|
||||
6 Other issues6.1 Media issuesRespondents identified the media as being a prominent accompaniment of most prosecutions, particularly during trials, and especially during the first successful prosecution of an HIV transmission case within a country. In most cases, the popular press appeared to ‘sensationalise’ the cases, often depicting those convicted as being a threat to the population. Media, and media-shaped negative public viewpoints, were cited by a number of respondents as a key factor in criminal prosecutions and their public impact. In the United Kingdom, the first trial and subsequent conviction resulted in newspaper and television headlines. The second conviction recorded was the first for England and Wales and also attracted much media coverage. In this case, the reporting centred as much on the immigration status of the person convicted as on the potential and actual harm caused. Similar developments have been seen in Finland and Sweden where the majority of those convicted have been foreign nationals. Some community organisations have condemned such reporting, on the basis that it leads to further marginalisation and stigmatisation of immigrant communities, and arguments have been made that such reporting could increase stigmatisation and discrimination against all PLWHA. In Switzerland, where the reporting of one case centred on ‘gay lifestyles’ and ‘sex in a dark room’, it could be argued that this reinforced homophobia and gay stereotyping. Not everything said about the media was negative. For some respondents, the media served as a tool for providing information about cases and also helped generate debate on the issues. It was not possible, within the confines of this survey, to fully examine the role of the media within criminal prosecutions for transmission of HIV. Further scrutiny of this could be useful in considering the relationship between criminal prosecutions and stigma about HIV. 6.2 Human rights issuesThe survey confirmed that there is need for further research into the potential human rights violations present in some aspect of criminal enforcement and judicial systems in relation to HIV. For example, lack of provision or discontinuation of effective care and treatment through imprisonment or deportation could amount to violation of the rights to life, to health and freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In some cases mentioned above, deportation has in the main been to African countries where the provision of antiretroviral treatment is not yet guaranteed to every person living with HIV and AIDS. The European Court of Human Rights [16], found that sending an HIV positive man to a country where no effective treatment or care could be guaranteed amounted to a violation of Article 3 of the ECHR which provides that ‘no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’. The Finnish case mentioned above in which a man was deported and separated from his Finnish wife and children raises the possibility of a violation of Article 8: ‘Right to respect for private and family life’. Detention and forced isolation could be a violation of Article 5 of the ECHR which guarantees the ‘right to liberty and security’. In light of everything that is known about the way that HIV is transmitted, one would be hard pressed to justify containment for over six years, as was the case in one incident in Sweden. 6.3 The role of organisations supporting people living with HIV and AIDSSome of the support organisations which responded were dealing with these issues already in one way or another. The extent of this involvement ranged from keeping a watch on events to active support for those being prosecuted or for their lawyers. Some organisations were also campaigning to change or shape their national laws on criminalisation of HIV transmission. There was, however, often a sense that organisations had been overtaken by events. It may be possible that, in the face of media or public hostility, and hampered by the difficulties in obtaining factual information or in agreeing to a view on the issue, some organisations thought it prudent to remain silent. Whatever the cause, it was noticeable that in a number of countries there was no easily located source of community or NGO expertise on HIV and the law. It is to be hoped that the current exercise has helped to produce renewed focus on the issue, and will contribute to building internal national understanding, interest and capacity with regard to HIV and the law. Continue : 7 Steps forward > > >
FOOTNOTES: Click the corresponding number to return to your place in the text
|
||||
Responsibility for the accuracy and interpretation of the data rests with THT and GNP+ Europe. If you would like to provide further information for updates for this survey or make comments please go to comments. You are free to circulate / disseminate / reproduce this information as long as the source of the original is quoted. |
||||
