Thank you.
On behalf of the HIV Network of Edmonton Society—referred to as HIV Edmonton—I would like to thank this committee for asking me to present before you. It is with absolute appreciation that I am a participant in such an important dialogue on the criminalization of non-disclosure of HIV status. I have worked with HIV Edmonton since 2011. My 37 years in community service organizations have also included working on issues of differing abilities and women’s issues including violence against women, poverty and homelessness.
I was also chair of a coalition devoted to and successful in developing access to supervised consumption services in Edmonton, another important justice and human rights issue. I have tremendous respect for the work of the committee and for your desire to hear from an array of individuals, including people living with HIV and others who can provide their expertise and perspectives. I have read some of the statements presented to the committee thus far and my presentation will be in support of what you have already heard.
HIV Edmonton is a small but mighty charitable community service organization devoted to the mission of zero new HIV transmissions, zero stigma and discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths. This vision was adopted based on UNAIDS' 2011-15 strategy, “Getting to Zero”. We do not think 90-90-90 is enough, although it’s an important mid-term outcome. It is now possible to get to zero, but we need society to adopt the vision and undertake the work of reform in law, legislation and policies to help us get there. Tremendous work over the past three decades has brought us to this point. Now let’s leverage it to move beyond.
The directive is a definite step forward in acknowledging that HIV is a public health issue and that the law has disproportionately affected people who are marginalized and stigmatized. The directive also acknowledges the changing science in the treatment of HIV in recognizing that maintaining a lower viral load does not pose a realistic possibility of transmission.
While these are positive steps, HIV Edmonton signed the community consensus statement in 2017 and we believe that there is more work to be done at the federal level, specifically and for the purposes of today, on reform of the Criminal Code. The directive of November 30, 2018, is not enforceable in most jurisdictions across the country, and it is too vague, which leaves room for inconsistency in application.
Criminalization of non-disclosure of HIV status should not be considered a sexual assault and the use of the Criminal Code should be limited to situations where there is proven malicious intent to harm and actual transmission of HIV.
HIV is a public health issue and not a crime, and because it doesn’t go far enough, the marginalization identified in the directive continues.
The social determinants of health and health equity are important considerations to ensure the law does not negatively impact people accessing health and community supports. Health Canada shows that the broad range of personal, social, economic and environmental factors determine individual and population health. Reducing health inequities means helping to give everyone the same opportunities to be healthy, no matter who they are or where they live.
Many different people come to HIV Edmonton for its education, prevention and support services. There are many stories that can highlight these key points and show why this committee has more work to do.
On more than one occasion in Edmonton, people have had their pictures plastered on the front page, identifying their alleged HIV status and asking for the community to contact authorities if connected with or if they have knowledge of the person. These are pictures of human beings, one as young as 16. This young woman was a guardian of the province and was considered highly dangerous, an alleged criminal because of her HIV status. One person called me and told me that this young woman might as well have taken an AK-47 into a mall and started shooting. Ignorance and sensationalism result in stigma and discrimination and perpetuate ongoing community misconceptions about the facts of HIV. Efforts at all levels of government must work together to consistently debunk these myths and normalize HIV in the realm of public health.
Publications of pictures and outing an alleged HIV status also does zero in encouraging people to be tested. We know that testing is key to getting a diagnosis and treatment. The majority of people who are diagnosed with HIV access and maintain treatment. The law should not deter a strategy we know is crucial to maintaining health. People living with HIV and struggling to access and maintain treatment need a full range of health and social supports that will work for their identified needs and circumstances.
At HIV Edmonton we have a peer-to-peer program for people living with HIV and fewer social and economic supports. They identify that the space is the only place where they can be themselves, safe to talk about HIV medications and their treatment as well as other aspects of their lives. Why? Because to do so in other spaces puts them at risk of discrimination and violence. The power differential cannot be underestimated for people living with HIV. For many, their personal, family and community relationships are negatively impacted because of a health status, and their health, legal and community supports may become more difficult to navigate depending on the knowledge and the understanding of the person they are receiving support from.
Government legislation, public policies and the Criminal Code must be cohesive and consistent in supporting the first and third statement of the directive, which acknowledges that HIV is a public health issue and that persons from marginalized backgrounds are disproportionately impacted. More must be done on access to prevention, education, testing, provision of support specifically addressing individual needs as well as broader policies and supports for programs addressing racism, abuse, domestic violence, substance use and poverty, including living income and affordable housing.
This committee has heard from a broad spectrum of people discussing the directive. I implore you to continue consultations with people living with HIV and with legal, social and scientific experts to hear opinions and develop reforms together that would put an end to the use of sexual assault as a means of criminalization of HIV non-disclosure and limit any use of the Criminal Code to cases of malicious intent and actual transmission.
It is a justice and human rights issue. I hope this committee will do the work and be resolved to know that getting this work right will be a huge step in moving towards zero new HIV transmissions and zero HIV and AIDS stigma and discrimination.
Thank you.