Tuesday, March 10, 2009

CRIMINALISING HIV TRANSMISSION?

"A former sex worker from Kitchener, Ontario been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal negligence causing bodily harm and sexual assault.Lara Dick, who tested positive in 2006, ..."
"A 33 year-old man from small town Villa Grove, Illinois has pleaded guilty under Illinois' "criminal transmission of HIV" law for having unprotected sex with a woman without disclosing his HIV status. This ..."
"A 37 year-old man from Sterling, Illinois has been charged under the state's "criminal transmission of HIV" laws, even though "the actual transmission of HIV is not a required element of this crime." It is ..."

From Ontario, Canada to Illinois, USA... people are facing serious law suits for 'transmitting HIV.' In Kenya no one has yet sued another for HIV infection. But are the excerpts shown above a sign of things to come? Otiende Amolo is a Nairobi-based lawyer who played a big role in hte drafting of the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Act (2006) says it would be extremely difficult to prove a case of HIV infection. In a related video, he argues that Science and consent issues would stand in the way of proving 'beyond reasonable doubt' that a suspect deliberately infected a person with the virus. One it may be difficult to prove a suspect was aware of his/her HIV status at the time of consummation. Secondly, the window period (the duration during which available tests cannot detect presence of the HIV) can take a while, meaning a test taken a month ago may not be a true representation of one's current HIV status. Amolo says a case of criminal HIV infection has to be deemed outrageous.

2 comments:

betut ne leel said...

great stuff...agoi keegu serious ak ng'alek chebo hiv...great writing !

Benleem said...

Lovely work comrade. You always make my time on telly!