone’s by keeping a watch on the bookshop’s Facebook page, or its Twitter feed.

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