Consensus Statement Seeks to Halt Criminalization of HIV—Public Health Watch

published on August 1, 2018 by BRIAN P. DUNLEAVY, in ContagionLive

At the time, Mr. Johnson, a student at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri and a member of the school’s wrestling team, was arrested and charged with “recklessly infecting [with] and recklessly exposing” multiple sexual partners to HIV. Initially, he was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison; however, last fall, that verdict was overturned, and Mr. Johnson (known by the nickname “Tiger Mandingo”) agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence of 10 years.

Some HIV experts are saying that is still too harsh a punishment. In a consensus statement published in the July 25 issue of the Journal of the International AIDS Society, 20 HIV/AIDS researchers and clinicians from 16 countries have made a formal argument against laws in some countries that effectively criminalize the disease, prosecuting people who are HIV-positive for not disclosing their disease status, exposing sexual partners to the virus, and/or transmitting the virus to unwitting partners. Their position is rooted in science: Several studies released within the past decade, including most notably “PARTNER” and “Opposites Attract,” have not identified any cases of sexual transmission from a person with an undetectable viral load in either heterosexual and male couples of different HIV status.

“The science has advanced, and yet there have been more cases brought against people with HIV,” Chris Beyrer, MD, Desmond M. Tutu Professor of Public Health and Human Rights, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, told Contagion^®. “What happens between consenting adults in their own bedrooms has no place in a court of law.”

In addition to Dr. Beyrer, co-authors of the consensus statement include 2 other former presidents of the International AIDS Society (IAS): Julio Montaner, MD, professor of medicine, University of British Columbia, and Pedro Cahn, MD, infectious diseases unit, Juan A. Fernandez Hospital, Buenos Aires. The consensus statement was formally unveiled on July 25 during the IAS’ 22nd Annual International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam. It was endorsed by an additional 70-plus clinicians and researchers from dozens of countries.

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Julio Montaner

BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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Consensus Statement Seeks to Halt Criminalization of HIV—Public Health Watch

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