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What is the Scan?
The Global Criminalisation Scan (the Scan) maps the existence of laws, practices and policies that impact on responses to HIV. This includes positive as well as punitive (those that have a negative impact) laws. The Scan is an initiative of GNP+ and partner organisations and aims:
- To collect and keep up-to-date information on national or state level laws and practices that have an impact on responses to HIV;
- To document case studies of the rates to which these laws are enforced;
- To provide an easily accessible hub of resources and research on the subject;
- To inform global advocacy to revise laws and practices that have a punitive effect and promote those with a positive effect;
- To provide a platform for advocacy campaigns.
Positive laws and policies create the environment in which necessary services can be easily and equitably accessed. For this to happen, these laws need to be promoted and enforced. Examples of positive laws and practices include laws that protect people living with HIV from discrimination, particularly discrimination on the grounds of actual or perceived HIV positive status.
Punitive laws and policies may have the effect of preventing people from accessing necessary services (including prevention, treatment and care services for HIV). This effectively criminalises the lives of people living with HIV. Examples of punitive laws include laws that:
- Criminalise unintentional transmission/exposure of HIV;
- Criminalise commercial sex amongst consenting adults;
- Criminalise same sex, sexual relations;
- Impose compulsory or cohesive drug treatment for people who use drugs or prohibits the provision of harm reduction services for people who use drugs;
- Restrict or deny entry/stay/residence or require deportation of HIV positive non-nationals.
The Global Criminalisation Scan already includes data from over 200 countries and judicial territories in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and North America. This is the only collection presenting this data on a world wide scale.
Background and History
The scan builds on work carried out in 2004 - 2005 amongst the signatory states of the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) by GNP+ Europe and the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT). At this time there was substantial evidence that that prosecutions for ‘alleged’ HIV transmission were on the increase across Europe, which was confirmed through the scan and that in fact several countries in the region were considering introducing new legislation.
This rise in criminalising and prosecuting sexual HIV transmission has also been evident in other regions and led GNP+ and partner organisations to take on the task of monitoring the situation globally.
Who is collecting the data, and overseeing the work?
In Europe and the Central Asian Republics, THT has taken the lead on updating the situation in European and Central Asian republics from the 2005 scan. In North America, Asia Pacific, and Central and Latin America regional partners such as GNP+NA, APN+ and Grupo Genesis Positivo Panama respectively are conducting the scan.
The Global Criminalisation Scan is advised by an international advisory group of lawyers, judges, and advocates as well as the implementing partners. By developing partnerships with networks of people living with HIV in Africa and the Caribbean the Global Criminalisation scan aims to expand the regional cover of the data.
Data collection
This website is the platform for presenting the global evidence. It contains country by country information, regional analysis, and where possible global analysis. In addition the in-depth section highlights some of the main legal and ethical difficulties with regards to criminalizing HIV transmission and exposure.
Data to inform and complete the country pages has been collected in a variety of ways. These have included:
- Desk research of legal databases and government sites;
- Questionnaires sent to networks of people living with HIV, HIV/AIDS service organisations, government departments (Ministries of Justice or Public Health or the equivalent), UN country representatives, government officials, and others working on the issues.
How you can contribute…
Please tell us if the information we have on a country is wrong or incomplete.
We especially welcome offers of translation of pages into other languages, news reports, details of organisations working on the issues, or news of any advocacy initiatives happening.
To do this, please email the regional contact whose details you’ll find on the regional pages.
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