NGOs oppose criminalising HIV/AIDS transmission
Nov 30, 2009
CIVIL society organisations have warned against criminalising the transmission of HIV/AIDS. They argue this will invoke stigma, discrimination and deter voluntary testing and access to treatment.
By Catherine Bekunda
CIVIL society organisations have warned against criminalising the transmission of HIV/AIDS.
“Criminalising the transmission of the disease invokes stigma, discrimination and deters voluntary testing and access to treatment,†noted Stella Mukasa of Action Aid Uganda.
This was during an HIV/AIDS Bill dialogue between the organisations and MPs last Wednesday at Hotel Africana in Kampala.
According to the Bill, any person who wilfully and intentionally transmits the disease to another person commits an offence and upon conviction is liable to life imprisonment.
Mukasa argued that applying criminal law to HIV transmission could result in women being disproportionately prosecuted and increase domestic violence.
“Women often learn that they are HIV positive before their partners and most likely, they will be blamed for bringing it into the family,†she said.
The Bill is being reviewed by the Uganda Law Reform Commission before being tabled in Parliament for final scrutiny. Human rights activists have questioned the Bill’s viability, since only 10% of the population knows its sero status.
“If the majority are not aware of their status, people will use this as a defence in court,†said Busingye Kabumba, a lecturer at Makerere University.
He argued that many people will refrain from testing for fear of being criminalised.
Maj. Ruranga Rubaramira, an HIV/AIDS activist, noted that positive living was a key factor in reducing intentional infection, adding that criminalising transmission might defeat the objectives of the Bill.
He also argued that compulsory HIV/AIDS testing would escalate stigma.
Participants noted that it would be difficult to provide proof that a particular person was responsible for the transmission since sex is done in secrecy.
“Unless the Government invents a machine that can tell when one became infected, the Bill is useless,†a participant noted.
The participants instead demanded that the Government avails health services to the population to enable them access treatment and care.
A total of 1.3 million Ugandans are living with HIV and 350,000 are eligible for ARVs. However, only 180,000 (about 40%), are getting treatment.
The national HIV prevalence rate stands at 6.4%. It is estimated that over 130,000 people, mainly married couples, get infected every year.
CIVIL society organisations have warned against criminalising the transmission of HIV/AIDS.
“Criminalising the transmission of the disease invokes stigma, discrimination and deters voluntary testing and access to treatment,†noted Stella Mukasa of Action Aid Uganda.
This was during an HIV/AIDS Bill dialogue between the organisations and MPs last Wednesday at Hotel Africana in Kampala.
According to the Bill, any person who wilfully and intentionally transmits the disease to another person commits an offence and upon conviction is liable to life imprisonment.
Mukasa argued that applying criminal law to HIV transmission could result in women being disproportionately prosecuted and increase domestic violence.
“Women often learn that they are HIV positive before their partners and most likely, they will be blamed for bringing it into the family,†she said.
The Bill is being reviewed by the Uganda Law Reform Commission before being tabled in Parliament for final scrutiny. Human rights activists have questioned the Bill’s viability, since only 10% of the population knows its sero status.
“If the majority are not aware of their status, people will use this as a defence in court,†said Busingye Kabumba, a lecturer at Makerere University.
He argued that many people will refrain from testing for fear of being criminalised.
Maj. Ruranga Rubaramira, an HIV/AIDS activist, noted that positive living was a key factor in reducing intentional infection, adding that criminalising transmission might defeat the objectives of the Bill.
He also argued that compulsory HIV/AIDS testing would escalate stigma.
Participants noted that it would be difficult to provide proof that a particular person was responsible for the transmission since sex is done in secrecy.
“Unless the Government invents a machine that can tell when one became infected, the Bill is useless,†a participant noted.
The participants instead demanded that the Government avails health services to the population to enable them access treatment and care.
A total of 1.3 million Ugandans are living with HIV and 350,000 are eligible for ARVs. However, only 180,000 (about 40%), are getting treatment.
The national HIV prevalence rate stands at 6.4%. It is estimated that over 130,000 people, mainly married couples, get infected every year.