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Edwin J Bernard Co-ordinator, HIV Justice Network, UK/Germany

Denial is not just a river in Africa: Insights and recommendations on the impacts of HIV criminalisation amongst African migrants in Europe. Edwin J Bernard Co-ordinator, HIV Justice Network, UK/Germany . Support the Oslo Declaration: hiv justice .net /oslo.

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Edwin J Bernard Co-ordinator, HIV Justice Network, UK/Germany

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  1. Denial is not just a river in Africa: Insights and recommendations on the impacts of HIV criminalisation amongst African migrants in Europe Edwin J Bernard Co-ordinator, HIV Justice Network, UK/Germany Support the Oslo Declaration: hivjustice.net/oslo

  2. Overview of laws & prosecutions in Europe • Are African migrants over-represented? • Impacts on African migrant communities • stigma = testing, disclosure, denial • Case studies • “HIV Monster” (England) • “Rachel the deceiver” (Finland) • “God healed me” (Belgium) • Moving from fear to empowerment • Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention • Supportive, not punitive policies and programmes • Community-driven, owned and led • Legal literacy • Shared responsibility for HIV prevention Support the Oslo Declaration: hivjustice.net/oslo

  3. Overview of laws and prosecutions in Western Europe Prosecutions under general laws HIV-specific laws, prosecutions HIV-specific laws, no prosecutions No reported laws or prosecutions

  4. European per capita convictions Weait M.Punitive Economies: The Criminalization of HIV Transmission and Exposure in Europe, FEMP 2011.

  5. Are African migrants over-represented? Source: James R.Who gets prosecuted? AIDS 2010, Vienna. (THPE1012)

  6. Impact on African migrant communities • People aware they are living with HIV • Feeling like potential criminals stigma denial • Disincentive to disclose to sexual partners and/or to access care, support and treatment • People unaware they are living with HIV • Take the test but risk arrest! • “Participants from African communities in the UK agreed that many people in their community would rather not know their status so they can use ignorance of their HIV-positive status as a defence in case of prosecution.” • UNAIDS NGO Programme Coordinating Board Report focusing on legal issues and HIV responses, December 2011. • Presented at: Legal Action, Legal Support at 11 am on Thursday, July 26th in Session Room 7. 

  7. Case study 1: “HIV Monster” (England) Read more at: http://criminalhivtransmission.blogspot.com/2011/07/uk-return-of-hiv-monster.html

  8. Case study 2: “Rachel the deceiver” (Finland) Read more at: http://criminalhivtransmission.blogspot.com/2010/12/finland-kenyan-born-former-erotic.html

  9. Case study 3: “God healed me” (Belgium) Read more at: http://criminalhivtransmission.blogspot.com/2011/06/belgium-first-criminal-conviction-under.html

  10. Moving from fear to empowerment (1) • Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention • Increasing access to and understanding of supportive, evidence-informed, human rights-based policies and programmes. • Scaling up and supporting social capital programmes that focus on community-driven, sustainable responses to HIV. • Scaling up and supporting community owned and led counselling, testing, care, support, treatment, and prevention programmes. • Scaling up and supporting health, prevention and legal literacy programmes. • Focusing on inclusive, non-stigmatising HIV prevention messaging and programmes that highlight shared responsibility. Download Policy Framework from: http://bit.ly/positivehealth

  11. Moving from fear to empowerment (2) • Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention • "Shared responsibility" for HIV prevention is about recognising the role that broader social determinants of health and dignity play in human and sexual behaviour. • First it reinforces the concept that everyone is responsible for his or her health and should take steps to protect it. Thus, though people aware they are living with HIV know they have an ethical responsibility to avoid infecting another person, each individual shares the responsibility to avoid infection. • Secondly…sexual partners of people living with HIV, families, communities, civil society, the public and private sector, the media, donor and multilateral agencies such as the UN all share in the responsibility to prevent new HIV infections. Download Policy Framework from: http://bit.ly/positivehealth

  12. Support the Oslo Declaration on HIV Criminalisation! www.hivjustice.net/oslo

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