HIV/AIDS policy & law review / Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
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The role that human rights can play in the global response to HIVIAIDS is crucial. People around the world continue to be placed at risk of HIV due to ongoing human rights violations. In this article--based on a public lecture he gave at "From Evidence and Principle to Policy and Action", the 2nd Annual Symposium on HIV, Law and Human Rights, held on 10-12 June 2010 in Toronto, Canada--Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, discusses how the lack of support for programs that protect and promote human rights is one of the failures in the response to AIDS. He stresses that advocates must reinvigorate efforts for human rights and treatment and prevention for all, including for the most marginalized populations.
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HIV AIDS Policy Law Rev · Oct 2010
Implications of PEPFAR's anti-prostitution pledge for HIV prevention among organizations working with sex workers.
Even though the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has facilitated access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS across the planet, sex workers are not as fortunate. In this article, based on an oral abstract presentation at AIDS 2010, Melissa Ditmore and Dan Allman present a case-story analysis of the implementation of PEPFAR's anti-prostitution pledge.
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HIV AIDS Policy Law Rev · Oct 2010
Panel--Criminalization of HIV non-disclosure: new development and community responses.
This article provides summaries of the six presentations made during the panel. Stéphanie Claviaz-Loranger gives an overview of the recent developments in Canadian law since R v. Cuerrier. ⋯ Eric Mykhalovskiy explains the available policy options for Ontario concerning criminalization, and calls on the Ministry of the Attorney General to establish a consultation process to inform the development of policy and practice memoranda. Glenn Betteridge discusses the development and work of the Ontario Prosecutorial Guidelines Campaign. Finally, Lisa Power presents the experience of England and Wales with regard to HIV criminalization.
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HIV AIDS Policy Law Rev · Dec 2009
Russia: despite legislative and procedural barriers, HIV-positive woman fights for custody of ten-year-old brother.
Svetlana Izambaeva, a well-known HIV-activist and educator in Russia, is seeking to obtain custody of her ten-year-old brother, Sasha. After their mother died, regional official refused Izambaeva custody because of her HIV-positive status. Consequently, the local child custody agency (organ opeki) decided to give Sasha to a foster family.
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HIV AIDS Policy Law Rev · Dec 2009
Panel: challenging criminal charges for HIV transmission and exposure.
Justice Edwin Cameron, of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, served as moderator. He said that this topic was particularly relevant for "an African/Canadian setting" because African countries may use Canadian developments as justification for their efforts to address HIV transmission and exposure through criminal law. Justice Cameron said that Canada is internationally perceived as a human rights-respecting state and, thus, sets an example, particularly for African nations, on how to comply with human rights issues. ⋯ Barry Adam discusses the notion of a "duty to disclose" and how this affects HIV prevention. Lucie Joncas examines how the Supreme Court defined "fraud" in Cuerrier and describes a case before the Quebec Court of Appeal which may turn on whether the use of a condom or having a low viral load is considered not to constitute a significant risk of transmission. Finally, Michaela Clayton describes the trend in Southern African countries to adopt laws criminalizing HIV transmission or exposure, and explains that criminalization endangers women's health and lives.