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Criminalisation of HIV transmission in Europe

A rapid scan of the laws and rates of prosecution for HIV transmission within signatory States of the European Convention of Human Rights
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Estonia

Estimated number of people living with HIV: 7,800
Number of people prosecuted for HIV transmission: Information not available
Number of people convicted for HIV transmission: At least 2

Applicable law: Penal Code of Estonia: §118, 119 and 121 - causing health damage to someone; §141 - raping.

Key wording in the law:

§118. Causing of Severe Health Damage.

Causing of health damage to someone else is penalised with 4-12 years in jail, if it is causing a threat to someone’s life, severe physical disease, severe psychological disorder, discontinuance of pregnancy, a severe injury deforming significantly someone’s face or loss of an organ or its functioning.

§119. Causing of Severe Health Damage out of Negligence

Causing of severe health damage to someone else out of negligence is penalised with a fine or up to one year in jail.

§121. Physical abuse

Damaging the health of someone else, hitting, kicking or other form of physical abuse causing pain is penalised with fine or up to three years in jail.

§141. Raping

Having sexual intercourse with someone against her/his will or abusing her/his condition where he/she was not capable of understanding what is happening or expressing resistance is penalised with one to five years in jail. The same act is penalised with 6-15 years in jail, if the victim is under 18 years old, if the act is carried out by two or more people, if the act has caused the victim a severe health damage or the death of the victim, if the act has driven the victim to suicide or suicide attempt or if the act has been carried out by a person, who has previously already committed a rape.

Discussion:

From the responses received, it appears that precise information is not available for the number of people prosecuted for transmitting HIV in Estonia. However, the Ministry of Justice reported having knowledge of two people being convicted in the last five years. Information is kept for prosecutions and convictions of all people tried under the above law, but no separate HIV specific statistics are kept.

The two people for whom information was available were male; one Egyptian and one Estonian. No information was provided about occupations of the people convicted.

Only actual transmission of HIV to another person is subject to prosecution.

Transmission of other sexually transmitted infections is subject to prosecution under the same laws.

Completed questionnaires were received from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

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