NE activists are against criminal punishment of seropositive

With the participation of attorneys and human rights activists, started the regional seminar Criminalization of HIV Transmission and its impact on the AIDS Epidemic. "Held in Recife, Pernambuco, and is undertaken by the Working Group on Positive Prevention ( GTP ). Our goal is to discuss the issue with different levels of society and militants in the area of AIDS, explains the coordinator of the NGO, Wladimir Kings.

Penalties, mild or otherwise, to people with HIV can be painful to public health, said the deputy coordinator of the Department of STD / AIDS and Viral Hepatitis, Eduardo Barbosa. According to him, the punishment of more people in the justice may discourage people to seek testing for the virus essential to diagnose the infection at the right time and ensure a good treatment.

During the afternoon of Wednesday, most participants in the opening panel of the activity said to be against the criminalization of people with HIV, when there is no evidence of intent to transmit the virus to partners. Generally, the transmission can be classified in justice as serious bodily injury, sickness or contagion to attempted murder.

Most activists understand that when a couple have sex without a condom, for example, they assume risks of contracting HIV. Therefore, it would be wrong to punish only the person living with HIV.

For Professor of Law Faculty of Olinda Paulo Cesar, is immaterial whether or not a double take risks in a relationship without condom use. The life of a person is considered an asset, an asset unavailable. Even with consent of the other, if one spouse is HIV positive, serology and know it does nothing to prevent the risk of transmission can be charged with 100% of the responsibility, he explained.

The United Nations (UN) calls for punishment of persons only in cases of attestation of knowingly transmitting HIV.

The legal advisor and expert in Human Rights NGO Gestures, Pernambuco, Karian Hosey also noted that there are at least three bills stuck in the House of Representatives to become a crime to transmit HIV. Although nobody is talking about it, it is important to always monitor civil society, because they can still return to the agenda of politicians, he said.

The penal code already has a number of alternatives for these cases, create specific laws to criminalize people will only increase the prejudice in society with people living with HIV, said Paulo Cesar.

The workshop ends on Friday and programming addresses issues like the interpretation of HIV transmission by law enforcers in the lawsuits, the application of laws in cases of transmission of HIV, public policy to confront criminality, the media and its role in fighting stigmata.

Brazil

• Tweet