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ANGOLA: Should intentional infection be a crime?
Proposed reforms to Angola's Penal Code have divided opinion in the country about whether HIV-positive people who intentionally infect others with the virus should be punished.
LUANDA, 26 May 2008 (PlusNews) - The law under discussion calls for a sentence of between three and 10 years in prison for those who knowingly pass on infectious diseases, including HIV. Some argue that the law will act as a deterrent; others say it will bring more problems than benefits.
"Criminalisation is going to backfire. It goes against human rights and the fight against discrimination, and it won't prevent intentional infection," Roberto Brandt Campos, a coordinator with UNAIDS in Angola, told IRIN/PlusNews.
UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation voiced their opposition to such a measure being introduced anywhere in the world in a document released in 2007, saying that it represented a step backwards in HIV prevention efforts.
This is not the first time such a law has been tabled in Angola: the country introduced legislation relating to HIV and AIDS in 2004 but a measure calling for the criminalisation of purposeful infection was among those not included.
Read the full article here http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=78412
