On May 28th, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) released their updated guidance titled Ending overly broad criminalization of HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission: Critical scientific, medical and legal considerations. The paper is a follow-up to their 2008 policy brief and details the results of two years of research, evidence-building, and policy dialogue. Key principles and considerations were outlined on the HIV Justice Network website upon release of the guidance. The paper advocates for ending overly broad HIV criminalization by ensuring that legal and judicial fairness are upheld, protecting the human rights of PLWHA involved in criminal cases, and expanding implementation of public health objectives over criminal prosecution wherever possible, using the best available scientific and medical evidence.
