Tilo is smiling. He has found his equilibrium again. The situation was quite different five years ago for the 35-year-old gay man. Tilo contracted HIV at the age of 16 after his first sexual experience with a man due to a torn condom. Then he became entangled in criminal proceedings in Munich following an accusation of having intentionally attempted grievous bodily harm.

“I Wanted to Stop This Man”

Rita is a self-confident, attractive 50-year-old woman. She works in international product management. She spent her last holiday on a tent safari in Africa, the continent that she likes to visit time and again. Bernd Aretz spoke with her.

'What if you could witness a face-to-face confrontation between a man living with HIV and the sex partner accusing him of not revealing his status? Wouldn't you like to be a fly on that wall? The fireworks could be mighty, as emotions raged between the  accuser and the positive person trying to defend his actions. What might that meeting look like, exactly?'

(text extract from Mark S.King's video blog)

An innovative partnership was formalised in 2010 between RFSU (the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education), HIV-Sweden, and RFSL (the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights) to raise awareness and advocate against the criminalization of HIV transmission and exposure in Sweden.

Before public campaigning for the decriminalization of HIV transmission and exposure, a need was identified to first strengthen the dialogue on this issue among networks of people living with HIV and AIDS service organizations in Germany. In 2011, Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe embarked on a project to conduct a series of interviews to highlight the criminalization of HIV transmission and exposure from perspectives of prevention, treatment, legal practice and public health.

An innovative partnership was formalised in 2010 between RFSU (the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education), HIV-Sweden, and RFSL (the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights) to raise awareness and advocate against the criminalization of HIV transmission and exposure in Sweden.

Criminal prosecutions involving HIV transmission or exposure have become more common in Australia in recent years. This has sparked renewed interest in the intersection of public health measures and the criminal law.

The right to a fair trial

Lack of knowledge about HIV and legal processes, as well as the fear the criminal justice system may create, can compromise the rights of people living with HIV to a fair trial.  Many people, including people living with HIV, do not have frequent contact with the legal system and may be unfamiliar with processes, rights and guidelines for police, health care providers and legal staff involved in  investigations or prosecutions.