A World AIDS Day debate, HIV and the Criminal Law, at City University London, has concluded that prosecutions for 'reckless' HIV transmission do not serve public health and that "HIV prevention must be the primary objective above an appetite for justice, by raising awareness of the partner’s health and investing in more education."
Some of the smartest minds in HIV and legal policy appeared at the event which was chaired by broadcaster (and barrister) Clive Anderson.
Panellists included:
- Yusef Azad, Director of Policy and Campaigns, National AIDS Trust;
- Arwel Jones, Team Leader of the Domestic Affairs Division, Crown Prosecution Service;
- Catherine Dodds, Senior Research Fellow, Sigma Research, University of Portsmouth; and
- Matthew Weait, Reader in Socio-Legal Studies, and author of Intimacy and Responsibility, The Criminalisation of HIV Transmission, School of Law, Birkbeck University.
