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The Expert Consensus Statement on the Science of HIV in the Context of Criminal Law – Five-year Impact Report: Bringing Science to Justice
In 2018, twenty leading HIV scientists published the ‘Expert Consensus Statement on the Science of HIV in the Context of Criminal Law’ (Expert Consensus Statement) to address the misuse of HIV science in punitive laws and prosecutions against people living with HIV for acts related to sexual activity, biting or spitting. The process involved undertaking detailed analysis of the best available scientific and medical research data on HIV transmission, treatment effectiveness and forensics. Building on an initial scoping report published in 2020, the HIV Justice Network (HJN) undertook further research between April and July 2023 examining the impact of the Expert Consensus Statement in cases and advocacy in the five years since its publication.
Expert consensus statement on the science of HIV in the context of criminal law
Twenty scientists from regions across the world developed this Expert Consensus Statement to address the use of HIV science by the criminal justice system. Description of the possibility of HIV transmission was limited to acts most often at issue in criminal cases. The authors recommend that caution be exercised when considering prosecution, and encourage governments and those working in legal and judicial systems to pay close attention to the significant advances in HIV science that have occurred over the last three decades to ensure current scientific knowledge informs application of the law in cases related to HIV.
- Alternative links
- Czech: Expertní prohlášení k vědeckým poznatkům o HIV v kontextu trestního práva , French: Déclaration de consensus d'experts sur la connaissance scientifique relative au VIH dans le contexte du droit pénal, German: Expertenkonsens zur HIV-Wissenschaft im Kontext des Strafrechts, Mandarin: 專家共識聲明:刑法脈絡下的愛滋相關科學, Russian: Заявление об экспертном консенсусе в отношении научных данных о ВИЧ- инфекции в контексте уголовного права , Spanish: Declaración de Consenso de expertos sobre la ciencia relativa al VIH en el contexto del derecho penal